Joe Perry, 84; football great a 49ers icon
Former NFL fullback Joe Perry, the first player to record back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons and nicknamed "The Jet" for his speed, has died. He was 84. Credit: AP, 1961
SAN FRANCISCO -- Hall of Fame fullback Joe Perry, the first player with back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons and nicknamed "The Jet" for his sensational speed, died yesterday. He was 84.
The San Francisco 49ers announced that Perry, also a World War II veteran, had died in Arizona of complications from dementia.
Perry was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969 following a 16-year NFL career, 14 years with the 49ers and the other two for the Baltimore Colts.
A three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, Perry still stands as San Francisco's all-time leader in yards rushing (7,344) and touchdowns rushing (50). He led the 49ers in rushing on eight occasions, including seven consecutive seasons from 1949 to 1955.
John York, 49ers owner, said of Perry: "Joe had a lasting impact on the game of football and was an inspirational man to the generations of players that followed him."
Perry finished with 9,723 yards rushing on 1,929 carries with 71 touchdowns in 181 career games. He also had 2,021 yards receiving on 260 catches for 12 touchdowns. He broke the NFL record for most career yards rushing, a total that was later topped by Jim Brown.
Born Jan. 22, 1927, in Stephens, Ark., Perry, who spent a stint in the Navy and served during World War II, became the first player with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in 1953 and '54.
Perry was a member of "The Million Dollar Backfield" featuring four future Hall of Famers in Perry, Hugh McElhenny, John Henry Johnson and Y.A. Tittle. For three seasons from 1954 to 1956, they formed a fearsome foursome. The group remains the only full-house backfield to have all four of its members voted into the Hall of Fame.
Perry and McElhenny also were teammates at Compton Junior College, where Perry scored 22 touchdowns in his first season.
He was later discovered by 49ers tackle John Woudenberg while playing running back for the Alameda Naval Air Station Hell Cats. Woudenberg promptly told 49ers owner Tony Morabito and head coach Buck Shaw about Perry, the team said. Perry's first season with San Francisco was in 1948. He played for Baltimore from 1961-62, then wound up back with the 49ers in his final season of 1963.
The 49ers retired Perry's No. 34 jersey in 1971.
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