# 1956 Pittsburgh Steelers season

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

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1956 Pittsburgh Steelers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 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 | Location | Attendance |
| 1 | August 17 | vs. Detroit Lions | L 15–20 | 0–1 | Glass Bowl | Toledo, OH | 11,912 |
| 2 | August 25 | vs. Baltimore Colts | L 16–37 | 0–2 | Nippert Stadium | Cincinnati | 12,500 |
| 3 | September 8 | Chicago Bears | L 10–21 | 0–3 | Forbes Field | Pittsburgh | 22,194 |
| 4 | September 15 | vs. Philadelphia Eagles | W 14–12 | 1–3 | Metropolitan Stadium | Minneapolis | 14,742 |
| 5 | September 22 | vs. Los Angeles Rams | W 20–17 | 2–3 | Multnomah Stadium | Portland, OR | 20,559 |

## 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: Conference opponents are in bold text. |||||||||

## Standings

NFL Eastern Conference :
| viewtalkedit | 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.
NFL Western Conference :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Chicago Bears | 9 | 2 | 1 | .818 | 8–2 | 363 | 246 | W2 |
| Detroit Lions | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 8–2 | 300 | 188 | L1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 5 | 6 | 1 | .455 | 5–5 | 233 | 284 | W3 |
| Baltimore Colts | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 3–7 | 270 | 322 | W1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 3–7 | 291 | 307 | W2 |
| Green Bay Packers | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 3–7 | 264 | 342 | L2 |
    Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

## 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:
* Pittsburgh – Chandnois 2 run (Glick kick)
* Washington – FG Baker 42
* Pittsburgh – Marchibroda 1 run (Glick kick)
* Washington – FG Baker 41
* Pittsburgh – FG Glick 27
* Pittsburgh – Chandnois 17 pass from Marchibroda (kick blocked)
* Pittsburgh – Chandnois 5 run (Glick kick)
* Washington – Meilinger 13 pass from LeBaron (Baker kick)

### 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:
* Cleveland – Lavelli 68 pass from Parilli (kick failed)
* Cleveland – Paul 35 interception (Groza kick)
* Pittsburgh – Nickel 10 pass from Marchibroda (Glick kick)
* Pittsburgh – Chandnois 1 run (Glick kick)
* Pittsburgh – Perry 75 pass from Marchibroda (Glick kick)
* Cleveland – FG Groza 28
* Pittsburgh – FG Glick 11

### 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:
* New York Giants – Webster 1 run (Agajanian kick)
* New York Giants – FG Agajanian 32
* Pittsburgh – Watson 1 run (Glick kick)
* New York Giants – Rote 3 pass from Conerly (Agajanian kick)
* Pittsburgh – Watson 6 run (Glick kick)

### 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:
* Pittsburgh – Watson 1 run (Watson kick)
* Pittsburgh – Mathews 48 pass from Marchibroda (Watson kick)
* Pittsburgh – Butler 10 pass from Marchibroda (Watson kick)
* Pittsburgh – Safety, Dorow tackled by McPeak in end zone