1956 Washington Redskins season

NFL team season

1956 Washington Redskins season

Owner	George Preston Marshall
General manager	Dick McCann
Head coach	Joe Kuharich
Home field	Griffith Stadium
Results
Record	6–6
Division place	3rd NFL Eastern
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
← 1955 Redskins seasons 1957 →

The 1956 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 25th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 20th in Washington, D.C. The team failed to improve on their 8–4 record from 1955 and finished 6–6.

From the 1955 season until 1962, the Redskins were the last bastion of racial segregation in the NFL, refusing to include a single black player on their roster, unlike the other 12 teams in the league.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1956 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team

Regular season

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 30	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 13–30	0–1	Forbes Field	27,718	Recap
2	October 6	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 9–13	0–2	Connie Mack Stadium	26,607	Recap
3	October 14	Chicago Cardinals	L 3–31	0–3	Griffith Stadium	25,794	Recap
4	October 21	Cleveland Browns	W 20–9	1–3	Griffith Stadium	23,332	Recap
5	October 28	at Chicago Cardinals	W 17–14	2–3	Comiskey Park	30,553	Recap
—	Bye
6	November 11	Detroit Lions	W 18–17	3–3	Griffith Stadium	28,003	Recap
7	November 18	New York Giants	W 33–7	4–3	Griffith Stadium	26,261	Recap
8	November 25	at Cleveland Browns	W 20–17	5–3	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	22,878	Recap
9	December 2	at New York Giants	L 14–28	5–4	Yankee Stadium	26,261	Recap
10	December 9	Philadelphia Eagles	W 19–17	6–4	Griffith Stadium	22,333	Recap
11	December 16	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 0–23	6–5	Griffith Stadium	21,097	Recap
12	December 23	at Baltimore Colts	L 17–19	6–6	Memorial Stadium	32,994	Recap
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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.

References

Ryan Basen, "Fifty Years Ago, Last Outpost of Segregation in NFL Fell," New York Times, Oct. 6, 2012.

v t e Washington Commanders
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021) Based in Landover, Maryland Headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia
Franchise	History Seasons All-time roster (A–Ke, Kh–Z) Head coaches Draft first-round picks Starting quarterbacks Records Broadcasters
Stadiums	Braves Field Fenway Park Griffith Stadium RFK Stadium Northwest Stadium
Key personnel	Managing partner: Josh Harris Prominent limited partners: Mitchell Rales, Magic Johnson, Mark Ein President: Mark Clouse General manager: Adam Peters Head coach: Dan Quinn
Culture and lore	"Hail to the Commanders" Marching Band Major Tuddy Hogettes Chief Zee Redskins name controversy Name change advocates Opinion polls Trademark dispute Original Americans Foundation "Go Fund Yourself" The Replacements Everybody's All-American Redskins Rule Operation Flagship Ricky Williams trade The Hogs The Fun Bunch The Over-the-Hill Gang Bears 73, Redskins 0 Body Bag Game Hail Maryland
Rivalries	Dallas Cowboys New York Giants Philadelphia Eagles
Wild Card berths (10)	1971 1973 1974 1976 1986 1990 1992 2005 2007 2024
Division championships (15)	1936 1937 1940 1942 1943 1945 1972 1983 1984 1987 1991 1999 2012 2015 2020
Conference championships (5)	1972 1982 1983 1987 1991
League championships (2)	1937 1942
Super Bowl championships (3)	1982 (XVII) 1987 (XXII) 1991 (XXVI)
Retired numbers	9 21 28 33 49
Hall of Famers	Cliff Battles Sammy Baugh Bill Dudley Turk Edwards Joe Gibbs Darrell Green Russ Grimm Chris Hanburger Ken Houston Sam Huff Deacon Jones Stan Jones Sonny Jurgensen Paul Krause Vince Lombardi Wayne Millner Bobby Mitchell Art Monk John Riggins Bruce Smith Charley Taylor
Affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: East Division
Category Commons

v t e Washington Commanders seasons
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021)
1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

1956 NFL season

Eastern Conference	Chi Cardinals	Philadelphia	Baltimore	Green Bay	Western Conference
	Cleveland	Pittsburgh	Chi Bears	Los Angeles
	New York	Washington	Detroit	San Francisco

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