1957 San Francisco 49ers season
The 1957 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's eighth season in the NFL, and were coming off a 5-6-1 record in 1956, however, they ended the season with a 5 game unbeaten streak.
San Francisco would continue their late season success from the previous year, and would win 5 of their first 6 games and sit in 1st place in the Western Conference. The Niners would then lose 3 in a row on the road to drop to a 5-4-0 record, however, a 3 game winning streak to close out the season would see San Francisco finish with an 8-4-0 record, their best season since 1953. The 49ers finished tied with the Detroit Lions at the top of the Western Conference, which would set up a tie-breaking playoff game at Kezar Stadium, with the winner of the game to face the Cleveland Browns for the NFL Championship. The Lions would win a very close game by a 31-27 score and end the 49ers season and their quest for their first title. Sadly, 49ers owner Anthony J. (Tony) Morabito died of a heart attack, during the second quarter of the October 27 game against the Chicago Bears at Kezar. The team was notified of his death at halftime, and with tears in their eyes, they went back out and won a come-from-behind victory. [1]
Y.A. Tittle had another strong season for the team, completing 63.1% of his passes for 2157 yards and 13 TD's. Tittle would also rush for 6 TD's. Billy Wilson would lead the club with 52 completions and 757 yards, along with a team high 6 TD's. Hugh McElhenny had a club best 478 rushing yards on 102 attempts.
Offseason
NFL Draft
Regular season
Schedule
| # |
Date |
Visitor |
Score |
Home |
Record |
Attendance |
| 1 |
September 29 |
Chicago Cardinals |
20-10 |
San Francisco 49ers |
0-1-0 |
35,743 |
| 2 |
October 6 |
Los Angeles Rams |
23-20 |
San Francisco 49ers |
1-1-0 |
59,637 |
| 3 |
October 13 |
San Francisco 49ers |
21-17 |
Chicago Bears |
2-1-0 |
45,310 |
| 4 |
October 20 |
San Francisco 49ers |
24-14 |
Green Bay Packers |
3-1-0 |
18,919 |
| 5 |
October 27 |
Chicago Bears |
21-17 |
San Francisco 49ers |
4-1-0 |
56,693 |
| 6 |
November 3 |
Detroit Lions |
35-31 |
San Francisco 49ers |
5-1-0 |
59,702 |
| 7 |
November 10 |
San Francisco 49ers |
37-24 |
Los Angeles Rams |
5-2-0 |
102,368 |
| 8 |
November 17 |
San Francisco 49ers |
31-10 |
Detroit Lions |
5-3-0 |
56,915 |
| 9 |
November 24 |
San Francisco 49ers |
27-21 |
Baltimore Colts |
5-4-0 |
50,073 |
| 10 |
December 1 |
San Francisco 49ers |
27-17 |
New York Giants |
6-4-0 |
54,121 |
| 11 |
December 8 |
Baltimore Colts |
17-13 |
San Francisco 49ers |
7-4-0 |
59,950 |
| 12 |
December 15 |
Green Bay Packers |
27-20 |
San Francisco 49ers |
8-4-0 |
59,100 |
Standings
[3]
Western Conference Playoff
| Date |
Visitor |
Score |
Home |
Attendance |
| December 22 |
Detroit Lions |
31-27 |
San Francisco 49ers |
60,118 |
References
- ^ Rosenbaum, Art (1957-11-04). "Tony Morabito, The Autocrat Of The San Francisco 49ers, Ran His Team With A Belligerent Disdain For Outsiders. But He Loved His Team, And Last Week He Died As He Would Have Wished—watching Them Take The Division Lead". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1132924/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-07-14.
- ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 398
- ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 299
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