Hugh McElhenny is a Hall of Fame running back whose career earned a solid career value score of 62 in the Knox value model. McElhenny's enshrinement reflects a career that consistently placed him among the elite of his generation.
H
Hugh McElhenny
All-Time Rank & Honors
career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title contextYes
Hall of Fame
Season honors and record seasons
A top 20% all-time running back who consistently made an impact across multiple seasons.
Career Value · VORP
VORP 80 · #1427 · Above AverageWorth 80 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back — top 32% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 7 of 10 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +11.4 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
7 cleared
3 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit
50
Replacement
the KC-H bar
→
7
Seasons over
cleared the bar
×
+11.4
Avg surplus
peak +28
7 seasons × ~11.4 surplus ≈ VORP 80
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping.
2 grids split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | TD% | 1D | 1D% | Fmb | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | |||||
| 1952 | — | SF | 12 | — | 98 | 684 | 6 | 7.0 | 6.1 | — | — | — | — | 26 | 367 | 3 | — | 14.1 | — | — | — |
| 1953 | — | SF | 12 | — | 112 | 503 | 3 | 4.5 | 2.7 | — | — | — | — | 30 | 474 | 2 | — | 15.8 | — | — | — |
| 1954 | — | SF | 6 | — | 64 | 515 | 6 | 8.0 | 9.4 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 162 | 0 | — | 20.3 | — | — | — |
| 1955 | — | SF | 8 | — | 90 | 327 | 4 | 3.6 | 4.4 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 203 | 2 | — | 18.5 | — | — | — |
| 1956 | — | SF | 11 | — | 185 | 916 | 8 | 5.0 | 4.3 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 193 | 0 | — | 12.1 | — | — | — |
| 1957 | — | SF | 10 | — | 102 | 478 | 1 | 4.7 | 1.0 | — | — | — | — | 37 | 458 | 2 | — | 12.4 | — | — | — |
| 1958 | — | SF | 12 | — | 113 | 451 | 6 | 4.0 | 5.3 | — | — | — | — | 31 | 366 | 2 | — | 11.8 | — | — | — |
| 1959 | — | SF | 9 | — | 18 | 67 | 1 | 3.7 | 5.6 | — | — | — | — | 22 | 329 | 3 | — | 15.0 | — | — | — |
| 1960 | — | SF | 9 | — | 95 | 347 | 0 | 3.7 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 114 | 1 | — | 8.1 | — | — | — |
| 1961 | — | MIN | 13 | — | 120 | 570 | 3 | 4.8 | 2.5 | — | — | — | — | 37 | 283 | 3 | — | 7.6 | — | — | — |
| 1962 | — | MIN | 3 | — | 50 | 200 | 0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 191 | 0 | — | 11.9 | — | — | — |
| 1963 | — | NYG | 1 | — | 55 | 175 | 0 | 3.2 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 91 | 2 | — | 8.3 | — | — | — |
| 1964 | — | DET | 1 | — | 22 | 48 | 0 | 2.2 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 16 | 0 | — | 3.2 | — | — | — |
| Career | — | 107 | — | 1,124 | 5,281 | 38 | 4.7 | 3.4 | — | — | — | 0 | 264 | 3,247 | 20 | — | 12.3 | — | — | — | |
Rushing
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | TD% | 1D | 1D% | Fmb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | 24 | SF | 12 | — | 98 | 684 | 6 | 7.0 | 6.1 | — | — | — |
| 1953 | 25 | SF | 12 | — | 112 | 503 | 3 | 4.5 | 2.7 | — | — | — |
| 1954 | 26 | SF | 6 | — | 64 | 515 | 6 | 8.0 | 9.4 | — | — | — |
| 1955 | 27 | SF | 8 | — | 90 | 327 | 4 | 3.6 | 4.4 | — | — | — |
| 1956 | 28 | SF | 11 | — | 185 | 916 | 8 | 5.0 | 4.3 | — | — | — |
| 1957 | 29 | SF | 10 | — | 102 | 478 | 1 | 4.7 | 1.0 | — | — | — |
| 1958 | 30 | SF | 12 | — | 113 | 451 | 6 | 4.0 | 5.3 | — | — | — |
| 1959 | 31 | SF | 9 | — | 18 | 67 | 1 | 3.7 | 5.6 | — | — | — |
| 1960 | 32 | SF | 9 | — | 95 | 347 | 0 | 3.7 | 0.0 | — | — | — |
| 1961 | 33 | MIN | 13 | — | 120 | 570 | 3 | 4.8 | 2.5 | — | — | — |
| 1962 | 34 | MIN | 3 | — | 50 | 200 | 0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — |
| 1963 | 35 | NYG | 1 | — | 55 | 175 | 0 | 3.2 | 0.0 | — | — | — |
| 1964 | 36 | DET | 1 | — | 22 | 48 | 0 | 2.2 | 0.0 | — | — | — |
| Career | 107 | 1,124 | 5,281 | 38 | 4.7 | — | — | — | — |
Receiving
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | 24 | SF | 12 | — | — | 26 | 367 | 3 | — | 14.1 | — | — | — |
| 1953 | 25 | SF | 12 | — | — | 30 | 474 | 2 | — | 15.8 | — | — | — |
| 1954 | 26 | SF | 6 | — | — | 8 | 162 | 0 | — | 20.3 | — | — | — |
| 1955 | 27 | SF | 8 | — | — | 11 | 203 | 2 | — | 18.5 | — | — | — |
| 1956 | 28 | SF | 11 | — | — | 16 | 193 | 0 | — | 12.1 | — | — | — |
| 1957 | 29 | SF | 10 | — | — | 37 | 458 | 2 | — | 12.4 | — | — | — |
| 1958 | 30 | SF | 12 | — | — | 31 | 366 | 2 | — | 11.8 | — | — | — |
| 1959 | 31 | SF | 9 | — | — | 22 | 329 | 3 | — | 15.0 | — | — | — |
| 1960 | 32 | SF | 9 | — | — | 14 | 114 | 1 | — | 8.1 | — | — | — |
| 1961 | 33 | MIN | 13 | — | — | 37 | 283 | 3 | — | 7.6 | — | — | — |
| 1962 | 34 | MIN | 3 | — | — | 16 | 191 | 0 | — | 11.9 | — | — | — |
| 1963 | 35 | NYG | 1 | — | — | 11 | 91 | 2 | — | 8.3 | — | — | — |
| 1964 | 36 | DET | 1 | — | — | 5 | 16 | 0 | — | 3.2 | — | — | — |
| Career | 107 | 0 | 264 | 3,247 | 20 | — | 12.3 | — | — | — |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 62 · Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 62 of 100, era-normalized against rush yds/g peers across 10 scored seasons.
57
Sustained
career value
×.6
64
Peak
best 3 seasons
×.4
×1
Longevity
career length
Blend 59.8 × longevity 1 = KV-H 62· confidence 98%
What builds the career mark of 57
On-field 39.9
Availability 17.1
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rush yds/g)
1952bestavg 56elite 701961
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position29
Depth
of 100
Reached 29% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
29% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader29
1 category ≥25% of the all-time leader33
A 0–100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leaderat this position. Built only from visible encyclopedia data — career production vs. the all-time leader, plus efficiency (EPA) and comparable-player confidence — so it's a transparent context score, not a subjective rating. Tiers: Elite ≥ 85 · Strong ≥ 65 · Solid ≥ 45 · Depth < 45. Comparable-player confidence: 95%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average · KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average RBs aging curve. Group peak age: 21. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
From Scrimmage · Career
Scrimmage Yds
8,528
5,281 rush · 3,247 recv
Total TDs
58
38 rush · 20 recv
Total Touches
1,388
1,124 carries · 264 rec
Yds / Touch
6.1
rushing + receiving
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Compton Washington), but no parsed college box-score table is present in this profile artifact. The section stays here so every profile has a consistent college-stats landing point without fabricating unavailable rows.
Reference Graph
Career teammates and draft class, derived from year-by-year rosters — every name is linked.
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1964team change
Joined DET (from NYG)
- 1964final season
Last recorded season with DET
- 1963team change
Joined NYG (from MIN)
- 1961team change
Joined MIN (from SF)
- 1952signing
Entered the NFL with SF
Knox
StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works →
Historical Knox · KV-H
Era-normalized career quality — z-scored against 10-season peers. See all →
62
peak 64
Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season
B+1952
B1953
C+1954
C+1955
B+1956
C+1957
C+1958
D1959
C+1960
C+1961
Availability
Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 13 seasons.
65%
Era Translator
Rush Yds translated to the 2025NFL — each season's standing among its own-era peers, projected onto 2025's scoring environment. Modern-era (1999+) coverage.
| Season | Actual Rush Yds | Rush Yds/G | → 2025 Rush Yds | → 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | 684 | 57 | 958+274 | 56.3 |
| 1953 | 503 | 41.9 | 679+176 | 40 |
| 1954 | 515 | 85.8 | 1,250+735 | 73.5 |
| 1955 | 327 | 40.9 | 485+158 | 28.5 |
| 1956 | 916 | 83.3 | 1,405+489 | 82.6 |
| 1957 | 478 | 47.8 | 545+67 | 32.1 |
| 1958 | 451 | 37.6 | 250-201 | 14.7 |
| 1959 | 67 | 7.4 | 0-67 | 0 |
| 1960 | 347 | 38.6 | 325-22 | 19.1 |
| 1961 | 570 | 43.8 | 424-146 | 24.9 |
Data: wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), wikipedia:pfhof-inductee-list · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 7/10/2026
Career Value · VORP
80 career value over replacement — #1427 all-time of 4,642. 8/season above a replacement-level RB.
Fan Rating
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