1956 Chicago Bears season

The 1956 season was the Chicago Bears' 37th in the National Football League. The team improved on their 8–4 record from 1955 and finished with a 9–2–1 record, under first-year head coach Paddy Driscoll to win the Western Conference and played in their first NFL championship game since 1946.^[1][2]

1956 Chicago Bears season
Owner	George Halas
Head coach	Paddy Driscoll
Home field	Wrigley Field
Results
Record	9–2–1
Division place	1st NFL Western
Playoff finish	Lost NFL Championship (at Giants) 7–47
← 1955 Bears seasons 1957 →

The title game against the New York Giants was at Yankee Stadium and the Giants won, 47–7.^[3][4]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 30	at Baltimore Colts	L 21–28	0–1	Memorial Stadium	45,221	Recap
2	October 7	at Green Bay Packers	W 37–21	1–1	City Stadium	24,668	Recap
3	October 14	San Francisco 49ers	W 31–7	2–1	Wrigley Field	47,526	Recap
4	October 21	Baltimore Colts	W 58–27	3–1	Wrigley Field	48,364	Recap
5	October 28	at San Francisco 49ers	W 38–21	4–1	Kezar Stadium	52,612	Recap
6	November 4	at Los Angeles Rams	W 35–24	5–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	69,894	Recap
7	November 11	Green Bay Packers	W 38–14	6–1	Wrigley Field	49,172	Recap
8	November 18	Los Angeles Rams	W 30–21	7–1	Wrigley Field	48,102	Recap
9	November 25	at New York Giants	T 17–17	7–1–1	Yankee Stadium	55,191	Recap
10	December 2	at Detroit Lions	L 10–42	7–2–1	Briggs Stadium	57,024	Recap
11	December 9	Chicago Cardinals	W 10–3	8–2–1	Wrigley Field	48,606	Recap
12	December 16	Detroit Lions	W 38–21	9–2–1	Wrigley Field	49,086	Recap

Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Postseason

Main article: 1956 NFL Championship Game

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance	Recap
Championship	December 30	New York Giants	Yankee Stadium	L 7–47	56,836	Recap

Standings

NFL Western Conference
view talk edit	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.

Roster

Chicago Bears 1956 roster
Quarterbacks 15 Ed Brown 11 Jim Haluska Running backs 46 Don Bingham 25 J.C. Caroline 35 Rick Casares 89 John Hoffman 45 Bobby Watkins Wide receivers 43 Jim Dooley 87 Harlon Hill 88 Gene Schroeder Tight ends 83 Bill McColl		Offensive linemen 65 Herman Clark G 62 Kline Gilbert T 78 Stan Jones G 54 Dick Klawitter C 76 John Mellekas T 67 Tom Roggeman G 55 Larry Strickland C 72 Bill Wightkin T Defensive linemen 81 Doug Atkins DE 73 Bill Bishop DT 63 M. L. Brackett DT 82 Jack Hoffman DE 86 Ed Meadows DE 75 Fred Williams DT		Linebackers 31 Joe Fortunato 61 Bill George 51 Wayne Hansen Defensive backs 80 John Helwig 29 McNeil Moore 20 Ray Gene Smith 40 Stan Wallace Special teams 16 George Blanda K/QB

Source:

References

1. Strickler, George (December 17, 1956). "Bears win West title; beat Lions, 38-21". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 4.
2. Lea, Bud (December 17, 1956). "Bears win Western crown, 38-21". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 2, part 2.
3. Strickler, George (December 31, 1956). "Why Bears were crushed in title game". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
4. Mosby, Wade (December 31, 1956). "Giants outclass Bears, 47-7 to win first pro title in 18 years". Milwaukee Journal. p. 2, part 9.