 NY Giants, champions | |
| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 30 – December 23, 1956 |
| East Champions | New York Giants |
| West Champions | Chicago Bears |
| Championship Game | |
| Champions | New York Giants |
The1956 NFL season was the 37thregular season of theNational Football League.
With previous television partnerDuMont Television Network ending operations prior to the 1956 season,CBS began carrying regular season games of 11 of its 12 member clubs across its network nationwide.
The season ended when theNew York Giants defeated theChicago Bears in theNFL Championship Game,47–7.
The1956 NFL draft was held on November 28, 1955, and January 17–18, 1956 atThe Warwick andthe Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia and theAmbassador Hotel in Los Angeles. With the first pick, thePittsburgh Steelers selected quarterback and safetyGary Glick from theColorado State University.
The Lions and the Cardinals had both finished 1955 poorly, 3–9 and 4–7–1, but both got off to fast starts in 1956. Both ended up finishing second in the Division races.
The Chicago Cardinals got off to their best start ever, going 4–0, until the Redskins beat them 17–14 on October 28. At the midway point, they and the Giants both had 5–1 records. In the Western Division, the Detroit Lions roared to a 6–0 start. InWeek Seven (November 11), the Giants pulled ahead with a 23–10 win over the Cards. In Washington, the Lions finally lost. Trapped on his own 1-yard line,Yale Lary took a safety in order to get a free kick. That, and Sam Baker's field goal, gave the Redskins an 18–10 lead to put the game out of reach, and the Lions lost 18–17. The Bears, who had dropped their opener at Baltimore, 28–21, beat Green Bay 38–14 for their sixth straight game, matching Detroit's 6–1 record.
InWeek Nine, the Lions dropped their Thanksgiving Day game asTobin Rote guided Green Bay to three last-quarter touchdowns in a 24–20 win. On Sunday, the Cards 38–27 win over Pittsburgh put them a half game out. The Bears avoided a loss, while the Giants watched a win elude them, as Harlon Hill caught a last-ditch 56-yard touchdown pass from Ed Brown in tying the Giants, 17–17. Both the Bears and the Giants continued to lead their conferences, but only by half a game.[1]
The Cards lost the next two games and any chance at the Eastern title, which the Giants clinched, in part because of a 28–14 win over Washington on December 2. The Western race came down to the Bears and Lions. InWeek Ten (December 2), the Lions hosted the Bears and won 42–10, to take the lead. When both teams won the following week, the trip to the championship came down to December 16, the last game of the season, which would have the 9–2 Detroit Lions visiting the 8–2–1 Chicago Bears, who hadn't forgotten the earlier drubbing. The game at Wrigley Field was marked by numerous fights, including a fourth quarter melee involving players, fans, and the police,[2] and a vicious hit well behind the play by the Bears'Ed Meadows that knocked Detroit quarterbackBobby Layne out of the game with a concussion. So, the Bears exacted their revenge with a 38–21 victory. After the game Lions' coachBuddy Parker appealed to the commissioner to punish what the Lions felt was the dirty play ofGeorge Halas's Bears, but no ruling was forthcoming.
| Week | Western | Eastern | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 teams (Bal, Det, LA) | 1–0–0 | 3 teams (Cards, NYG, Pit) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | Detroit Lions | 2–0–0 | Chicago Cardinals | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | Detroit Lions | 3–0–0 | Chicago Cardinals | 3–0–0 |
| 4 | Detroit Lions | 4–0–0 | Chicago Cardinals | 4–0–0 |
| 5 | Detroit Lions | 5–0–0 | Tie (Cards, NYG) | 4–1–0 |
| 6 | Detroit Lions | 6–0–0 | Tie (Cards, NYG) | 5–1–0 |
| 7 | Tie (Bears, Lions) | 6–1–0 | New York Giants | 6–1–0 |
| 8 | Tie (Bears, Lions) | 7–1–0 | New York Giants | 6–2–0 |
| 9 | Chicago Bears | 7–1–1 | New York Giants | 7–1–1 |
| 10 | Detroit Lions | 8–2–0 | New York Giants | 7–2–1 |
| 11 | Detroit Lions | 9–2–0 | New York Giants | 7–3–1 |
| 12 | Chicago Bears | 9–2–1 | New York Giants | 8–3–1 |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NY Giants 47, Chi. Bears 7 atYankee Stadium, New York City, December 30, 1956
TheNew York Giants moved from thePolo Grounds toYankee Stadium
