January 5, 2015

Highlighted Year: Frankie Albert, 1949

Quarterback, San Francisco 49ers



Age: 29
5th season in pro football, 4th in AAFC & with 49ers
College: Stanford
Height: 5’10” Weight: 170

Prelude:
After excelling as a T-formation quarterback at Stanford under Head Coach Clark Shaughnessy, Albert served four years in the Navy during World War II and saw action with the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the Pacific Coast Football League in 1945. He then joined the 49ers of the new All-America Football Conference (he had also been drafted by the NFL Chicago Bears) in ‘46. What he lacked in height and arm strength, he made up for in ball-handling skill and passing accuracy, particularly on roll-outs. The 49ers went 29-11-2 in their first three seasons, and Albert established himself as one of the AAFC’s best quarterbacks. He led the league in TD passes (29) and completion percentage (58.3) in 1948 and was named co-MVP of the AAFC along with Cleveland’s Otto Graham.

1949 Season Summary
Appeared in all 12 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Passing
Attempts – 260 [3]
Completions – 129 [4]
Yards – 1862 [3]
Completion percentage – 49.6 [4]
Yards per attempt – 7.2 [3]
TD passes – 27 [1]
Most TD passes, game – 5 vs. Cleveland 10/9
Interceptions – 16 [2, tied with Don Panciera]
Passer rating – 82.2 [2]

Rushing
Attempts – 35
Yards – 249 [10, tied with Lou Tomasetti]
Yards per attempt – 7.1
TDs – 3 [14, tied with five others]

Punting
Punts – 31 [6]
Yards – 1495 [6]
Average – 48.2 [1]
Punts blocked – 0

Scoring
TDs – 3
Points – 18

Postseason: 2 G
Pass attempts – 41
Most attempts, game – 24 at Cleveland, AAFC Championship
Pass completions – 17
Most completions, game – 9 at Cleveland, AAFC Championship
Passing yardage – 204
Most yards, game – 108 at Cleveland, AAFC Championship
TD passes – 2
Most TD passes, game – 1 vs. New York, AAFC First Round playoff; at Cleveland, AAFC Championship
Interceptions – 2
Most interceptions, game – 2 vs. New York, AAFC First Round playoff

Rushing attempts – 14
Most rushing attempts, game – 9 vs. vs. New York, AAFC First Round playoff
Rushing yards – 92
Most rushing yards, game – 51 vs. vs. New York, AAFC First Round playoff
Average gain rushing – 6.6
Rushing TDs – 0

Awards & Honors:
1st team All-AAFC: League
2nd team All-AAFC: AP, UPI, NY Daily News

49ers went 9-3 to finish second in the AAFC while leading the league in total yards (4793), rushing yards (2798), touchdowns (58), and scoring (416 points). Won AAFC First Round Playoff over New York Yankees (17-7). Lost AAFC Championship to Cleveland Browns (21-7).

Aftermath:
With the demise of the AAFC, the 49ers moved to the NFL and Albert was selected to the first Pro Bowl in 1950. However, he also had his lowest-rated pro passing season in ’50 and his production dropped off in his last two years in San Francisco (1951 and ‘52). He played one year in Canada with Calgary before retiring, returning to the 49ers as head coach from 1956 to ‘58. Albert passed for 6948 yards and 88 TDs in the AAFC while also rushing for 767 yards and 20 touchdowns and averaging 44.0 yards on 160 punts. In three NFL seasons, he threw for 3847 yards and 27 TDs while giving up 43 interceptions, ran for 505 yards and seven touchdowns, and averaged 41.9 yards on 139 punts.

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose: Total Yards
Defense: Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff Returns: Average
Punt Returns: Average
Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970