1956 Philadelphia Eagles season

1956 Philadelphia Eagles season
OwnerHappy Hundred
Head coachHugh Devore
Results
Record3–8–1
Division place6th NFL Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify

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.[1] 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[2] He was featured on the cover of the November 7, 1955, edition of Sports Illustrated magazine.[3] 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[4] 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[5] = 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 Choice to
Washington Redskins
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
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[6] = Hall of Famer
  • + = Was a Starter in the Pro-Bowl
NO. Player AGE POS GP GS WT HT YRS College
Hugh Devore COACH 1956
record
3–8–1		 Eagles
Lifetime
3–8–1		 NFL
Lifetime
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, and
Valparaiso
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

References

  1. ^ 1956 Philadelphia Eagles
  2. ^ Pac-10 in the Heisman Voting Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine (PDF), Pacific-10 Conference, p. 4, 2005.
  3. ^ Bob Pellegrini, Football, Maryland Terrapins, Sports Illustrated, November 7, 1955.
  4. ^ www.profootballhof.com/history Archived September 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine shows the 1956 draft picks by all NFL teams sorted by team.
  5. ^ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
  6. ^ Players are identified as a 1956 All-Star.