Ken Willard
Selected by the 49ers with the second overall pick in the 1965 NFL Draft out of North Carolina, Ken Willard would spend 10 years in the NFL and leave San Francisco as their second-best All-Time Leading Rusher up to that time. He attended North Carolina on a baseball scholarship and the story goes that he had been offered $100,000 by the Red Sox (with Ted Williams as the messenger) when he graduated from high school but chose UNC instead.
Ken Willard’s 1965 rookie season set the tone for his career, rushing for team-high 778 yards and five touchdowns while adding 34 receptions. He would lead the 49ers in rushing for 7 of the 10 seasons he was there and make the Pro Bowl 4 times. His best season coming in 1968, his 3rd Pro Bowl year, he had 227 carries, 967 yards on the ground, 1199 yards from scrimmage and 7 touchdowns. He also had his best game in 1968 – a 162 yard on 25 carries and 2 touchdowns against the Falcons in December.
He was traded to St. Louis after the 1973 season after 9 years and 125 games as a 49er. He left San Francisco as the franchise’s #2 All-Time Leading Rusher (behind the great Joe Perry) with 5930 yards on 1582 carries, a 3.7 YPC average and 45 rushing TDs. Add to that 273 catches, 2156 yards and another 16 receiving touchdowns for a total of 1855 touches, 8086 yards from scrimmage and 61 Total Touchdowns. Incidentally, those 273 catches were #3 on the 49er All-Time Pass Receptions list when he went to the Cardinals.
As of the 2024 NFL season he still ranks #4 among All-Time Leading San Francisco 49er runners. Ken Willard’s contributions earned him a place in the 49ers Hall of Fame and while he may be over-looked by modern fans and his accomplishments may be somewhat overshadowed by the franchise’s later success during the Joe Montana and Steve Young eras, old photographs of number 40 plunging through defensive lines or catching swing passes out of the backfield capture a player who embodied the toughness and versatility that defined NFL football in the 1960s.
Image Gallery of Ken Willard, Running Back 1965-1974
Ken Willard Football Cards and Covers
Ken Willard All Time Career Statistics
| Rushing | Recieving | Total Scrimmage | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Age | Team | Pos | # | Games | Starts | Carries | Yards | Y/A | Long | TD | Catches | Yds | Y/R | Long | TD | Touches | Y/Tch | YScm | TDs | Fumb |
| 1965* | 22 | SFO | FB | 40 | 14 | 14 | 189 | 778 | 4.1 | 32 | 5 | 32 | 253 | 7.9 | 29 | 4 | 221 | 4.7 | 1031 | 9 | 7 |
| 1966* | 23 | SFO | FB | 40 | 14 | 14 | 191 | 763 | 4.0 | 49 | 5 | 42 | 351 | 8.4 | 62 | 2 | 233 | 4.8 | 1114 | 7 | 7 |
| 1967 | 24 | SFO | FB | 40 | 13 | 13 | 169 | 510 | 3.0 | 20 | 5 | 23 | 242 | 10.5 | 25 | 1 | 192 | 3.9 | 752 | 6 | 1 |
| 1968* | 25 | SFO | RB | 40 | 14 | 14 | 227 | 967 | 4.3 | 69 | 7 | 36 | 232 | 6.4 | 20 | 0 | 263 | 4.6 | 1199 | 7 | 4 |
| 1969* | 26 | SFO | RB | 40 | 14 | 14 | 171 | 557 | 3.3 | 18 | 7 | 36 | 326 | 9.1 | 36 | 3 | 207 | 4.3 | 883 | 10 | 6 |
| 1970 | 27 | SFO | FB | 40 | 14 | 14 | 236 | 789 | 3.3 | 20 | 7 | 31 | 259 | 8.4 | 32 | 3 | 267 | 3.9 | 1048 | 10 | 3 |
| 1971 | 28 | SFO | RB | 40 | 14 | 14 | 216 | 855 | 4.0 | 49 | 4 | 27 | 202 | 7.5 | 33 | 1 | 243 | 4.3 | 1057 | 5 | 8 |
| 1972 | 29 | SFO | FB | 40 | 14 | 11 | 100 | 345 | 3.5 | 23 | 4 | 24 | 131 | 5.5 | 15 | 1 | 124 | 3.8 | 476 | 5 | 3 |
| 1973 | 30 | SFO | FB | 40 | 14 | 10 | 83 | 366 | 4.4 | 33 | 1 | 22 | 160 | 7.3 | 26 | 1 | 105 | 5.0 | 526 | 2 | 2 |
| 1974 | 31 | STL | RB | 20 | 7 | 2 | 40 | 175 | 4.4 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 28 | 7.0 | 17 | 1 | 44 | 4.6 | 203 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 seasons 49ers | 125 | 118 | 1582 | 5930 | 3.7 | 69 | 45 | 273 | 2156 | 7.9 | 62 | 16 | 1855 | 4.4 | 8086 | 61 | 41 | ||||
| 1 season Cardinals | 7 | 2 | 40 | 175 | 4.4 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 28 | 7.0 | 17 | 1 | 44 | 4.6 | 203 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 10 Year NFL Career | 132 | 120 | 1622 | 6105 | 3.8 | 69 | 45 | 277 | 2184 | 7.9 | 62 | 17 | 1899 | 4.4 | 8289 | 62 | 41 | ||||
| Rushing | Receiving | Total Scrimmage | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Age | Team | Games | Carries | Yds | Y/A | Lng | TD | Catches | Yards | Y/R | Long | TD | Touch | Y/Tch | YScm | TDs | uFmb |
| 1970 | 27 | SFO | 2 | 40 | 127 | 3.2 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 13.3 | 18 | 0 | 43 | 3.9 | 167 | 0 | 2 |
| 1971 | 28 | SFO | 2 | 25 | 49 | 2.0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 10 | 0 | 27 | 2.4 | 65 | 0 | 0 |
| 1974 | 31 | STL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 49ers Post Season Totals | 4 | 65 | 176 | 2.7 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 56 | 11.2 | 18 | 0 | 70 | 3.3 | 232 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Cardinals Post Season | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Post Season Totals | 5 | 66 | 176 | 2.7 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 56 | 11.2 | 18 | 0 | 71 | 3.3 | 232 | 0 | 2 | ||
- * – Pro Bowl Selection
