Million Dollar Backfield (San Francisco 49ers)

[6] The Million Dollar Backfield began its construction in 1948 with the team's signing of speedy fullback Joe Perry.

[9] In reality, at the time, players often took off-season jobs to supplement their income; Tittle launched his own insurance agency while with the 49ers, and McElhenny worked as a salesman for the Granny Goose potato chip company.

"[12] For three seasons, the backfield challenged opposing defenses with Tittle's arm, Johnson's power, the speed of Perry, and the elusiveness of McElhenny.

[13] "There was no greater running backs than Hugh McElhenny, John Henry Johnson and Joe Perry in the same backfield," Tittle reminisced.

"It made quarterbacking so easy because I just get in the huddle and call anything and you have three Hall of Fame running backs ready to carry the ball.

[17] With the highly potent offense, many thought San Francisco was due to win an NFL championship, but defensive problems landed the 49ers in third place behind the Lions and Bears in 1954.

[18] Writing for Jet magazine in 1955, sportswriter A. S. "Doc" Young called Perry "the bellwether of the greatest rushing backfield in pro football.

Johnson's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame came in 1987, and was an honor that contemporaries felt was fifteen years overdue.

[31][32] Perry was with San Francisco for fourteen of his sixteen seasons as a pro, during which he became one of the first black stars in American football.

[33][34] Despite sharing carries with McElhenny and Johnson, Perry's greatest individual success came while playing in the Million Dollar Backfield.

After a brief stint with the Baltimore Colts, Perry returned to the 49ers in 1963 for his final season, and he retired as the NFL's all-time leading rusher.

[33] On June 9, 2011, it was announced that Johnson and Perry, who died within months of each other, would have their brains examined by researchers at Boston University who are studying head injuries in sports.

Both men were suspected of suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disorder linked to repeated brain trauma.