1948 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1948 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's third season in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). The 49ers, hoped to improve upon their 8–4–2 output from the previous season. They began the season 10–0, and finished 12–2,^[1] both losses coming to eventual season champions, the Cleveland Browns.

Program for the Forty-Niners' October 10 game at Baltimore.

Head coach Lawrence "Buck" Shaw.

1948 San Francisco 49ers season
Owner	Tony Morabito
General manager	John Blackinger
Head coach	Buck Shaw
Home field	Kezar Stadium
Results
Record	12–2
Division place	2nd AAFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
← 1947 49ers seasons 1949 →

The 49ers' offense was historically prolific: they scored 495 points^[2] in 1948 (averaging over 35 points per game), which was more than 100 points more than the next best output (389 points by the Browns). Despite their 12–2 record, the 49ers did not qualify for the playoffs, due to the Browns 14–0 record.

The 1948 49ers had a record-setting rushing attack: the team rushed for a staggering 3,653 yards in only fourteen games, a professional football record that still stands.^[3][4]

The team's statistical leaders included Frankie Albert with 1,990 passing yards, Johnny Strzykalski with 915 rushing yards, and Alyn Beals with 591 receiving yards and 84 points scored.^[5]

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	August 18	at Los Angeles Dons	W 42–24	1–0	Rose Bowl	58,207
2	August 22	Baltimore Colts	W 42–14	2–0	Kezar Stadium	35,139

^[6]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Source
1	August 29	Buffalo Bills	W 35–14	1–0	Kezar Stadium	33,946	[7]
2	September 5	Brooklyn Dodgers	W 36–20	2–0	Kezar Stadium	32,606	[8]
3	September 12	New York Yankees	W 41–0	3–0	Kezar Stadium	60,927	[9]
4	September 19	Los Angeles Dons	W 36–14	4–0	Kezar Stadium	45,420	[10]
5	September 26	at Buffalo Bills	W 38–28	5–0	Civic Stadium	31,103	[11]
6	October 1	at Chicago Rockets	W 31–14	6–0	Soldier Field	14,553	[12]
7	October 10	at Baltimore Colts	W 56–14	7–0	Memorial Stadium	22,359	[13]
8	October 17	at New York Yankees	W 21–7	8–0	Yankee Stadium	29,743	[14]
9	October 24	Baltimore Colts	W 21–10	9–0	Kezar Stadium	27,978	[15]
10	Bye
11	November 7	Chicago Rockets	W 44–21	10–0	Kezar Stadium	25,308	[16]
12	November 14	at Cleveland Browns	L 7–14	10–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	82,769	[17]
13	November 21	at Brooklyn Dodgers	W 63–40	11–1	Ebbets Field	9,336	[18]
14	November 28	Cleveland Browns	L 28–31	11–2	Kezar Stadium	59,785	[19]
15	December 5	at Los Angeles Dons	W 38–21	12–2	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	51,460	[20]
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AAFC Western Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns	14	0	0	1.000	6–0	389	190	W14
San Francisco 49ers	12	2	0	.857	4–2	495	248	W1
Los Angeles Dons	7	7	0	.500	2–4	258	305	L2
Chicago Rockets	1	13	0	.071	0–6	202	439	L11

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings.

AAFC Eastern Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Buffalo Bills	7	7	0	.500	4–2	360	358	L1
Baltimore Colts	7	7	0	.500	5–1	333	327	W2
New York Yankees	6	8	0	.429	3–3	265	301	W1
Brooklyn Dodgers	2	12	0	.143	0–6	253	387	L6

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings.

Roster

San Francisco's in-season roster included the following players.^[21]

Centers 21 Dutch Elston 22 Joel Williams 23 Bill Johnson Guards 31 Don Clark 32 Jim Cox 33 Bruno Banducci 34 Visco Grgich 37 Riley Matheson 38 Walt McCormick

Tackles 41 John Woudenberg 42 Bob Bryant 46 Hal Puddy 47 Bob Mike 48 Floyd Collier Ends 52 Hal Shoener 53 Alyn Beals 54 Gail Bruce 56 Clarence Howell 58 Nick Susoeff 59 Ned Maloney

Quarterbacks 63 Frankie Albert 64 Bev Wallace 93 Jim Cason Fullbacks 71 Verl Lillywhite 72 Norm Standlee

Halfbacks 81 Len Eshmont 82 Joe Vetrano 83 Joe "The Jet" Perry 85 Eddie Carr 88 Forrest Hall 91 Johnny Strzykalski 92 Paul Crowe 94 Bob Sullivan `

References

1. 1948 San Francisco 49ers
2. 1948 AAFC Standings Archived September 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
3. Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the regular season, sorted by descending Rushing Yds as of 2011 season
4. The next-highest total, set in a 16-game schedule by the 1978 Patriots, is 488 yards short of the record. The next-highest total in a 14-game schedule, set by the 1973 Bills, is 565 yards shy.
5. "1948 San Francisco 49ers Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
6. "1948 San Francisco 49ers (AAFC)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
7. Kenneth R. Crippen and Matt Reaser (eds.), The All-America Football Conference: Players, Coaches, Records, Games, and Awards, 1946–1949. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2018; pp. 119–120.
8. Crippen and Reaser (eds.), The All-America Football Conference, p. 120.
9. Crippen and Reaser (eds.), The All-America Football Conference, pp. 121–122.
10. Crippen and Reaser (eds.), The All-America Football Conference, p. 122.
11. Crippen and Reaser (eds.), The All-America Football Conference, p. 123.
12. Crippen and Reaser (eds.), The All-America Football Conference, pp. 123–124.
13. Crippen and Reaser (eds.), The All-America Football Conference, p. 124.
14. Crippen and Reaser (eds.), The All-America Football Conference, p. 126.
15. Crippen and Reaser (eds.), The All-America Football Conference, p. 126.
16. Crippen and Reaser (eds.), The All-America Football Conference, p. 128.
17. Crippen and Reaser (eds.), The All-America Football Conference, p. 129–130.
18. Crippen and Reaser (eds.), The All-America Football Conference, p. 130.
19. Crippen and Reaser (eds.), The All-America Football Conference, p. 132.
20. Crippen and Reaser (eds.), The All-America Football Conference, p. 133.
21. Baltimore Colts vs. Frisco Forty-Niners, Oct 10. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Colts Football Club, Inc., 1948; pp. 20–21.