# 1956 Philadelphia Eagles season

The 1956 Philadelphia Eagles season was their 24th in the league. They failed to improve on their previous output of 4–7–1, winning only three games. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.

## Off Season

The Eagles change coaches during the off season. Jim Trimble was fired on December 12, and they hired Hugh Devore. Jim Trimble's legacy is more connected to football products, thanks to his "slingshot" goal posts. In 1966 would design and market the idea. Today they are the common goal post at football games.
For the 6th year in a row the Eagles hold training camp in Hershey, Pennsylvania. They continued to hold training camp there until 1967.

### NFL Draft

The 1956 NFL draft was held on November 29, 1955. The draft was 30 rounds long, with 12 teams making picks. A total of 360 players were selected. The Pittsburgh Steelers got this year's Lottery Bonus Pick and with it they selected Gary Glick a Quarterback that went to Colorado State University.
The 1955 Eagles finished with a 4–7–1 record and will get to pick 4th or 5th in the rounds with the Chicago Cardinals. With their first round pick the Eagles selected Bob Pellegrini He was featured on the cover of the November 7, 1955, edition of Sports Illustrated magazine. a Center from the University of Maryland, College Park. The Eagles made a total of 30 picks in this year's draft.

### Player selections

The table shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.
| = Pro Bowler | = Hall of Famer |
| Rd | Pick | Player | Position | School |
| 1 | 4 | Bob Pellegrini | Center | Maryland Terrapins |
| 2 | 16 | Frank D'Agostino | Tackle | Auburn Tigers |
| 3 | 28 | Don Schaefer | Back | Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
| 4 | 41 | $_{ChoicetoWashingtonRedskins}$ | | |
| 5 | 54 | Fred "Fuzzy" Thurston | Guard | Valparaiso Crusaders |
| 6 | 65 | Tirrel Burton | Back | Miami (OH) RedHawks |
| 7 | 78 | John Waedekin | Tackle | Hardin–Simmons Cowboys |
| 8 | 89 | Elroy Payne | Back | McMurry University Warhawks |
| 9 | 102 | Johnny Bredice | End | Boston University Terriers |
| 10 | 113 | Tom Dimmick | Center | Houston Cougars |
| 11 | 126 | Ken Keller | Back | North Carolina Tar Heels |
| 12 | 137 | Tommy Harkins | End | Vanderbilt Commodores |
| 13 | 150 | James Sides | Back | Texas Tech Red Raiders |
| 14 | 161 | Frank Reich | Center | Penn State Nittany Lions |
| 15 | 174 | Don Brant | Back | University of Montana Grizzlies |
| 16 | 185 | Billy Hix | Tackle | Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders |
| 17 | 198 | Joe Mastrogiovanni | Back | University of Wyoming Cowboys |
| 18 | 209 | Nick Consoles | Defensive back | Wake Forest Demon Deacons |
| 19 | 222 | Delano Womack | Back | Texas Longhorns |
| 20 | 233 | Darrell Glover | Tackle | Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks |
| 21 | 246 | Jack Adams | Tackle | San Jose State Spartans |
| 22 | 257 | Joe Miller | Back | Cincinnati Bearcats |
| 23 | 270 | Chet Spencer | End | Oklahoma State Cowboys |
| 24 | 281 | John Parham | Back | Wake Forest |
| 25 | 294 | Johnny Grogan | Tackle | University of Dayton Flyers |
| 26 | 305 | Earl Lunsford | Back | Oklahoma State |
| 27 | 318 | Al Ellett | Tackle | University of Alabama Crimson Tide |
| 28 | 329 | Bill Strawn | Linebacker | Western Kentucky Hilltoppers |
| 29 | 342 | Bob Hughes | Back | Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles |
| 30 | 352 | Joe Ulm | Back | San Jose State |

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 30 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 7–27 | 0–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 54,412 | Recap |
| 2 | October 6 | Washington Redskins | W 13–9 | 1–1 | Connie Mack Stadium | 26,607 | Recap |
| 3 | October 14 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 35–21 | 2–1 | Forbes Field | 31,375 | Recap |
| 4 | October 21 | Chicago Cardinals | L 6–20 | 2–2 | Connie Mack Stadium | 36,545 | Recap |
| 5 | October 28 | at New York Giants | L 3–20 | 2–3 | Yankee Stadium | 40,960 | Recap |
| 6 | November 4 | at Chicago Cardinals | L 17–28 | 2–4 | Comiskey Park | 27,609 | Recap |
| 7 | November 11 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 14–7 | 3–4 | Connie Mack Stadium | 22,652 | Recap |
| 8 | November 18 | Cleveland Browns | L 0–16 | 3–5 | Connie Mack Stadium | 25,894 | Recap |
| 9 | November 25 | San Francisco 49ers | T 10–10 | 3–5–1 | Connie Mack Stadium | 19,326 | Recap |
| 10 | December 2 | at Cleveland Browns | L 14–17 | 3–6–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 20,654 | Recap |
| 11 | December 9 | at Washington Redskins | L 17–19 | 3–7–1 | Griffith Stadium | 22,333 | Recap |
| 12 | December 15 | New York Giants | L 7–21 | 3–8–1 | Connie Mack Stadium | 16,562 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-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.

## Roster

(All time List of Philadelphia Eagles players in franchise history)
| = 1956 Pro Bowl | = Hall of Famer |
* + = Was a Starter in the Pro-Bowl
| NO. | Player | AGE | POS | GP | GS | WT | HT | YRS | College |
| | Hugh Devore | | COACH | $_{1956record}$ 3–8–1 | $_{EaglesLifetime}$ 3–8–1 | $_{NFLLifetime}$ 3–10–1 | | 1st | University of Notre Dame |
| 20 | Bibbles Bawel | 26 | DB | 12 | 0 | 185 | 6–1 | 4 | Evansville |
| 60 | Chuck Bednarik | 31 | LB-C | 12 | 0 | 233 | 6–3 | 7 | Pennsylvania |
| 81 | Eddie Bell | 25 | DB-LB | 12 | 0 | 212 | 6–1 | 1 | Pennsylvania |
| 33 | Will Berzinski | 22 | HB | 4 | 0 | 195 | 6–2 | Rookie | Wisconsin-LaCrosse |
| 36 | Dick Bielski | 24 | E-FB | 12 | 0 | 224 | 6–1 | 1 | Maryland |
| 89 | John Bredice | 22 | E | 12 | 0 | 213 | 6–1 | Rookie | Boston University |
| 40 | Tom Brookshier | 25 | DB | 11 | 0 | 196 | 6–0 | 3 | Colorado |
| 10 | Adrian Burk | 29 | QB | 12 | 3 | 190 | 6–2 | 6 | Baylor |
| 84 | Hank Burnine | 24 | E | 7 | 0 | 188 | 6–2 | Rookie | Missouri |
| 78 | Marion Campbell | 27 | DE-DT-MG-G-T | 12 | 0 | 250 | 6–3 | 2 | Georgia |
| 66 | Frank D'Agostino | 22 | G-T | 12 | 0 | 245 | 6–1 | Rookie | Auburn |
| 65 | Tom Dimmick | 25 | C-T-LB | 12 | 0 | 253 | 6–6 | Rookie | Houston |
| 27 | Hal Giancanelli | 27 | HB | 7 | 0 | 182 | 5–10 | 3 | Loyola Marymount |
| 64 | Abe Gibron | 31 | G | 2 | 0 | 243 | 5–11 | 7 | $_{Purdue,andValparaiso}$ |
| 63 | Ken Huxhold | 27 | G | 12 | 0 | 226 | 6–1 | 2 | Wisconsin |
| 23 | Ken Keller | 22 | HB | 11 | 0 | 180 | 5–10 | Rookie | North Carolina |
| 50 | Bob Kelley | 26 | C | 12 | 0 | 232 | 6–2 | 1 | West Texas A&M |
| 71 | Don King | 27 | DE-DT | 3 | 0 | 260 | 6–3 | 2 | Kentucky |
| 79 | Buck Lansford | 23 | G-T | 12 | 12 | 232 | 6–2 | 1 | Texas |
| 68 | Dick Murley | 23 | T | 5 | 0 | 247 | 6–0 | Rookie | Purdue |
| 68 | Maury Nipp | 26 | G | 3 | 0 | 219 | 6–0 | 4 | Loyola Marymount |
| 41 | Jerry Norton | 25 | DB-HB | 6 | 0 | 195 | 5–11 | 2 | SMU |
| 43 | Jim Parmer | 30 | FB-HB | 4 | 0 | 193 | 6–0 | 8 | Oklahoma State |
| 53 | Bob Pellegrini | 22 | LB-G | 12 | 0 | 233 | 6–2 | Rookie | Maryland |
| 25 | Pete Retzlaff | 25 | E-HB-TE | 10 | 0 | 211 | 6–1 | Rookie | South Dakota State |
| 71 | Jim Ricca | 29 | MG-T-G-DT | 1 | 0 | 270 | 6–4 | 5 | Georgetown (DC) |
| 72 | Jess Richardson | 26 | DT | 11 | 0 | 261 | 6–2 | 3 | Alabama |
| 22 | Lee Riley | 24 | DB | 9 | 0 | 192 | 6–1 | 1 | Detroit Mercy |
| 52 | Wayne Robinson | 26 | LB-C | 11 | 0 | 225 | 6–2 | 4 | Minnesota |
| 45 | Rocky Ryan | 24 | DB-E | 12 | 0 | 202 | 6–1 | Rookie | Illinois |
| 24 | Don Schaefer | 22 | FB | 12 | 0 | 210 | 6–0 | Rookie | Notre Dame |
| 82 | Tom Scott | 26 | DE-LB | 12 | 0 | 218 | 6–2 | 3 | Virginia |
| 43 | Bob G. Smith | 23 | HB | 4 | 0 | 195 | 5–10 | 1 | Nebraska |
| 80 | Bill Stribling | 29 | E | 2 | 0 | 206 | 6–1 | 5 | Mississippi |
| 11 | Bobby Thomason | 28 | QB | 12 | 9 | 196 | 6–1 | 7 | VMI |
| 83 | Bobby Walston | 28 | E-HB-K | 12 | 0 | 190 | 6–0 | 5 | Georgia |
| 77 | Jim Weatherall | 27 | DT-T | 12 | 12 | 245 | 6–4 | 1 | Oklahoma |
| 46 | Ted Wegert | 24 | HB | 7 | 0 | 202 | 5–11 | 1 | none |
| 86 | Norm Willey | 29 | DE-G-E | 9 | 0 | 224 | 6–2 | 6 | Marshall |
| 75 | Frank Wydo | 32 | T-DT | 12 | 0 | 225 | 6–4 | 9 | Cornell |
| 73 | Sid Youngelman | 25 | DT-DE | 12 | 0 | 257 | 6–3 | 1 | Alabama |
| | 41 Players Team Average | 25.8 | | 12 | | 218.4 | 6–1.3 | 2.6 | |