Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bob St. Clair, who spent 11 seasons with the 49ers from 1953 through 1963, has died after a brief illness. He was 84.
A third-round draft pick (32nd overall) from Tulsa, St. Clair served for three years as a team captain and made it to five Pro Bowls.
He blocked for the team’s “Million Dollar Backfield.” In 1956, St. Clair used his height to block a whopping 10 field goals. Those efforts helped qualify him for the All-Decade team of the 1950s.
St. Clair also was once kicked in the face while trying to block a punt by Hall of Fame quarterback Norm Van Brocklin. St. Clair made the play, but he lost five teeth.
“I went over to the sideline and they shoved cotton in my mouth and until it got so bad I had to take Novocain in my mouth, but I kept playing,” St. Clair said in 2010.
Via his biography at the Hall of Fame website, St. Clair was an unusual character, with habits that included eating raw meat. Late in his playing career, St. Clair served as the mayor of Daly City, California.
The San Francisco native entered Canton in 1990, as part of the class that included Franco Harris, Jack Lambert, Tom Landry, Ted Hendricks, Bob Griese, and Buck Buchanan.
The last line of St. Clair’s enshrinement speech often pops up in NFL Films productions with this simple message: “I want to thank you very much for making my day in the sun so memorable.”
Condolences to the family and friends of Bob St. Clair, whose contributions to football at the dawn of the TV era helped make the game what it has become.