1956 Maryland Terrapins football team

American college football season August 2023 January 2026 1956 Maryland Terrapins football Atlantic Coast Conference ACC 2–7–1 2–2–1 Tommy Mont 1st Split-T Byrd Stadium The 1956 Maryland Terrapins football team represented the University of Maryland in the 1956 college football season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They were led by first-year head coach Tommy Mont, who had been promoted from backfield assistant after Jim Tatum left to take over at North Carolina. Preseason hopes were high for the team, but it suffered numerous injuries and other misfortunes. Maryland finished with a 2–7–1 record, and the Associated Press called it "one of the year's most disappointing football teams". Schedule 1956 AP September 22 l y 6 Syracuse Byrd Stadium College Park, MD 12–26 27,000 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-tribune-syracuse-stuns-terps/138159451/ Tampa Sunday Tribune Syracuse stuns Terps, 26–12 September 23, 1956 January 6, 2024 Newspapers.com September 29 w y Wake Forest Bowman Gray Stadium Winston-Salem, NC 6–0 13,000 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-roanoke-times-terps-extended-before/138159553/ The Roanoke Times Terps extended before edging Wake Forest 6–0 September 30, 1956 January 6, 2024 Newspapers.com October 6 l y Baylor 16 Byrd Stadium College Park, MD 0–14 25,000 https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-worth-star-telegram-bears-roll-on-c/138159622/ Fort Worth Star-Telegram Bears roll on clip Terps, 14–0 October 7, 1956 January 6, 2024 Newspapers.com October 12 l y y Miami (FL) 11 Burdine Stadium Miami, FL 6–13 44,304 https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-lucie-news-tribune-miami-takes-to-ai/138159725/ St. Lucie News Tribune Miami takes to air for 13–6 win over Terps October 14, 1956 January 6, 2024 Newspapers.com October 20 l y North Carolina Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC 6–34 21,000 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-state-reed-leads-north-carolina-to-3/138159822/ The State Reed leads North Carolina to 34–6 victory over Terps October 21, 1956 January 6, 2024 Newspapers.com October 27 l y Tennessee 4 Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN 7–34 33,500 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98744618/volunteers-rap-maryland-347/ Richmond Times Dispatch Volunteers rap Maryland, 34–7 October 28, 1956 March 30, 2022 Newspapers.com November 3 l y y Kentucky Byrd Stadium College Park, MD 0–14 20,000 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-kentucky-trips-terps/133061009/ The Baltimore Sun Kentucky trips Terps November 4, 1956 October 7, 2023 Newspapers.com November 10 t Clemson 11 Byrd Stadium College Park, MD 6–6 18,000 https://www.newspapers.com/article/winston-salem-journal-terps-battle-clems/138156886/ Winston-Salem Journal & Sentinel Terps battle Clemson to 6–6 deadlock November 11, 1956 January 6, 2024 Newspapers.com November 17 l y South Carolina Carolina Stadium Columbia, SC 0–13 25,000 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-state-gamecocks-whip-maryland-130/138159230/ The State Gamecocks whip Maryland, 13–0 November 18, 1956 January 6, 2024 Newspapers.com November 22 w y NC State Riddick Stadium Raleigh, NC 25–14 4,500 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-maryland-rallier-to-wh/138159928/ The Baltimore Sun Maryland rallier to whip N.C. State eleven, 25–14 November 23, 1956 January 6, 2024 Newspapers.com Before the season Maryland head coach Jim Tatum resigned on January 8, 1956, to take the same post at his alma mater, North Carolina, and he was replaced by backfield coach Tommy Mont.Mont Picked To Succeed TatumJuly 2026 InternetArchiveBot , The Miami News, January 18, 1956. Mont was a former quarterback for Maryland and the Washington Redskins.Maryland's Tommy Mont Named Head Grid Coach at DePauw https://web.archive.org/web/20110610214010/http://www.depauw.edu/news/index.asp?id=18240 June 10, 2011 , DePauw University, April 29, 1959, retrieved January 28, 2009.Tommy Mont Statistics, Pro Football Reference, retrieved June 9, 2009. Mont came with the personal recommendation of Tatum.Mont, Former Backfield Aide to Tatum, Named Maryland's Head Football Coach, The New York Times, January 18, 1956. Tatum also instructed his former players to stay at Maryland rather than follow him by transferring to North Carolina.Tatum Tells Maryland Gridders to Stay Put, The Los Angeles Times, January 12, 1956. As head coach, Mont was unable to recruit the highly skilled athletes that Tatum had consistently secured during his tenure.K. Adam Powell and Woody Durham, Border Wars: The First Fifty Years of Atlantic Coast Conference Football, 2004, Scarecrow Press, 0-8108-4839-2. Rod Breedlove, who played on freshman team in 1956 and started on the varsity squad thereafter, was an exception as one of the best guard prospects in the nation. Due to the pressures associated with coaching a major college program, Mont eventually resigned as head coach after the 1958 season in order to take the same position at DePauw University.John Underwood, https://archive.today/20120722233834/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1087757/index.htm Bell Of The Ball Game, Sports Illustrated, September 10, 1973. Personnel The 1956 team consisted of the following letterwinners:Year-By-Year Results https://web.archive.org/web/20181026140910/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/md/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/07guide-11.pdf 2018-10-26 (PDF), 2007 Terrapin Football Record Book, p. 17–22, University of Maryland, 2007. 15em Gene Alderton Ronald Athey Al Beardsley Bill Burgly Fred Cole Nick DeCicco John Fritsch Fred Hamilton Jim Hatter Don Healy Ed Heuring Ted Kershner Charles Kichman George Kolarac Bill Kolmo Bob Layman Dickie Lewis Wilbur Main Bob Rusevlyan Mike Sandusky Ben Scotti Tom Selep Jim Skarda Tom Stefl Bob Suchy Paul Tonetti Bill Turner Jean Waters Al Wharton The coaching staff consisted of:Assistant Coaches https://web.archive.org/web/20181026140910/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/md/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/07guide-11.pdf 2018-10-26 (PDF), 2007 Terrapin Football Record Book, p. 4, University of Maryland, 2007. 15em Tommy Mont, head coach Ed Fullerton William Dovell Johnny Idzik, line coach Fred Layman Roy Lester, ends coach Joe Moss Jim Peebles Bob Ward Season Maryland entered 1956 ranked number-six in the Associated Press preseason poll. The previous year, the freshman Terrapins finished with an undefeated record, and Sports Illustrated had called it the "best freshman team in the entire South."https://archive.today/20130102064533/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1131179/index.htm Shape Of Things To Come, Sports Illustrated, January 23, 1956. Before resigning his post as head coach, Jim Tatum had said before the 1956 Orange Bowl, "Our 1956 squad will have the greatest potential of all, despite the loss of ten seniors."Allison Danzig, Injuries Curb Maryland's Power; The Terrapin Eleven Will Buckle Down for Wake Forest; Lewis McVicker and Dare Among Those on the Sidelines; High Opinion Shared; Tamburello to Be Inducted; Sandusky at Tackle, The New York Times, September 26, 1956. The roster, however, was depleted by injuries and the team beset by bad luck in general. The 1957 edition of The Terrapin yearbook wrote the most serious blow to the team's prospects occurred when would-be starting quarterback Frank Tamburello was drafted into the Army.The Terrapin, p. 212, 1957, University of Maryland. Maryland lost another returner when back Phil Perlo did not re-enroll at the school. In another twist of fate, the entire team had to be inoculated against jaundice after starting halfback Howie Dare and a reserve center were diagnosed with the malady.Maryland Given Shots For Yellow Jaundice, The Baltimore Sun, October 17, 1956.SQUAD IS INOCULATED; Maryland Acts After Jaundice Strikes Football Player, The New York Times, October 17, 1956. Dare would miss the entire season.https://archive.today/20130131133924/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/1686253722.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Nov+24,+1956&author=&pub=The+Sun+(1837-1985)&desc=INJURIES+TELL+TERPS'+STORY&pqatl=google INJURIES TELL TERPS' STORY; Final-Game Win Brightens Picture For Next Year, The Baltimore Sun, November 24, 1956. In the season opener, Syracuse soundly defeated Maryland, 26–12, which in part, "rudely jolted" the preseason prognostications of many college football experts.Experts Suffer Rude Jolt in U.S. College Football, Ottawa Citizen, September 24, 1956. After the Terrapins edged Wake Forest, 6–0, 16th-ranked Baylor handed Maryland its first shutout, 14–0, in 70 games.The Terrapin, p. 218. The following week at the Orange Bowl, 13th-ranked Miami resorted to the air to beat Maryland, 13–6. After the loss, the Associated Press called the Terrapins squad "one of the year's most disappointing football teams."Miami Edges Terps, 13–6, for 3rd Win, Eugene Register-Guard, October 13, 1956. Led by former Terrapins' coach Jim Tatum, North Carolina decisively beat Maryland, 34–6, in one of its two wins of the season. Both Carolina victories, however, were later vacated due to use of an ineligible player,Atlantic Coast Conference, Sports Illustrated, September 23, 1957. although Maryland records still credit the Tar Heels with the win.Year-By-Year Results https://web.archive.org/web/20181026140910/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/md/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/07guide-11.pdf 2018-10-26 (PDF), 2007 Maryland Football Record Book, University of Maryland, 2007, retrieved January 16, 2009. A week later, Johnny Majors led third-ranked Tennessee to beat Maryland, 34–7, and completed three touchdown passes while "hitting his receivers with the accuracy of a mountaineer rifleman."Majors Paces Vols to Easy 34–7 Victory, Ocala Star-Banner, October 28, 1956. After a loss to Kentucky, Maryland tied 11th-ranked Clemson, which had hoped to secure its invitation to the Orange Bowl as the ACC representative.Terps, Clemson Need Big Win, The Tuscaloosa News, November 8, 1956. Maryland lost at South Carolina, 13–0, and then traveled to Raleigh to face North Carolina State. Maryland trailed in the second half, but a 103-yard interception return from the Terrapins' end zone by back Dickie Lewis sparked a comeback. Maryland won, 25–14, to finish the season with a 2–7–1 mark.103-Yard Sprint Paces Terp Win, The Spokesman-Review, November 23, 1956. After the season, The Baltimore Sun described Mont and quarterback John Fritsch as "two of the biggest fall guys in college football this year" for events beyond their control. References Maryland Category:Maryland Terrapins football seasons Maryland Terrapins football