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1956 Cleveland Browns
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Record: 5-7-0, Finished 4th in NFL East Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 167 points (13.9/g), 11th of 12 in the NFL.
Allowed 177 points (14.8/g), 1st.
Differential of -10 points (-0.8/g), 5th.
Expected W-L: 5.6-6.4.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -4 (-0.3/g), 9th.
Coached by Paul Brown (5-7-0)
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1956 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees
Starters
Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE · Hide Non-primary Starters| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | Complete Team Stats | |||||
| QB | Tommy O'Connell | 26 | 3 | 5 | 42 for 96, 551 yards, 4 td, 8 int, & 24 rushes for 40 yards and 2 td | Chicago Bears / 18th / 212th pick / 1952 |
| QB | Babe Parilli | 26 | 4 | 3 | 24 for 49, 409 yards, 3 td, 7 int, & 18 rushes for 65 yards and 0 td | Green Bay Packers / 1st / 4th pick / 1952 |
| QB | George Ratterman | 30 | 9 | 4 | 39 for 57, 398 yards, 1 td, 3 int, & 10 rushes for 19 yards and 1 td | Boston Yanks / 16th / 139th pick / 1948 |
| FB | Ed Modzelewski | 27 | 4 | 0 | 107 rushes for 431 yards, 2 td, & 10 catches for 27 yards and 0 td | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 6th pick / 1952 |
| FB | Maurice Bassett | 25 | 2 | 0 | 41 rushes for 129 yards, 1 td, & 4 catches for 29 yards and 1 td | Cleveland Browns / 3rd / 36th pick / 1954 |
| LH | Ray Renfro | 27 | 4 | 0 | 4 rushes for 24 yards, 0 td, & 17 catches for 325 yards and 4 td | Cleveland Browns / 4th / 48th pick / 1952 |
| LH | Fred Morrison | 30 | 6 | 0 | 83 rushes for 340 yards, 1 td, & 6 catches for 29 yards and 1 td | Chicago Bears / 1st / 10th pick / 1950 |
| RH | Preston Carpenter | 22 | Rook | 0 | 188 rushes for 756 yards, 0 td, & 16 catches for 124 yards and 0 td | Cleveland Browns / 1st / 13th pick / 1956 |
| LE | Pete Brewster* | 26 | 4 | 12 | 28 catches for 417 yards, 1 td | Chicago Cardinals / 2nd / 21st pick / 1952 |
| LT | Lou Groza | 32 | 10 | 0 | ||
| LG | Abe Gibron | 31 | 7 | 0 | New York Giants / 6th / 55th pick / 1949 |
|
| C | Frank Gatski* | 34 | 10 | 0 | 1 fumble recovered | |
| RG | Harold Bradley | 27 | 2 | 0 | ||
| RT | Mike McCormack* | 26 | 5 | 0 | New York Yanks / 3rd / 34th pick / 1951 |
|
| RE | Dante Lavelli | 33 | 10 | 0 | 20 catches for 344 yards, 1 td | Los Angeles Rams / 12th / 103rd pick / 1947 |
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Carlton Massey | 26 | 2 | 0 | Cleveland Browns / 8th / 95th pick / 1953 |
|
| LDT | John Kissell | 33 | 8 | 0 | Los Angeles Rams / 14th / 123rd pick / 1947 |
|
| RDT | Don Colo | 31 | 6 | 0 | 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | Baltimore Colts / 3rd / 28th pick / 1950 |
| RDE | Len Ford | 30 | 8 | 0 | 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | |
| LLB | Chuck Noll | 24 | 3 | 0 | 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | Cleveland Browns / 20th / 239th pick / 1953 |
| MLB | Walt Michaels* | 27 | 5 | 0 | Cleveland Browns / 7th / 86th pick / 1951 |
|
| RLB | Galen Fiss | 25 | Rook | 0 | 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered | Cleveland Browns / 13th / 155th pick / 1953 |
| LDH | Warren Lahr | 33 | 7 | 0 | 3 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Pittsburgh Steelers / 32nd / 294th pick / 1947 |
| RDH | Don R. Paul* | 30 | 6 | 0 | 7 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | Chicago Cardinals / 4th / 47th pick / 1950 |
| LS | Ken Konz | 28 | 3 | 0 | 4 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Cleveland Browns / 1st / 14th pick / 1951 |
| RS | Johnny Petitbon | 25 | 4 | 0 | Dallas Texans / 7th / 74th pick / 1952 |
|
| RS | Junior Wren | 27 | Rook | 0 | 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | Cleveland Browns / 24th / 288th pick / 1952 |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Lou Groza | 32 | 10 | 0 | 11 of 20 field goals & 18 of 18 extra points | |
| P | Fred Morrison | 30 | 6 | 0 | 38 punts for a 41.1 average, 0 blocked | Chicago Bears / 1st / 10th pick / 1950 |
| PR | Don R. Paul* | 30 | 6 | 0 | 17 punt returns for a 6.1 average and 0 td | Chicago Cardinals / 4th / 47th pick / 1950 |
| KR | Preston Carpenter | 22 | Rook | 0 | 15 kick returns for a 25.4 average and 0 td | Cleveland Browns / 1st / 13th pick / 1956 |
| Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maurice Bassett | 25 | FB | 12 | 0 | 230 | 6-1 | Langston | 4/26/1931 | 2 | Cleveland Browns / 3rd / 36th pick / 1954 |
| Harold Bradley | 27 | G | 12 | 0 | 230 | 6-2 | Iowa | 10/13/1929 | 2 | |
| Pete Brewster* | 26 | E | 12 | 12 | 210 | 6-3 | Purdue | 9/1/1930 | 4 | Chicago Cardinals / 2nd / 21st pick / 1952 |
| Preston Carpenter | 22 | E-HB | 12 | 0 | 190 | 6-2 | Arkansas | 1/24/1934 | Rook | Cleveland Browns / 1st / 13th pick / 1956 |
| Don Colo | 31 | DT | 12 | 0 | 252 | 6-3 | Brown | 1/5/1925 | 6 | Baltimore Colts / 3rd / 28th pick / 1950 |
| Galen Fiss | 25 | LB | 12 | 0 | 227 | 6-0 | Kansas | 7/10/1931 | Rook | Cleveland Browns / 13th / 155th pick / 1953 |
| Len Ford | 30 | DE-E | 12 | 0 | 245 | 6-4 | Michigan,Morgan State | 2/18/1926 | 8 | |
| Herschel Forester | 25 | G | 12 | 0 | 230 | 6-0 | SMU | 4/14/1931 | 2 | Cleveland Browns / 8th / 96th pick / 1952 |
| Bob Gain | 27 | DT-DE-MG-T | 12 | 0 | 256 | 6-3 | Kentucky | 6/21/1929 | 4 | Green Bay Packers / 1st / 5th pick / 1951 |
| Frank Gatski* | 34 | C-LB | 12 | 0 | 233 | 6-3 | Auburn,Marshall | 3/18/1922 | 10 | |
| Abe Gibron | 31 | G | 7 | 0 | 243 | 5-11 | Purdue,Valparaiso | 9/22/1925 | 7 | New York Giants / 6th / 55th pick / 1949 |
| Horace Gillom | 35 | E-DE | 5 | 0 | 221 | 6-1 | Nevada-Reno,Ohio State | 3/3/1921 | 9 | |
| Donald Goss | 23 | T-DT | 6 | 0 | 260 | 6-5 | SMU | 5/19/1933 | Rook | Cleveland Browns / 10th / 119th pick / 1954 |
| Lou Groza | 32 | T-C-DT-K | 12 | 0 | 240 | 6-3 | Ohio State | 1/25/1924 | 10 | |
| Art Hunter | 23 | C-T | 8 | 0 | 245 | 6-4 | Notre Dame | 4/24/1933 | 2 | Green Bay Packers / 1st / 3rd pick / 1954 |
| Billy Kinard | 23 | DB-HB | 7 | 0 | 189 | 6-0 | Mississippi | 12/16/1933 | Rook | Cleveland Browns / 2nd / 25th pick / 1956 |
| John Kissell | 33 | DT-T | 12 | 0 | 245 | 6-3 | Boston College | 5/14/1923 | 8 | Los Angeles Rams / 14th / 123rd pick / 1947 |
| Ken Konz | 28 | DB | 12 | 0 | 184 | 5-10 | LSU | 9/25/1928 | 3 | Cleveland Browns / 1st / 14th pick / 1951 |
| Warren Lahr | 33 | DB | 12 | 0 | 189 | 5-11 | Case Western Reserve | 9/5/1923 | 7 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 32nd / 294th pick / 1947 |
| Dante Lavelli | 33 | E-DE | 11 | 0 | 191 | 6-0 | Ohio State | 2/23/1923 | 10 | Los Angeles Rams / 12th / 103rd pick / 1947 |
| John Macerelli | 26 | T-G | 12 | 0 | 230 | 6-2 | St. Vincent | 11/2/1930 | Rook | |
| Carlton Massey | 26 | DE | 12 | 0 | 221 | 6-4 | Southwestern (TX),Texas | 1/17/1930 | 2 | Cleveland Browns / 8th / 95th pick / 1953 |
| Mike McCormack* | 26 | T-DG-DT | 12 | 0 | 246 | 6-4 | Kansas | 6/21/1930 | 5 | New York Yanks / 3rd / 34th pick / 1951 |
| Walt Michaels* | 27 | LB | 12 | 0 | 231 | 6-0 | Washington & Lee | 10/16/1929 | 5 | Cleveland Browns / 7th / 86th pick / 1951 |
| Ed Modzelewski | 27 | FB | 8 | 0 | 217 | 6-0 | Maryland | 1/13/1929 | 4 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 1st / 6th pick / 1952 |
| Fred Morrison | 30 | FB-HB | 12 | 0 | 215 | 6-2 | Ohio State | 10/7/1926 | 6 | Chicago Bears / 1st / 10th pick / 1950 |
| Chuck Noll | 24 | LB-G-C | 12 | 0 | 220 | 6-1 | Dayton | 1/5/1932 | 3 | Cleveland Browns / 20th / 239th pick / 1953 |
| Tommy O'Connell | 26 | QB | 7 | 5 | 187 | 5-11 | Illinois,Notre Dame | 9/26/1930 | 3 | Chicago Bears / 18th / 212th pick / 1952 |
| Sam Palumbo | 24 | LB-C | 12 | 0 | 226 | 6-2 | Notre Dame | 6/7/1932 | 1 | Cleveland Browns / 4th / 49th pick / 1955 |
| Babe Parilli | 26 | QB | 5 | 3 | 196 | 6-1 | Kentucky | 5/7/1930 | 4 | Green Bay Packers / 1st / 4th pick / 1952 |
| Don R. Paul* | 30 | DB-HB | 12 | 0 | 187 | 6-0 | Washington State | 7/23/1926 | 6 | Chicago Cardinals / 4th / 47th pick / 1950 |
| Johnny Petitbon | 25 | DB-HB | 12 | 0 | 186 | 5-11 | Notre Dame | 6/4/1931 | 4 | Dallas Texans / 7th / 74th pick / 1952 |
| Skeets Quinlan | 28 | HB | 6 | 0 | 173 | 5-11 | San Diego State,TCU | 6/22/1928 | 4 | Los Angeles Rams / 4th / 49th pick / 1952 |
| George Ratterman | 30 | QB | 4 | 4 | 192 | 6-0 | Notre Dame | 11/12/1926 | 9 | Boston Yanks / 16th / 139th pick / 1948 |
| Ray Renfro | 27 | HB-FL | 12 | 0 | 190 | 6-1 | North Texas | 11/7/1929 | 4 | Cleveland Browns / 4th / 48th pick / 1952 |
| Bob G. Smith | 23 | HB | 2 | 0 | 195 | 5-10 | Nebraska | 2/23/1933 | 1 | Cleveland Browns / 15th / 181st pick / 1955 |
| Jim Ray Smith | 24 | G-T-DE | 6 | 0 | 241 | 6-3 | Baylor | 2/27/1932 | Rook | Cleveland Browns / 6th / 64th pick / 1954 |
| Chuck Weber | 26 | LB-DE-G | 4 | 0 | 229 | 6-1 | West Chester | 3/25/1930 | 1 | |
| Junior Wren | 27 | DB | 12 | 0 | 192 | 6-0 | Missouri | 12/10/1929 | Rook | Cleveland Browns / 24th / 288th pick / 1952 |
| Team Total | 27.4 | 12 | 217.5 | 6-1.3 | 4.0 |