1956 Cleveland Browns season

The 1956 Cleveland Browns season was the team's eleventh season, and seventh season with the National Football League.

1956 Cleveland Browns season
Head coachPaul Brown
Home fieldCleveland Stadium
Local radioWGAR
Results
Record5–7
Division placeT-4th Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersNone

This was the first season in which the Browns missed the playoffs, and its first season with a losing record. The Browns lost seven games in 1956, after having lost a total of only 17 over the previous ten seasons combined.

Exhibition schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 August 10 vs. College All-Stars at Chicago W 26–0 75,000
2 August 19 at San Francisco 49ers L 17–28 38,741
3 August 24 at Los Angeles Rams L 6–17 40,175
4 September 1 Green Bay Packers L 20–21 15,456
5 September 7 at Detroit Lions L 0–17 48,105
6 September 15 vs. Detroit Lions at Akron L 14–31 28,201
7 September 21 at Chicago Bears W 24–14 56,543

Regular season
Main article: 1956 NFL season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 30 at Chicago Cardinals L 7–9 0–1 Comiskey Park 20,966 Recap
2 October 6 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 14–10 1–1 Forbes Field 35,398 Recap
3 October 14 New York Giants L 9–21 1–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 60,042 Recap
4 October 21 at Washington Redskins L 9–20 1–3 Griffith Stadium 23,322 Recap
5 October 28 Pittsburgh Steelers L 16–24 1–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 50,358 Recap
6 November 4 at Green Bay Packers W 24–7 2–4 Milwaukee County Stadium 28,590 Recap
7 November 11 Baltimore Colts L 7–21 2–5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 42,404 Recap
8 November 18 at Philadelphia Eagles W 16–0 3–5 Connie Mack Stadium 25,894 Recap
9 November 25 Washington Redskins L 17–20 3–6 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 22,878 Recap
10 December 2 Philadelphia Eagles W 17–14 4–6 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 20,645 Recap
11 December 9 at New York Giants W 24–7 5–6 Yankee Stadium 27,707 Recap
12 December 16 Chicago Cardinals L 7–24 5–7 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 25,312 Recap

Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.[1][2]

Week 1 at Chicago

The post Otto Graham era begins with a 9-7 loss to the Cardinals in Chicago. Cleveland's only score comes on a 46-yard touchdown pass from George Ratterman to Ray Renfro in the first quarter. But Pat Summerall's third field goal, a nine-yarder with 29 seconds remaining, won it for the Cardinals and broke a twelve-game losing streak to the Browns.[3] The Cardinals later won the season finale.

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.

References
  1. Livingston, Pat (October 7, 1956). "Steelers bow, 14-10". Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, section 4.
  2. "Browns edge Pitt Steelers". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 7, 1955.
  3. "Grid Cardinals upset champion Browns, 9-7". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. October 1, 1956. p. 25.
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