Previous 49ers running back and Pro Football Hall of Famer Hugh McElhenny kicked the bucket last week because of normal causes at 93 years old.
The 49ers chose McElhenny with the 10th by and large pick in the 1952 NFL Draft, and it didn’t take long for him to have an effect. In his most memorable year in the association, McElhenny drove the NFL with a dazzling 7.0 yards for each convey and acquired 1,051 yards from scrimmage to procure a first-group All-Pro determination.
Known for his speed, subtlety, and field vision, McElhenny was designated, “The King,” and shaped the Million Dollar Backfield with quarterback Y. A. Bit, halfback John Henry Johnson and fullback Joe Perry. To be completely honest, the epithet had more to do with the nature of the players than their consolidated compensations. Johnson himself once kidded in 1987 that he was, “all the while searching for the million.” Still, it was precise, as each of the four individuals would proceed to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
McElhenny’s 49ers vocation reached a conclusion after he was chosen by the recently framed Minnesota Vikings in the 1961 extension draft. He would likewise proceed to play for the Giants and Lions prior to resigning following the 1964 season.
Up to that point, McElhenny had amassed the third most generally useful yards of any player in NFL history. He was chosen for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981.
McElhenny proceeded to act as a pundit on 49ers radio stations from 1966 to 1972, and the group resigned his number 39 pullover in 1971.
