1956 San Francisco 49ers season

American football team season November 2013 March 2026 1956-49ers-mediaguide.jpg San Francisco 49ers 1956 5–6–1 3rd NFL Western Tony Morabito Louis Spadia Frankie Albert Kezar Stadium Did not qualify 49ers seasons The 1956 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's seventh season in the National Football League (NFL) (eleventh in team history). San Francisco brought in a new head coach for the second straight season, replacing Red Strader with former 49ers quarterback Frankie Albert, who played with the team from their AAFC days in 1946 until 1952. The Niners got off to a rough start, winning just one of their first seven games, before going unbeaten down the stretch. The team finished the year with a 5–6–1 record, good for 3rd place in the Western Conference. Offensively, Y. A. Tittle threw for a team-high 1,641 yards and 7 touchdowns, and had 56.9% of his passes completed. Hugh McElhenny rushed for a team-best 916 yards and 8 touchdowns, while Billy Wilson caught a club-high 60 receptions for 889 yards, along with 5 touchdowns. Bob St. Clair blocked 10 field goal attempts.Jack Cavanaugh (2008). Giants Among Men, p.46. Random House, 978-1-4000-6717-6 Offseason 1956 NFL draft 1956 NFL draft 1956 San Francisco 49ers "65%" 1 2 Earl Morrall Quarterback Michigan State yes yes 2 15 Bruce Bosley Center West Virginia yes yes 3 26 Bill Herchman Defensive tackle Texas Tech yes 4 40 Frank Pajaczkowski Back Richmond 6 64 Tony Sardisco Guard Tulane 7 75 Larry Barnes Fullback Colorado State played with 49ers in 1957. 8 88 Charley Smith Defensive end Abilene Christian yes 9 99 Jim Cox End Cal Poly 10 112 Jerry Zaleski Back Colorado State 11 123 Stew Pell Tackle North Carolina 12 136 Roger Swedberg Tackle Iowa 13 147 Ralph Moody Back Kansas 14 160 R. C. Owens Halfback College of Idaho began play with 49ers in 1957. 15 171 Reed Henderson Tackle Utah State signed with Edmonton Eskimos (WIFU) 15 172 Gene Boyd Back Abilene Christian 16 184 George Herring Quarterback Mississippi Southern 17 195 Dick Weiss Tackle Ole Miss 18 208 Bill Yelverton Defensive end Ole Miss 19 219 Pete Arrigoni Back Arizona 20 232 Bob Scarbrough Center Auburn 21 243 L.C. Joyner Halfback Contra Costa JC 22 256 Clarence Wessman End San Jose State 23 267 Mike Monroe Back Washington 24 280 Ed Wallace Tackle San Diego City College 25 291 Paul Goad Fullback Abilene Christian yes 26 304 Rommie Loudd Linebacker UCLA signed with BC Lions (WIFU) 27 315 Jerry Gustafson Quarterback Stanford signed with BC Lions (WIFU) 28 328 Jerry Drew Back California 29 339 Dean Benson Guard Willamette 30 351 Bob Mitchell Tackle Puget Sound no Source:https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/sfo/1956_draft.htm 1956 San Francisco 49ers Draftees Pro Football Reference February 24, 2024 Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 August 19 Cleveland Browns W 28–17 1–0 Kezar Stadium 2 August 26 Washington Redskins W 20–0 2–0 Kezar Stadium 3 September 2 Chicago Cardinals W 14–13 3–0 Kezar Stadium 4 September 9 vs. New York Giants L 14–21 3–1 Multnomah Stadium 5 September 14 at Los Angeles Rams L 24–33 3–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 6 September 23 vs. Philadelphia Eagles L 14–21 3–3 Charles C. Hughes Stadiumhttps://www.profootballarchives.com/1956nflsf.html#gsc.tab=0 1956 San Francisco 49ers (NFL) Scores, Roster, Stats, Coaches, Draft Pro Football Archives June 6, 2026 Regular season Schedule Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 September 30 New York Giants L 21–38 0–1 Kezar Stadium 41,751 Recap 2 October 7 Los Angeles Rams W 33–30 1–1 Kezar Stadium 56,489 Recap 3 October 14 Chicago Bears L 7–31 1–2 Wrigley Field 47,526 Recap 4 October 21 Detroit Lions L 17–20 1–3 Briggs Stadium 55,662 Recap 5 October 28 Chicago Bears L 21–38 1–4 Kezar Stadium 52,612 Recap 6 November 4 Detroit Lions L 13–17 1–5 Kezar Stadium 46,708 Recap 7 November 11 Los Angeles Rams L 6–30 1–6 L.A. Memorial Coliseum 69,828 Recap 8 November 18 Green Bay Packers W 17–16 2–6 City Stadium 17,986 Recap 9 November 25 Philadelphia Eagles T 10–10 2–6–1 Connie Mack Stadium 19,326 Recap 10 December 2 Baltimore Colts W 20–17 3–6–1 Memorial Stadium 37,227 Recap 11 December 8, 1956 Green Bay Packers W 38–20 4–6–1 Kezar Stadium 32,433 Recap 12 December 16 Baltimore Colts W 30–17 5–6–1 Kezar Stadium 43,791 Recap Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. Standings thumb|right|260px|Program from the 1956 season finale against the visiting Baltimore Colts. Personnel Staff / Coaches 1957 San Francisco 49ers Team Owner - Tony Morabito General manager – Louis Spadia Head coach - Frankie Albert Chief of Offense / Offensive Coordinator - Red Hickey Defensive Assistant – Phil Bengtson * None - N/A Roster 1956 San Francisco 49ers roster Quarterbacks 11 Earl Morrall y P 14 Y. A. Tittle Running backs 35 John Henry Johnson 43 Tom McCormick American football 39 Hugh McElhenny 34 American football Joe Perry Receivers 22 Joe Arenas 86 Clyde Conner y 82 Gordy Soltau K 84 Billy Wilson wide receiver Offensive linemen 64 Ted Connolly G 78 Bobby Cross T 76 John Gonzaga y T/G 52 George Morris American football, born 1931 y C 68 Lou Palatella G 79 Bob St. Clair T 74 Bob Toneff G/DT Defensive linemen 75 Ed Henke DE/G/T 72 Bill Herchman y DT 77 Bruce Bosley y DE 80 Charlie Smith no y DE/WR 87 Charley Powell DE/MLB 73 Leo Nomellini DT Linebackers 54 Ed Beatty MLB/C 55 Matt Hazeltine OLB 50 Stan Sheriff OLB Defensive backs 23 Rex Berry S/CB 57 Paul Carr American football CB 24 J. D. Smith y fullback, born 1932 S 27 Bob Holladay y S 40 George Maderos CB 47 Dicky Moegle S/RB 42 Floyd Sagely CB Reserve lists 36 Paul Goad y RB (IR) 7px 85 Bill Jessup WR (IR) 7px 53 Bill Johnson center C (IR) 7px rookies in italics References 35em Category:San Francisco 49ers seasons San Francisco 49ers Category:1956 in sports in California Category:1950s in San Francisco