# 1953 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1953 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 4th season in the National Football League and their 8th overall. They were coming off a 7–5 record in 1952.
The 49ers played consistent football all season long, never losing consecutive games throughout the season en route to a franchise-best 9–3 record. However, the 49ers lost both their games against the Detroit Lions, who finished the season 10–2 to win the Western Conference and earn a spot in the NFL Championship game.
Offensively, San Francisco was led by quarterback Y. A. Tittle, who threw for 2,121 yards and 20 TDs while completing 57.5% of his passes. Running back Joe Perry had another great season, rushing for 1,018 yards along with 10 TDs, while Hugh McElhenny rushed for 503 yards and 3 TDs, and caught 30 passes for 474 yards and 6 TDs. Wide receiver Billy Wilson caught a team-high 51 passes for 840 yards and 10 TDs.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1953 San Francisco 49ers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Harry Babcock | End | Georgia | Bonus lottery pick |
| 1 | 10 | Tom Stolhandske | Linebacker | Texas | signed with Edmonton Eskimos (WIFU); played with 49ers in 1955. |
| 2 | 21 | George Morris | Center | Georgia Tech | played with 49ers in 1956. |
| 3 | 32 | Bob St. Clair * $^†$ | Tackle | Tulsa | |
| 4 | 47 | Ed Fullerton | Defensive back | Maryland | |
| 5 | 58 | Hal Miller | Tackle | Georgia Tech | |
| 7 | 83 | Paul Carr | Defensive back | Houston | |
| 8 | 94 | Doug Hogland | Guard | Oregon State | |
| 9 | 105 | Hal Ledyard | Quarterback | Chattanooga | |
| 10 | 119 | Pete Brown | Center | Georgia Tech | |
| 11 | 130 | Al Charlton | Back | Washington State | |
| 12 | 141 | Carson (Red) Leach | Guard | Duke | |
| 13 | 155 | Bill Earley | Back | Washington | |
| 14 | 166 | Tom Fletcher | Back | Arizona State | |
| 15 | 177 | Charley Genthner | Tackle | Texas | |
| 16 | 191 | Fred Durig | End | Bowling Green | |
| 17 | 202 | Hugh Latham | Tackle | San Diego State | |
| 18 | 213 | Stan Wacholz | End | San Jose State | |
| 19 | 227 | King DuClos | Tackle | UTEP | |
| 20 | 238 | Ray Huizinga | Tackle | Northwestern | |
| 21 | 249 | Ken Bahnsen | Fullback | North Texas State | |
| 22 | 263 | Laverne Robbins | Guard | Midwestern State | |
| 23 | 274 | Travis Hunt | Tackle | Alabama | |
| 24 | 285 | Ed Morgan | Back | Tennessee | |
| 25 | 299 | Ernie Stockert | End | UCLA | |
| 26 | 310 | Harley Cooper | Back | Arizona State | |
| 27 | 321 | Ralph McLeod | End | LSU | |
| 28 | 335 | Tom Novikoff | Back | Oregon | |
| 29 | 346 | Don Stillwell | End | USC | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||
    Source:

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 27 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 31–21 | 1–0 | Kezar Stadium | 25,000 | Recap |
| 2 | October 4 | Los Angeles Rams | W 31–30 | 2–0 | Kezar Stadium | 41,446 | Recap |
| 3 | October 11 | Detroit Lions | L 21–24 | 2–1 | Briggs Stadium | 56,080 | Recap |
| 4 | October 18 | Chicago Bears | W 35–28 | 3–1 | Wrigley Field | 36,909 | Recap |
| 5 | October 25 | Detroit Lions | L 10–14 | 3–2 | Kezar Stadium | 52,300 | Recap |
| 6 | November 1 | Chicago Bears | W 24–14 | 4–2 | Kezar Stadium | 26,308 | Recap |
| 7 | November 8 | Los Angeles Rams | W 31–27 | 5–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 85,856 | Recap |
| 8 | November 15 | Cleveland Browns | L 21–23 | 5–3 | Cleveland Stadium | 80,698 | Recap |
| 9 | November 22 | Green Bay Packers | W 37–7 | 6–3 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 16,378 | Recap |
| 10 | November 29 | Baltimore Colts | W 38–21 | 7–3 | Memorial Stadium | 26,005 | Recap |
| 11 | December 6 | Green Bay Packers | W 48–14 | 8–3 | Kezar Stadium | 31,337 | Recap |
| 12 | December 13 | Baltimore Colts | W 45–14 | 9–3 | Kezar Stadium | 23,932 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 1: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| • 49ers | 14 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 31 |

### Standings

NFL Western Conference :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Detroit Lions | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 8–2 | 271 | 205 | W6 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 8–2 | 372 | 237 | W4 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 8 | 3 | 1 | .727 | 7–3 | 366 | 236 | W2 |
| Chicago Bears | 3 | 8 | 1 | .273 | 2–7–1 | 218 | 262 | L2 |
| Baltimore Colts | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 2–8 | 182 | 350 | L7 |
| Green Bay Packers | 2 | 9 | 1 | .182 | 2–7–1 | 200 | 338 | L5 |
    Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

## Pro Bowl

San Francisco's players selected for the Pro Bowl:
| Player | Position |
| Bill Johnson | Offensive line |
| Hugh McElhenny | Running back |
| Art Michalik | Linebacker |
| Leo Nomellini | Defensive line |
| Joe Perry | Running back |
| Gordie Soltau | Wide receiver |
| Y. A. Tittle | Quarterback |