# 1956 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1956 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's seventh season in the National Football League (NFL) (eleventh in team history).
San Francisco brought in a new head coach for the second straight season, replacing Red Strader with former 49ers quarterback Frankie Albert, who played with the team from their AAFC days in 1946 until 1952.
The Niners got off to a rough start, winning just one of their first seven games, before going unbeaten down the stretch. The team finished the year with a 5–6–1 record, good for 3rd place in the Western Conference.
Offensively, Y. A. Tittle threw for a team-high 1,641 yards and 7 touchdowns, and had 56.9% of his passes completed. Hugh McElhenny rushed for a team-best 916 yards and 8 touchdowns, while Billy Wilson caught a club-high 60 receptions for 889 yards, along with 5 touchdowns. Bob St. Clair blocked 10 field goal attempts.

## Pre-season
### 1956 NFL draft

1956 San Francisco 49ers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 2 | Earl Morrall * | Quarterback | Michigan State | |
| 2 | 15 | Bruce Bosley * | Center | West Virginia | |
| 3 | 26 | Bill Herchman | Defensive tackle | Texas Tech | |
| 4 | 40 | Frank Pajaczkowski | Back | Richmond | |
| 6 | 64 | Tony Sardisco | Guard | Tulane | |
| 7 | 75 | Larry Barnes | Fullback | Colorado State | played with 49ers in 1957. |
| 8 | 88 | Charley Smith | Defensive end | Abilene Christian | |
| 9 | 99 | Jim Cox | End | Cal Poly | |
| 10 | 112 | Jerry Zaleski | Back | Colorado State | |
| 11 | 123 | Stew Pell | Tackle | North Carolina | |
| 12 | 136 | Roger Swedberg | Tackle | Iowa | |
| 13 | 147 | Ralph Moody | Back | Kansas | |
| 14 | 160 | R. C. Owens | Halfback | College of Idaho | began play with 49ers in 1957. |
| 15 | 171 | Reed Henderson | Tackle | Utah State | signed with Edmonton Eskimos (WIFU) |
| 15 | 172 | Gene Boyd | Back | Abilene Christian | |
| 16 | 184 | George Herring | Quarterback | Mississippi Southern | |
| 17 | 195 | Dick Weiss | Tackle | Ole Miss | |
| 18 | 208 | Bill Yelverton | Defensive end | Ole Miss | |
| 19 | 219 | Pete Arrigoni | Back | Arizona | |
| 20 | 232 | Bob Scarbrough | Center | Auburn | |
| 21 | 243 | L.C. Joyner | Halfback | Contra Costa JC | |
| 22 | 256 | Clarence Wessman | End | San Jose State | |
| 23 | 267 | Mike Monroe | Back | Washington | |
| 24 | 280 | Ed Wallace | Tackle | San Diego City College | |
| 25 | 291 | Paul Goad | Fullback | Abilene Christian | |
| 26 | 304 | Rommie Loudd | Linebacker | UCLA | signed with BC Lions (WIFU) |
| 27 | 315 | Jerry Gustafson | Quarterback | Stanford | signed with BC Lions (WIFU) |
| 28 | 328 | Jerry Drew | Back | California | |
| 29 | 339 | Dean Benson | Guard | Willamette | |
| 30 | 351 | Bob Mitchell | Tackle | Puget Sound | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||
    Source:

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 30 | New York Giants | L 21–38 | 0–1 | Kezar Stadium | 41,751 | Recap |
| 2 | October 7 | Los Angeles Rams | W 33–30 | 1–1 | Kezar Stadium | 56,489 | Recap |
| 3 | October 14 | Chicago Bears | L 7–31 | 1–2 | Wrigley Field | 47,526 | Recap |
| 4 | October 21 | Detroit Lions | L 17–20 | 1–3 | Briggs Stadium | 55,662 | Recap |
| 5 | October 28 | Chicago Bears | L 21–38 | 1–4 | Kezar Stadium | 52,612 | Recap |
| 6 | November 4 | Detroit Lions | L 13–17 | 1–5 | Kezar Stadium | 46,708 | Recap |
| 7 | November 11 | Los Angeles Rams | L 6–30 | 1–6 | L.A. Memorial Coliseum | 69,828 | Recap |
| 8 | November 18 | Green Bay Packers | W 17–16 | 2–6 | City Stadium | 17,986 | Recap |
| 9 | November 25 | Philadelphia Eagles | T 10–10 | 2–6–1 | Connie Mack Stadium | 19,326 | Recap |
| 10 | December 2 | Baltimore Colts | W 20–17 | 3–6–1 | Memorial Stadium | 37,227 | Recap |
| 11 | December 8 | Green Bay Packers | W 38–20 | 4–6–1 | Kezar Stadium | 32,433 | Recap |
| 12 | December 16 | Baltimore Colts | W 30–17 | 5–6–1 | Kezar Stadium | 43,791 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. Saturday: December 8. |||||||||

## Standings

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.
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.