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The 1955 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 6th season in the National Football League and their 10th overall.
| 1955 San Francisco 49ers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Tony Morabito |
| General manager | Louis Spadia |
| Head coach | Red Strader |
| Home field | Kezar Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 4–8 |
| Division place | 5th NFL Western |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
They were coming off a 7–4–1 record in 1954, finishing in 3rd place in the Western Conference.
San Francisco replaced head coach Buck Shaw, who had been the club's only head coach since its founding. The new coach was Red Strader, who had previously been the head coach of the New York Yanks from 1950 to 1951, where he had a record of 8–14–2 in his two seasons there.
The 49ers started the year with 2 losses at home but rebounded with 2 road victories and sat with a .500 record after 4 games. San Francisco split its next 2 games at home and had a 3–3 record. The team then fell into a slump and lost its next 5 games before winning its final game of the season, finishing with a 4–8 record, its worst season since the team's first season in the NFL in 1950, when it finished 3–9.
Offensively, Y. A. Tittle threw for 2185 yards, completing 51.2% of his passes, and had a league-high 17 touchdown passes. However, Tittle had 28 passes that were intercepted. Billy Wilson was Tittle's favorite target, as he had a team-high 53 receptions for 831 yards and 7 touchdowns. Joe Perry led the club by rushing for 701 yards, while Dickie Moegle rushed for a team-high 5 touchdowns.
Offseason
editNFL draft
edit| 1955 San Francisco 49ers draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Dicky Moegle * | Defensive back | Rice | |
| 2 | 21 | Frank Morze | Center | Boston College | began play with 49ers in 1957. |
| 3 | 34 | Carroll Hardy | Halfback | Colorado | |
| 4 | 45 | Matt Hazeltine * | Linebacker | California | |
| 5 | 58 | Eldred Kraemer | Guard | Pittsburgh | |
| 6 | 69 | Bobby Luna | Defensive back | Alabama | |
| 7 | 82 | Johnny Dean | Back | VPI | |
| 8 | 93 | Freddie Meyers | Back | Oklahoma A&M | |
| 9 | 106 | Fred Preziosio | Tackle | Purdue | |
| 10 | 117 | Ron Ashbacker | End | Oregon State | |
| 11 | 130 | Rudy Rotella | End | Omaha | |
| 12 | 141 | Lou Palatella | Guard | Pittsburgh | |
| 13 | 154 | Richie Gaskell | End | George Washington | |
| 14 | 165 | Nick McKeithan | Back | Duke | |
| 15 | 178 | Burdette Hess | Guard | Idaho | signed with Calgary Stampeders (WIFU) |
| 16 | 189 | Jim Hall | End | Auburn | |
| 17 | 202 | Bob Newton | Guard | San Diego State | |
| 18 | 213 | Ron Pheister | Center | Oregon | |
| 19 | 226 | John Garzoli | Tackle | California | |
| 20 | 237 | Glen Dyer | Back | Texas | |
| 21 | 250 | George Maderos | Defensive back | Chico State | |
| 22 | 261 | Pete Vann | Quarterback | Army | |
| 23 | 274 | Tom Gunnari | End | Washington State | |
| 24 | 285 | Bob Heaston | Guard | Cal Poly | |
| 25 | 298 | Dewey Wade | End | Kansas State | |
| 26 | 309 | Johnny Kerr | End | Purdue | |
| 27 | 322 | Dick Shockey | Back | Marquette | |
| 28 | 333 | Don Sanders | Back | Stanford | |
| 29 | 346 | Otto Kneidinger | Tackle | Penn State | |
| 30 | 356 | Bob Gongola | Back | Illinois | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
- Source:[1]
Schedule
edit| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 25 | Los Angeles Rams | L 14–23 | 0–1 | Kezar Stadium | 58,772 | Recap |
| 2 | October 2 | Cleveland Browns | L 3–38 | 0–2 | Kezar Stadium | 43,595 | Recap |
| 3 | October 9 | at Chicago Bears | W 20–19 | 1–2 | Wrigley Field | 41,651 | Recap |
| 4 | October 16 | at Detroit Lions | W 27–24 | 2–2 | Briggs Stadium | 50,179 | Recap |
| 5 | October 23 | Chicago Bears | L 23–34 | 2–3 | Kezar Stadium | 56,350 | Recap |
| 6 | October 30 | Detroit Lions | W 38–21 | 3–3 | Kezar Stadium | 44,831 | Recap |
| 7 | November 6 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 14–27 | 3–4 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 71,832 | Recap |
| 8 | November 13 | at Washington Redskins | L 0–7 | 3–5 | Griffith Stadium | 25,112 | Recap |
| 9 | November 20 | at Green Bay Packers | L 21–27 | 3–6 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 19,099 | Recap |
| 10 | November 27 | Baltimore Colts | L 14–26 | 3–7 | Memorial Stadium | 33,485 | Recap |
| 11 | December 4 | Green Bay Packers | L 7–28 | 3–8 | Kezar Stadium | 32,897 | Recap |
| 12 | December 11 | Baltimore Colts | W 35–24 | 4–8 | Kezar Stadium | 33,471 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Standings
edit| NFL Western Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Los Angeles Rams | 8 | 3 | 1 | .727 | 6–3–1 | 260 | 231 | W3 | |
| Chicago Bears | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 7–3 | 294 | 251 | W2 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 5–5 | 258 | 276 | L1 | |
| Baltimore Colts | 5 | 6 | 1 | .455 | 5–4–1 | 214 | 239 | L2 | |
| San Francisco 49ers | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 4–6 | 216 | 298 | W1 | |
| Detroit Lions | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 2–8 | 230 | 275 | L2 | |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
References
edit- ^ "1955 San Francisco 49ers Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 20, 2024.