49ers were Innovators at Least for a While

[LeonardRachiele]

The San Francisco 49s,  along with the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Colts,  came into the National Football League from the All America Conference after it folded in 1950.  In many ways,  this team had  innovators in pro football.
New Flashes from the 49ers

--The first left handed quarterback, Frankie Albert.  Albert played at Stanford and coached the 49ers in the late 50s.

--The Dream Backfield  almost as soon as SF entered the NFL.  This featured YA. Tittle at quarterback and the three  running backs,  Hugh McElhenny, Joe "the Jet" Perry, and John Henry Johnson.  When Johnson retired in 1965,  he was fourth among the all time leading rushers behind Jim Brown, Jim Taylor, and Joe Perry.  Perry and Johnson died this past spring within six weeks of each other.

--The 49ers ran  the first shotgun offense which lasted  for a portion of the 1961 season.  Coach Red Hickey had John Brodie as first string quarterback  but frequently rotated with Billy Kilmer or Bobby Waters.  The Shotgun never really caught on until the Roger Staubach era with the Dallas Cowboys in the 70s . That 1961 team had the most stunning differences against  the same team I have ever seen.  Perhaps opponents  learned how to defense the Shotgun.

defeated the Detroit Lions  49 to 0 in Week 3 and tied them 20 to 20 in Week 8,
defeated the Los Angeles Rams 35 to 0 in Week 4 and lost 17 to 7 in Week 9,
lost to the Chicago Bears  31 to 0 in Week 6 and won 41 to 31 in Week 10,

We remember the great San Francisco dynasty which ran from 1981 to 1998.

[Brian wolf]

Whats your view Leonard ... Buck Shaw for the HOF ?

*Only HC to defeat a Vince Lombardi - coached team in a championship game.
*Also coached in the last AAFC championship game, losing to the Browns.
*Coached many HOF and HOVG players including QBs Albert, Tittle, Van Brocklin and Jurgensen.
*Great winning pct as coach counting AAFC career
*His team pushed the division rival Browns to bigger success

[RichardBak]

The San Francisco 49s, along with the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Colts, came into the National Football League from the All America Conference after it folded in 1950. In many ways, this team had innovators in pro football.
New Flashes from the 49ers

--The first left handed quarterback, Frankie Albert. Albert played at Stanford and coached the 49ers in the late 50s.

--The Dream Backfield almost as soon as SF entered the NFL. This featured YA. Tittle at quarterback and the three running backs, Hugh McElhenny, Joe "the Jet" Perry, and John Henry Johnson. When Johnson retired in 1965, he was fourth among the all time leading rushers behind Jim Brown, Jim Taylor, and Joe Perry. Perry and Johnson died this past spring within six weeks of each other.

--The 49ers ran the first shotgun offense which lasted for a portion of the 1961 season. Coach Red Hickey had John Brodie as first string quarterback but frequently rotated with Billy Kilmer or Bobby Waters. The Shotgun never really caught on until the Roger Staubach era with the Dallas Cowboys in the 70s . That 1961 team had the most stunning differences against the same team I have ever seen. Perhaps opponents learned how to defense the Shotgun.

defeated the Detroit Lions 49 to 0 in Week 3 and tied them 20 to 20 in Week 8,
defeated the Los Angeles Rams 35 to 0 in Week 4 and lost 17 to 7 in Week 9,
lost to the Chicago Bears 31 to 0 in Week 6 and won 41 to 31 in Week 10,

We remember the great San Francisco dynasty which ran from 1981 to 1998.

Had me going for a moment---Johnson and Perry died back in 2011. Gotta watch that cut & paste.

[NWebster]

The San Francisco 49s,  along with the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Colts,  came into the National Football League from the All America Conference after it folded in 1950.  In many ways,  this team had  innovators in pro football.
New Flashes from the 49ers

--The first left handed quarterback, Frankie Albert.  Albert played at Stanford and coached the 49ers in the late 50s.

--The Dream Backfield  almost as soon as SF entered the NFL.  This featured YA. Tittle at quarterback and the three  running backs,  Hugh McElhenny, Joe "the Jet" Perry, and John Henry Johnson.  When Johnson retired in 1965,  he was fourth among the all time leading rushers behind Jim Brown, Jim Taylor, and Joe Perry.  Perry and Johnson died this past spring within six weeks of each other.

--The 49ers ran  the first shotgun offense which lasted  for a portion of the 1961 season.  Coach Red Hickey had John Brodie as first string quarterback  but frequently rotated with Billy Kilmer or Bobby Waters.  The Shotgun never really caught on until the Roger Staubach era with the Dallas Cowboys in the 70s . That 1961 team had the most stunning differences against  the same team I have ever seen.  Perhaps opponents  learned how to defense the Shotgun.

defeated the Detroit Lions  49 to 0 in Week 3 and tied them 20 to 20 in Week 8,
defeated the Los Angeles Rams 35 to 0 in Week 4 and lost 17 to 7 in Week 9,
lost to the Chicago Bears  31 to 0 in Week 6 and won 41 to 31 in Week 10,

We remember the great San Francisco dynasty which ran from 1981 to 1998.

I like reading the play-by-plays of the 61 49ers that refer to the shotgun as the "short Punt" e.g.: Kilmer from the Short Punt . . . .

That said - I've seen Cardinal games from the early 50's where they're in shotgun for the majority of plays.

Another one, the 49ers ran some 3-4 (Oklahoma D) in the mid-50's with Phil Bengston as D coordinator.

[RichardBak]

I recall reading about the Bears running out of the "short punt" formation in the '50s vs the Lions. George Blanda, of all people.

[NWebster]

I recall reading about the Bears running out of the "short punt" formation in the '50s vs the Lions. George Blanda, of all people.

Yes - I've seen that too. There was lots of innovation in the 50's which made the game so fun to watch in that era. Many of the 60's and 70's innovations were teams formalizing as part of their scheme things that were tinkered with in the 50's, like Landry "Flexing" DT's which the Colts did in 57 and 58.