October 31, 1954: The San Francisco 49ers' "Million Dollar Backfield"

Left to right: Hugh McElhenny, Joe Perry,

John Henry Johnson and Y.A. Tittle.

The 49ers were already wearing red and white,

but had not yet adopted gold as a secondary color.

October 31, 1954: The Chicago Bears beat the San Francisco 49ers, 31-27 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. 49er running back Hugh McElhenny injures his shoulder. This Halloween scare ruins the season of the 49ers' "Million Dollar Backfield": McElhenny, fellow running backs John Henry Johnson and Joe "the Jet" Perry, and quarterback Y.A. Tittle. All 4 would be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the only entire backfield so honored in NFL history.

Until that injury, the 49ers were 4-0-1. After it, they were 3-4, finishing 7-4-1, 2 games behind the Detroit Lions in the NFL Western Division. Indicative of this: The week before the injury, they beat the Lions 37-31 at Kezar; 2 weeks after it, at Briggs Stadium in Detroit (renamed Tiger Stadium in 1961), they got beat 48-7, a 47-point swing.

Brief sketches of each member of the quartet:

* Yelberton Abraham Tittle, born October 24, 1926 in Marshall, Texas. He played quarterback at Louisiana State University (LSU), and for the Baltimore Colts from 1948 to 1950, the 49ers from 1951 to 1960, and the New York Giants from 1961 to 1964.

He got the Niners to a tie for the NFL Western Division title in 1957, but lost a Playoff to the Los Angeles Rams. Traded to the Giants, he got them to 3 straight NFL Championship Games, but lost them all. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 1963. The Giants retired his Number 14. At the time of his retirement, he was the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, attempts, completions, and games played. He died on October 8, 2017.

* Fletcher Joseph Perry, born January 22, 1927 in Stephens, Arkansas. He never attended a four-year college, only Compton Junior College outside Los Angeles, before serving in World War II. He played for the 49ers from 1948 to 1960, the Colts in 1961 and 1962, and returned to the 49ers in 1963.

He was pro football's all-time leading rusher, but even before he retired, he was surpassed by Jim Brown. His 9,723 career rushing yards were still 2nd all-time to Brown as late as 1977. The Niners retired his Number 34. He died on April 25, 2011.

* John Henry Johnson, born November 24, 1929 in Waterproof, Louisiana. He played at Arizona State, and, like many black players from the South, feared the NFL as being dominated by white Southerners, so he went to Canada, and played the 1953 season with the Calgary Stampeders. The 49ers signed him, and he played for them from 1954 to 1956. Of the four, he was the last to arrive, and the first to leave.

He went to the Detroit Lions in 1957, and, that year, he became the only one of these men to play on an NFL Championship team. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1960, remained with them until 1965, and played with the Houston Oilers in 1966. The Niners retired his Number 35. He died on June 3, 2011.

* Hugh Edward McElhenny Jr., born December 31, 1928 in Los Angeles. He starred at the University of Washington, and played for the 49ers from 1952 to 1960. He was an original Minnesota Viking in the 1961 and 1962 seasons, rejoined Tittle on the 1963 Giants, and retired with the Detroit Lions in 1964. The 49ers made his Number 39 the 1st number they retired. He was the last survivor of the Million Dollar Backfield, living until June 17, 2022.

$1 million in 1954 would be worth about $10.9 million in 2022 money.

*

October 31, 1954 was a Sunday. Actor Ken Wahl was born. And these other NFL games were played that day:

* The New York Giants lost to the Cleveland Browns, 24-14 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Washington Redskins beat the Baltimore Colts, 24-21 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Chicago Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-14 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The Cards went 2-10, and their only other win was at home to Washington, 3 weeks later.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Los Angeles Rams, 27-24 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* And the day before, the Green Bay Packers beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 37-14 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia.

There were 2 games played in the NBA. The Minneapolis Lakers beat the Syracuse Nationals, 97-94 at the Onondaga County War Memorial (now the Upstate Medical University Arena) in Syracuse, New York. And the Fort Wayne Pistons beat the Boston Celtics, 90-86 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Although the Pistons moved to Detroit in 1957, and the Nationals moved to Philadelphia in 1963, their arenas are still standing, and used by minor-league hockey teams. That is not the case with the Lakers' arena, which was demolished long after their move to Los Angeles in 1960.

There was 1 NHL game played that day: The New York Rangers and the Chicago Black Hawks played to a 1-1 tie at the old Madison Square Garden.