49ers Hall of Fame legend once lost 5 teeth while making a play

Hall of Famer Bob St. Clair is a 49ers legend, but most fans don't know about his football-related need for dental work.

Gridiron masters of the 1950s were truly a different breed.

Today's NFL has all kinds of injury lists and built-in protections for players to guard against such injuries. Granted, it makes sense, given the millions upon millions invested in such players, and no one wants to see favorite stars hurt.

But, rewinding back to pre-modern eras of football, one can only fathom the kind of injuries players experienced and what they played through.

Including the late great, San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame offensive tackle Bob St. Clair.

St. Clair is one of the greatest players in Niners history, and some still view him as the greatest offensive lineman to ever wear red and gold colors.

The five-time Pro Bowler and five-time second-team All-Pro spent his entire 11-year career with the Niners, and his No. 79 jersey has long since been retired by the franchise.

In addition to the accolades, St. Clair deserves a bit more recognition, including one specific event that stands out as one of the teeth-grinding (pun intended) incidents in San Francisco history.

Bob St. Clair lost 5 teeth trying to block a punt

Called "The Geek" by his teammates, and also having a reputation for eating raw meat on the field, St. Clair was no stranger to cementing his legendary status.

One one particular special teams play, St. Clair was attempting to block a punt and ended up getting kicked in the mouth, losing five (or six, according to him) teeth in the process.

Today, such an incident would result in an injury timeout, a lengthy delay and the player probably not returning to the field at any point soon.

For St. Clair, though, he merely picked them up and got back in the huddle, the event described by him in the archived video shared below:

Judging by St. Clair's post-career photos and videos, it seems as if he was able to get some excellent cosmetic dentistry done that made fans forget he once lost a bunch of his chompers on the field.

That doesn't negate his gritty tenacity whatsoever, though.

St. Clair passed away in 2015 at the age of 84.

Read more from Niner Noise