The 1956 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 24th in the National Football League.

Offseason

NFL Draft

See also: 1956 NFL Draft
1956 Pittsburgh Steelers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 1 Gary Glick  DB Colorado A&M
1 5 Art Davis  DB Mississippi State
2 17 Joe Krupa *  DT Purdue
3 29 Jim Taylor  C Baylor
4 39 Dick Murley  T Purdue
5 52 Bill Murakowski  B Purdue
6 63 Ray Taylor  B TCU
7 76 Dick Gaspari  C George Washington
8 87 Vere Wellmen  G Wichita
9 100 Wayne Edmonds  G Notre Dame
10 111 Lou Baldacci  HB Michigan
10 118 Bob Nolan  E Miami (FL)
12 135 Phil Tarasovic  E Yale
13 148 Weldon Holley  B Baylor
14 159 Jim Emmons  T Alabama
16 183 Lionel Reed  B Central State (OK)
17 196 Bill Schmitt  G Pittsburgh
18 207 John Stephans  QB Holy Cross
19 220 Jerry Jacobs  G Florida State
20 231 Fred Glatz  E Pittsburgh
21 244 Gene Martell  T Notre Dame
22 255 Ray DiPasquale  B Pittsburgh
23 268 Pete Neft  QB Pittsburgh
24 279 Bryan Engram  E TCU
25 292 Bill O'Dell  B Clemson
26 303 Frank Sweeney  G Xavier
27 316 Buddy Benson  B Arkansas
28 327 Bill DeGraaf  B Cornell
29 340 Wes Thompson  T Alabama
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 August 17 vs. Detroit Lions L 15–20 0–1 Glass Bowl 11,912
2 August 25 vs. Baltimore Colts L 16–37 0–2 Nippert Stadium 12,500
3 September 8 Chicago Bears L 10–21 0–3 Forbes Field 22,194
4 September 15 vs. Philadelphia Eagles W 14–12 1–3 Metropolitan Stadium 14,742
5 September 22 vs. Los Angeles Rams W 20–17 2–3 Multnomah Stadium 20,559

[1]

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 30 Washington Redskins W 30–13 1–0 Forbes Field 27,718 Recap
2 October 6 Cleveland Browns L 10–14 1–1 Forbes Field 35,398 Recap
3 October 14 Philadelphia Eagles L 21–35 1–2 Forbes Field 31,375 Recap
4 October 21 at New York Giants L 10–38 1–3 Yankee Stadium 48,108 Recap
5 October 28 at Cleveland Browns W 24–16 2–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 50,358 Recap
6 November 4 New York Giants L 14–17 2–4 Forbes Field 31,240 Recap
7 November 11 at Philadelphia Eagles L 7–14 2–5 Connie Mack Stadium 22,652 Recap
8 November 18 Chicago Cardinals W 14–7 3–5 Forbes Field 24,086 Recap
9 November 25 at Chicago Cardinals L 27–38 3–6 Comiskey Park 17,724 Recap
10 December 2 Los Angeles Rams W 30–13 4–6 Forbes Field 20,540 Recap
11 December 9 at Detroit Lions L 7–45 4–7 Briggs Stadium 52,124 Recap
12 December 16 at Washington Redskins W 23–0 5–7 Griffith Stadium 21,097 Recap
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1 (Sunday September 30, 1956): Washington Redskins

1 2 3 4 Total
Redskins 0 6 0 7 13
Steelers 7 7 9 7 30

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 27,718
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

Week 2 (Saturday October 6, 1956): Cleveland Browns

1 2 3 4 Total
Browns 0 7 0 7 14
Steelers 0 10 0 0 10

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 35,398
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

  • Cleveland – Ratterman 1 run (Groza kick)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Glick 30
  • Pittsburgh – Chandnois 1 run (Glik kick)
  • Cleveland – Modzelewski 13 run (Groza kick)

Week 3 (Sunday October 14, 1956): Philadelphia Eagles

1 2 3 4 Total
Eagles 7 21 0 7 35
Steelers 0 0 7 14 21

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 31,375
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

  • Philadelphia – Schaefer 1 run (Walston kick)
  • Philadelphia – Walston 51 pass from Thomason (Walston kick)
  • Philadelphia – Bell 28 interception (Walston kick)
  • Philadelphia – Bredice 40 pass from Thomason (Walston kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Perry 15 pass from Marchibroda (Glick kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Mathews 64 pass from Marchibroda (Glick kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Mathews 20 pass from Marchibroda (Glick kick)
  • Philadelphia – Keller 51 run (Walston kick)

Week 4 (Sunday October 21, 1956): New York Giants

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 3 0 0 7 10
Giants 0 17 14 7 38

at Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 48,108
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

  • Pittsburgh – FG Glick 35
  • New York Giants – MacAfee 14 pass from Conerly (Agajanian kick)
  • New York Giants – Webster 21 pass from Conerly (Agajanian kick)
  • New York Giants – FG Agajanian 14
  • New York Giants – Gifford 1 run (Agajanian kick)
  • New York Giants – Rote 19 pass from Conerly (Agajanian kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Nickel 14 pass from Marchibroda (Glick kick)
  • New York Giants – Filpski 35 run (Agajanian kick)

Week 5 (Sunday October 28, 1956): Cleveland Browns

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 21 0 3 24
Browns 13 0 0 3 16

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 50,358
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

Week 6 (Sunday November 4, 1956): New York Giants

1 2 3 4 Total
Giants 7 3 7 0 17
Steelers 0 0 7 7 14

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 31,240
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

Week 7 (Sunday November 11, 1956): Philadelphia Eagles

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 7 0 0 0 7
Eagles 7 0 7 0 14

at Connie Mack Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 22,652
  • Referee: Jack Glascott
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

  • Pittsburgh – Marchibroda 1 run (Glick kick)
  • Philadelphia – Burnine 35 pass from Thomason (Walston kick)
  • Philadelphia – Keller 1 run (Walston kick)

Week 8 (Sunday November 18, 1956): Chicago Cardinals

1 2 3 4 Total
Cardinals 0 0 0 7 7
Steelers 7 0 7 0 14

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 24,086
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

  • Pittsburgh – Rogel 13 run (Glick kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Butler 6 fumble run (Glick kick)
  • Chicago Cardinals – Matson 45 pass from McHan (Summerall kick)

Week 9 (Sunday November 25, 1956): Chicago Cardinals

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 7 0 0 20 27
Cardinals 7 17 7 7 38

at Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 17,724
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

  • Chicago Cardinals – Root 3 run (Summerall kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Mathews 29 pass from Marchibroda (Watson kick)
  • Chicago Cardinals – Matson 1 run (Summerall kick)
  • Chicago Cardinals – FG Summerall 27
  • Chicago Cardinals – Matson 79 run (Summerall kick)
  • Chicago Cardinals – Childress 34 pass from Root (Summerall kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Ford 3 run (Watson kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Nickel 4 pass from Marchibroda (kick failed)
  • Chicago Cardinals – McHan 1 run (Summerall kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Ford 4 run (Watson kick)

Week 10 (Sunday December 2, 1956): Los Angeles Rams

1 2 3 4 Total
Giants 6 0 7 0 13
Steelers 7 7 0 7 21

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 20,540
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

  • Los Angeles – McFadin 21 fumble run (kick failed)
  • Pittsburgh – Nickel 22 pass from Scarbath (Watson kick)
  • Pittsburgh – FG Watson 16
  • Los Angeles – Boyd 61 pass from Wade (Richter kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Mathews 6 pass from Marchibroda (Watson kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Rogel 1 run (Watson kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Nickel 47 pass from Scarbath (kick failed)

Week 11 (Sunday December 9, 1956): Detroit Lions

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 7 0 0 7
Lions 14 24 7 0 45

at Briggs Stadium, Detroit, Michigan

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 52,124
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

  • Detroit – Hart 20 pass from Layne (Layne kick)
  • Detroit – Gedman 5 run (Layne kick)
  • Pittsburgh – Watson 1 run (Watson kick)
  • Detroit – Lary 73 interception (Layne kick)
  • Detroit – Christiansen 66 punt return (Layne kick)
  • Detroit – Christiansen 66 punt return (Layne kick)
  • Detroit – FG Layne 13
  • Detroit – Reichow 41 pass from Gilmer (Layne kick)

Week 12 (Sunday December 16, 1956): Washington Redskins

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 7 0 16 23
Redskins 0 0 0 0 0

at Griffith Stadium, Washington, DC

  • Game time:
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 49,086
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers:

Scoring drives:

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.

References

  1. ^ "1956 Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL)". Pro Football Archives.