1956 Chicago Cardinals season

The 1956 Chicago Cardinals season marked the team's 37th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Cardinals improved on their previous year's 4–7–1 record by winning seven games for a runner-up finish in the Eastern Conference.^[1] Despite their improvement, they failed to qualify for the league's Championship game for the eighth consecutive season.

1956 Chicago Cardinals season
Owner	Violet Bidwill Wolfner
Head coach	Ray Richards
Home stadium	Comiskey Park
Results
Record	7–5
Division place	2nd NFL Eastern
Playoffs	Did not qualify
← 1955 Cardinals seasons 1957 →

Regular season

• On October 7, the Cardinals played the New York Giants in front of only 21,799 fans. The week before, against Cleveland in the season opener, the gate was only 20,966. It was the smallest paid attendance of the NFL's six opening week games.^[2]

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap	Sources
1	September 30	Cleveland Browns	W 9–7	1–0	Comiskey Park	20,966	Recap
2	October 7	New York Giants	W 35–27	2–0	Comiskey Park	21,799	Recap
3	October 14	at Washington Redskins	W 31–3	3–0	Griffith Stadium	25,794	Recap
4	October 21	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 20–6	4–0	Connie Mack Stadium	36,545	Recap
5	October 28	Washington Redskins	L 14–17	4–1	Comiskey Park	30,553	Recap
6	November 4	Philadelphia Eagles	W 28–17	5–1	Comiskey Park	27,609	Recap
7	November 11	at New York Giants	L 10–23	5–2	Yankee Stadium	62,410	Recap
8	November 18	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 7–14	5–3	Forbes Field	24,086	Recap
9	November 25	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 38–27	6–3	Comiskey Park	17,724	Recap
10	December 2	Green Bay Packers	L 21–24	6–4	Comiskey Park	22,620	Recap
11	December 9	at Chicago Bears	L 3–10	6–5	Wrigley Field	48,606	Recap
12	December 16	at Cleveland Browns	W 24–7	7–5	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	25,312	Recap
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Program for the Cards' October 28 home meeting with the Washington Redskins.

NFL Eastern Conference
view talk edit	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
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

Official team photo of the 1956 Chicago Cardinals.