Vivid memories of 1 in a ‘Million’
McElhenny, last of fabled backfield, looks back
The last surviving member of the 49ers’ “Million Dollar Backfield” uses a cane, sleeps with a mask because of his emphysema and stopped playing golf about a decade ago after he fell and broke his hip.
His knee surgery seven years ago — and his difficulty in rehab — explains why his left leg is far thinner than his right. And, before his most recent health issues, there was a bout with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a nerve condition that temporarily paralyzed his once-powerful legs and forced him to use a walker for a year.
Hugh McElhenny says he no longer can take long trips. At 88, however, the Hall of Fame running back nicknamed “The King” for his dominance, still can journey down memory lane from his home in Henderson, Nev.
That was clear last week when McElhenny shared stories three days after the death of his dear friend and decorated teammate, quarterback Y.A. Tittle.
At moments during the phone interview, McElhenny’s voice sounded thick with emotion. But there was laughter, plenty of it, as he recalled the fights, and trips, and glory he shared with Tittle, an Atherton resident who died at age 90 of natural causes last Sunday night after dealing with dementia late in life.
“He was just a born competitor,” McElhenny said. “So dang competitive. But he was a very solid man. A good man. And it’s just terrible. I guess it was just good old age. We’re all getting there.”
Tittle’s death was preceded by those of running backs Joe Perry, 84, and John Henry Johnson, 81, in 2011. From 1952 through 54, Perry, Johnson, Tittle and McElhenny formed the only full-house backfield to have all four members enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
Million Dollar Backfield? For an unheard of collection of talent, the almost unheard of sum of money in the 1950s was a fitting moniker. To be clear, the four players did not earn that much money to play. Not even close. The nickname referred to their top-shelf ability.
McElhenny last saw Tittle, then in a wheelchair, three years ago when they were presented with new Hall of Fame rings during a halftime ceremony at Levi’s Stadium.
It was their last meeting after countless trips to Mexico, Lake Tahoe and Tittle’s hometown of Marshall, Texas, in the decades after they retired from the NFL. They often vacationed with their wives and former teammates Billy Wilson and Matt Hazeltine, golfing, water skiing and playing touch football.
“We were very active for 50 years,” McElhenny said. “These last 10 years, we’d fallen off. I knew he was fading.”
McElhenny and Tittle spent nine seasons (1952-60) together with the 49ers. McElhenny entered the Hall of Fame in 1970. Tittle joined him one year later.
They shared a fierce desire that propelled them to Canton. McElhenny was one of three players in NFL history with more than 11,000 all-purpose yards when he retired. Tittle left the league with eight NFL records, including a mark for most touchdown passes in a season (36) that stood for 21 years until it was broken by Dan Marino.
Asked about his most indelible memories of Tittle from their days with the 49ers, however, McElhenny laughs and recalls their two major arguments.
In 1952, McElhenny’s rookie season, the 49ers were playing the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. He says Tittle called four consecutive plays in which he put McElhenny at wide receiver and had him sprint deep downfield to clear out underneath routes for Wilson and Gordy Soltau.
“God, he did it four times in a row,” McElhenny said. “And he called it again and I just walked off the field. We called timeout. The coach didn’t know what to do. I said, ‘I’m too tired. I can’t go out there and do another 50-yard sprint.’ So that was our first disagreement.”
McElhenny is reminded of their final dustup each time he sees the scar above one of his eyebrows in the mirror. It has been there since the mid-’50s, when he and Tittle were part of the 49ers’ basketball team that traveled around Northern California in the offseason playing in charity games.
After a game in Santa Clara, Tittle approached McElhenny in the locker room and was upset because McElhenny’s refusal to come out near the end had cost Tittle playing time.
“So we got in a fight,” McElhenny said. “He put five stitches over my eye and, from what I understand, he was in bed for two or three days. I don’t even remember hitting him. That was our only other disagreement. We became very, very, very close friends.”
McElhenny had more stories. He insists Tittle, who attended LSU, used to cheat at a card game, Bourre, which originated in Southern Louisiana.
“It was all in fun, but he knew how to cheat in that damn game and he would always win,” McElhenny said. “I don’t know who in the heck caught him. Was it Gordy Soltau? I think it was Billy Wilson. He told him, ‘You can’t do that, Y.A. You can’t hide those cards.’ ”
McElhenny revels in the memories he shared with friends who have left him. Hazeltine, 53, died in 1987 of Lou Gehrig’s disease. Wilson, 81, died in 2009 of bone cancer. Soltau, 89, died in 2014 from natural causes.
And now there is Tittle, making McElhenny the last surviving member of perhaps the most legendary quartet in NFL history. On Wednesday, he was asked about the emotions the loss of Tittle, Perry and Johnson stirred in him.
It wasn’t a subject on which he wished to linger. And his response was brief.
“I don’t know how to answer that,” he said.