49ers Clubhouse - Joe Perry

Joe Perry was discovered playing football when he was a running sesation for the Alameda Naval Air Station Hell Cats.
Joe Perry was designed to be a fullback. He carried the ball with the grace and power of a panther. The first time he touched the ball in a league game he bolted in a hole and he scored a 58 yards touchdown. After playing two years with the 49ers in the All-America Football Conference, Perry and the club moved to the NFL. Althought the established league was reputed to have fiercer competition, Perry saw little difference between the two leagues.
His playing weight was 195 pounds distributed over a six foot frame. He could run to daylight, or create his own running room by going over potential tacklers. He became famous for carrying opposing players for extra yards.
Perry gained 8,378 yards in the National Football League and 1,345 more in the All-America Football Conference. He averaged more than five yards per carry. After 16 years of professional football, "Joe the Jett" retired in 1963 with more rushing yards than any other player in NFL history. That record lasted till someone called Jim Brown broke it. He was the first man in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards in two consecutive years. Althought proud of his accomplishements, ther is one award that tops them all, making the Hall of Fame.
Not all of Joe Perry's memories about the NFL are pleasent. He was one of the first black men to play professional football, joining the 49ers just one year after Jackie Robinson broke the color line in pro baseball. He encountered racism in and off the field. His teammates were very supportive, as was the management. There was a great team spirit, if one was in a fight the whole team was in a fight. The year that Perry recalls more vividly is 1957 and in particular the game against the Chicago Bears becouse it is the game when Tony Morabito, the team owner, died. At halftime the team was losing 17-3, when the team got words that Morabito had died the mood turned pretty sad, it was possible to hear people crying. The team made a great comeback and won the game 21-17.