Joe Perry
Teams
San Francisco 49ers (1948-1960,1963)
Baltimore Colts (1961-1962)
Playoffs
Appearances - 2 (1949,1957)
Conf Champ Games - 1 (1949)
Champ Games - 1 (1949)
Championships - 0
Awards and Honors
MVP - 1 (1954)
All-Pro First Team - 2 (1953,1954)
All-Pro Second Team - 1 (1949)
Pro Bowl - 3 (1952,1953,1954)
Hall of Fame - 1969
All-Time Ranks
Yards per Rush - #10
Rushing Touchdowns - #32
Rushing Yards - #34
Total Touchdowns - #59
Scrimmage Yards - #72
League Leads
Rushing Yards (#1-1949,1953,1954, #3-1952,1958, #5-1950,1951,1955, #9-1961, #10-1948)
Rushing Touchdowns (#1-1948,1949,1953, #2-1952, #3-1954, #8-1950)
Yards per Rush (#1-1949, #2-1954, #3-1952,1958, #4-1953,1957, #5-1950, #7-1951, #8-1955, #10-1956)
Rushing Yards per Game (#1-1949,1953,1954, #3-1952,1958, #5-1951,1955, #7-1950, #8-1961, #9-1957)
Total Touchdowns (#1-1953, #2-1949, #4-1948, #8-1952,1954)
Scrimmage Yards (#1-1953,1954, #3-1949, #6-1958, #8-1951)
Yards per Touch (#3-1949, #5-1958, #9-1954)
Joe Perry played one year at Compton Junior College, scoring 22 touchdowns during the season, then left school to join the Navy during World War II, remaining enlisted for 4 years. After leaving the military, he signed as a free agent with the San Francisco 49ers, becoming the first African-American player in the team's history.
As a rookie, Perry led the AAFC in rushing touchdowns, then repeated the feat in 1949, while also leading the league in rushing yards and yards per carry, with an amazing 6.8 per rush on the season. After that season, the AAFC folded, and the 49ers joined the NFL.
Perry was good in his first few NFL seasons, finishing in the top 5 in rushing yards each season, then in 1953 he led the league with 1018 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, and his 1209 scrimmage yards was also best in the NFL. He finished #3 in MVP voting that year, and made the All-Pro First Team for the first time.
He was even better in 1954, posting his best season as a pro. He led the league again with 1049 rushing yards, becoming the first player ever to exceed 1000 in consecutive seasons, and also had the most scrimmage yards again, with 1252. He gained 6.1 yards per carry on the season, and was named the league MVP, despite his team not making the playoffs.
His yardage decreased over the next few seasons, but in 1957, he was finally able to see the NFL playoffs, but the 49ers lost to the Lions, and Perry never saw a playoff win in his career. In 1958, he became the NFL's all-time rushing leader, passing Steve Van Buren.
His usage declined in 1959, then was practically nonexistent in 1960, and he was traded after that season to the Baltimore Colts. He led the Colts in rushing that year with 675 yards, but was not the player he once was, and after a second season with Baltimore, he was traded back to the 49ers, where he played one final season.
He was the all-time leader in rushing yards when he retired, though Jim Brown broke his record the next season, and he led the league in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns 3 times each. He is #10 in league history in yards per carry, and was named the MVP while on a team that missed the playoffs. Though most of his records were broken long ago, he was the best running back of his time, and one of the best of all time.
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