Ranking the top 25 running backs in NFL history…

23. Joe Perry

Signed by the San Francisco 49ers in 1948 after Navy service and junior college play at Compton, Joe Perry, nicknamed “The Jet,” became a trailblazing running back/fullback in the All-America Football Conference before the NFL merger in 1950. He starred for the 49ers (1948-1960, 1963), with a two-year stint at the Baltimore Colts (1961-1962).

Perry’s landmark seasons were 1953 and 1954, becoming the first player to rush for 1,000 yards consecutively (1,018 and 1,049), leading the NFL in carries, rushing yards, and yards from scrimmage both years.

In 1954, he earned NFL MVP as the first African-American recipient, part of the famed “Million Dollar Backfield” with Hugh McElhenny, John Henry Johnson, and Y.A. Tittle.

He held

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