1956 Washington Redskins season
| 1956 Washington Redskins season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | George Preston Marshall |
| General manager | Dick McCann |
| Head coach | Joe Kuharich |
| Home stadium | Griffith Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 6–6 |
| Division place | 3rd NFL Eastern |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
The 1956 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 25th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 20th in Washington, D.C. The team failed to improve on their 8–4 record from 1955 and finished 6–6.
From the 1955 season until 1962, the Redskins were the last bastion of racial segregation in the NFL, refusing to include a single black player on their roster, unlike the other 12 teams in the league.[1]
Offseason
NFL draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School/Club team |
|---|
Preseason
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 17 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 39–21 | 1–0 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 82,788 |
| 2 | August 26 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 0–20 | 1–1 | Kezar Stadium | 27,812 |
| 3 | September 1 | vs. Chicago Bears | L 3–17 | 1–2 | War Memorial Stadium (Little Rock, AR) | 16,000 |
| 4 | September 8 | vs. Green Bay Packers | W 17–10 | 2–2 | Bowman Gray Stadium (Winston-Salem, NC) | 13,500 |
| 5 | September 16 | at Baltimore Colts | L 13–27 | 2–3 | Baltimore Memorial Stadium | 28,471 |
| 6 | September 23 | vs. Detroit Lions | W 19–17 | 3–3 | Civic Stadium (Buffalo, NY) | 23,812 |
Regular season
Schedule
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 30 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 13–30 | 0–1 | Forbes Field | 27,718 | Recap | ||
| 2 | October 6 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 9–13 | 0–2 | Connie Mack Stadium | 26,607 | Recap | ||
| 3 | October 14 | Chicago Cardinals | L 3–31 | 0–3 | Griffith Stadium | 25,794 | Recap | ||
| 4 | October 21 | Cleveland Browns | W 20–9 | 1–3 | Griffith Stadium | 23,332 | Recap | ||
| 5 | October 28 | at Chicago Cardinals | W 17–14 | 2–3 | Comiskey Park | 30,553 | Recap | ||
| — | Bye | ||||||||
| 6 | November 11 | Detroit Lions | W 18–17 | 3–3 | Griffith Stadium | 28,003 | Recap | ||
| 7 | November 18 | New York Giants | W 33–7 | 4–3 | Griffith Stadium | 26,261 | Recap | ||
| 8 | November 25 | at Cleveland Browns | W 20–17 | 5–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 22,878 | Recap | ||
| 9 | December 2 | at New York Giants | L 14–28 | 5–4 | Yankee Stadium | 26,261 | Recap | ||
| 10 | December 9 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 19–17 | 6–4 | Griffith Stadium | 22,333 | Recap | ||
| 11 | December 16 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 0–23 | 6–5 | Griffith Stadium | 21,097 | Recap | ||
| 12 | December 23 | at Baltimore Colts | L 17–19 | 6–6 | Memorial Stadium | 32,994 | Recap | ||
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. | |||||||||
Standings
| NFL Eastern Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK | ||
| New York Giants | 8 | 3 | 1 | .727 | 7–3 | 264 | 197 | W1 | |
| Chicago Cardinals | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 7–3 | 240 | 182 | W1 | |
| Washington Redskins | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 5–5 | 183 | 225 | L2 | |
| Cleveland Browns | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 4–6 | 167 | 177 | L1 | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 4–6 | 217 | 250 | W1 | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 3 | 8 | 1 | .273 | 3–7 | 143 | 215 | L3 | |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Personnel
Roster
Quarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE)
|
Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
|
Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
Special teams (ST)
|
Reserve
|
References
- ^ Ryan Basen, "Fifty Years Ago, Last Outpost of Segregation in NFL Fell," New York Times, Oct. 6, 2012.