Hugh McElhenny
Teams
San Francisco 49ers (1952-1960)
Minnesota Vikings (1961-1962)
New York Giants (1963)
Detroit Lions (1964)
Playoffs
Appearances - 2 (1957,1963)
Conf Champ Games - 1 (1963)
Champ Games - 1 (1963)
Championships - 0
Awards and Honors
All-Pro First Team - 2 (1952,1953)
All-Pro Second Team - 3 (1954,1956,1957)
Pro Bowl - 6 (1952,1953,1956,1957,1958,1961)
Hall of Fame - 1970
All-Time Ranks
Yards per Rush - #24
Yards per Touch - #72
League Leads
Rushing Yards (#3-1956, #4-1952, #7-1953, #8-1954)
Rushing Touchdowns (#3-1952,1956, #7-1954, #8-1958)
Yards per Rush (#1-1952, #4-1956,1957, #7-1961, #9-1953)
Rushing Yards per Game (#2-1954, #3-1956, #4-1952, #8-1953)
Receptions (#7-1957)
Total Touchdowns (#4-1952, #8-1956)
Scrimmage Yards (#2-1952, #6-1953,1956,1957)
Yards per Touch (#2-1952, #3-1957, #5-1956, #8-1953, #10-1958,1961)
After a great college career in which he set numerous records at Washington, Hugh McElhenny was drafted with the 9th overall pick in the 1952 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.
McElhenny was an all-around player throughout his career. He was a good rusher, but he also caught a lot of passes, and was one of the top kick returners in the league. As a rookie, he led the league with 7.0 yards per carry, which is the 11th-best average of all time, and had over 1000 scrimmage yards as he was named to the All-Pro First Team.
His production dropped to 4.5 yards per carry in his second season, but he was still named to the All-Pro First Team, then he started off the 1954 season very strong, leading the league with 515 rushing yards and 8.0 yards per carry through 6 games, when he went down with a separated shoulder that ended his season. Even though he missed half of the season, he still received an MVP vote.
His return from injury was not smooth, as he gained only 3.6 yards per carry in 1955, finishing the season with only 327 rushing yards. He was finally back at full health in 1956, when he set a career high with 916 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns, as well as 1109 scrimmage yards, which got him onto the All-Pro Second Team.
He made his only playoff appearance as a 49er in 1957, rushing for 82 yards and gaining 96 through the air against the Lions, but San Francisco lost the game in spite of McElhenny's performance. He made a 5th Pro Bowl appearance in 1958, but injuries slowed him for the 2 years after that, and he was made available for the 1961 Expansion Draft, where he was picked by the Minnesota Vikings.
In his first season with Minnesota, he rushed for 570 yards and gained 283 through the air, which earned him a 6th Pro Bowl berth. At that point his age finally started to catch up to him, and he played one more year with Minnesota, followed by one each with the Giants and Lions, before retiring after the 1964 season.
When he retired, McElhenny was #3 in history in all-purpose yards, and he is currently #24 on the all-time list for yards per carry, the category where he led the league as a rookie and was on pace to lead it again in his third season before his shoulder injury. He was voted into the Pro Bowl 6 times, and into the Hall of Fame in 1970, and 60 years after his retirement is still one of the greatest of all time.
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