In some sad news, Hall of Fame fullback Joe Perry passed away today at the age of 84. Having played his last game in 1963, Perry's accomplishments are largely lost on our ESPN-highlight generation, but a look back at the history books reveals the footprint of one of the greatest running backs of all-time. Prior to 1953, only five times had a player surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in a season. Joe Perry then broke that mark two years in a row. When he retired, Perry was the was the NFL's career rushing leader. Although the immortal Jim Brown broke Perry's mark shortly afterwards, no other back was within 3,800 yards of it. In fact, Brown and Perry remain the only two players to average over 5.0 yards per carry with more than 1,000 career attempts. And 47 years later, Perry still holds the San Francisco record for most career rushing yards. The 49ers are known today for the high-powered West Coast passing offense of Bill Walsh, Joe Montana, Steve Young and Jerry Rice. But nearly five decades ago, they had one of the greatest running backs of all-time, and his name was Joe Perry. Here are some vintage Perry highlights, courtesy of NFL Films.
(Note: I can't wait for Thursday night's draft, when we'll actually have football news that doesn't revolve around CBA negotiations and lawsuits. Stay tuned for my mock draft in the next two days.)
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