The Detroit Lions season was their 27th in the league. The team improved on their previous season's output of 3–9, winning nine games.1956 Detroit Lions Despite the improvement, they missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
Detroit held the top spot by a half game in the Western Conference entering the final game of the season against the Chicago Bears at Wrigley Field, which the Lions lost, 38–21. After completing a handoff early in the second quarter, Detroit quarterback Bobby Layne was concussed and removed from the game, due to an unsportsmanlike conduct foul by Ed Meadows, for which Meadows was ejected.
The following season, the Lions won the Western Conference and the NFL championship, their third of the decade. The Lions won the NFL title in 1952 and 1953, and were runners-up in 1954.
Schedule
According to the team, a total of 36,586 season tickets were sold by the Lions for the 1956 campaign.Edward M. "Bud" Erickson (ed.), Detroit Lions Facts Book 1963: Press, Radio, TV. Detroit, MI: Detroit Football Company, 1963, p. 4. The Lions played their home games in Briggs Stadium (Tiger Stadium), which had a regular listed seating capacity of 46,194, with an additional 7,000 bleacher seats for football to bring total capacity to 53,194.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 30 at Green Bay Packers W 20–16 1–0 City Stadium 24,668 Recap 2 at Baltimore Colts W 31–14 2–0 Memorial Stadium 42,622 Recap 3 October 14 Los Angeles Rams W 24–21 3–0 Briggs Stadium 56,281 Recap 4 October 21 San Francisco 49ers W 20–17 4–0 Briggs Stadium 55,662 Recap 5 October 28 at Los Angeles Rams W 16–7 5–0 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 76,758 Recap 6 November 4 at San Francisco 49ers W 17–13 6–0 Kezar Stadium 46,708 Recap 7 November 11 at Washington Redskins L 17–18 6–1 Griffith Stadium 28,003 Recap 8 November 18 Baltimore Colts W 27–3 7–1 Briggs Stadium 55,788 Recap 9 November 22 Green Bay Packers L 20–24 7–2 Briggs Stadium 54,087 Recap 10 December 2 Chicago Bears W 42–10 8–2 Briggs Stadium 57,024 Recap 11 December 9 Pittsburgh Steelers W 45–7 9–2 Briggs Stadium 52,124 Recap 12 December 16 at Chicago Bears L 21–38 9–3 Wrigley Field 49,086 Recap Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.
Standings
Roster
References