1956 Michigan Wolverines football team

1956 Michigan Wolverines football

Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	#7
AP	#7
1956 record	7–2 (5–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bennie Oosterbaan (9th year)
MVP	Dick Hill
Captain	Tom Maentz
Home stadium	Michigan Stadium

	Conf					Overall
1956 Big Ten football standings
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#3 Iowa †	5	–	1	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
#7 Michigan	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
#12 Minnesota	4	–	1	–	2	6	–	1	–	2
#9 Michigan State	4	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
#15 Ohio State	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Northwestern	3	–	3	–	1	4	–	4	–	1
Purdue	1	–	4	–	2	3	–	4	–	2
Illinois	1	–	4	–	2	2	–	5	–	2
Wisconsin	0	–	4	–	3	1	–	5	–	3
Indiana	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	6	–	0

† – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1956 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1956 college football season. The team's head coach was Bennie Oosterbaan. The Wolverines played their home games at Michigan Stadium.

Schedule

Date	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	Result	Attendance
September 29, 1956	UCLA*	#13/NA	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	W 42–13	70,159
October 6, 1956	#2/2 Michigan State	#5/4	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	L 0–9	101,001
October 13, 1956	#15/11 Army*	#12/10	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	W 48–14	93,402
October 20, 1956	Northwestern	#8/7	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	W 34–20	81,718
October 27, 1956	#NR/14 Minnesota	#5/5	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	L 7–20	85,566
November 3, 1956	at #7/8 Iowa	#17/13	Iowa Stadium • Iowa City, IA	W 17–14	55,896
November 10, 1956	Illinois	#10/9	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	W 17–7	75,735
November 17, 1956	Indiana	#10/9	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	W 49–26	58,515
November 24, 1956	at #12/13 Ohio State	#9/10	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	W 19–0	78,830
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Statistical leaders

Rushing

Player	Attempts	Net yards	Yards per attempt	Touchdowns
Jim Pace	103	498	4.8	2
John Herrnstein	123	475	3.9	7
Terry Barr	60	366	6.1	6

Passing

Player	Attempts	Completions	Interceptions	Comp %	Yards	Yds/Comp	TD	Long
Bob Ptacek	23	15	2	65.2	245	16.3	3	25
Jim Van Pelt	33	15	1	45.5	221	14.7	1	37
Jim Maddock	42	19	3	45.2	213	11.2	0	18

Receiving

Player	Receptions	Yards	Yds/Recp	TD	Long
Ron Kramer	18	353	19.6	2	70
Jim Pace	7	155	22.1	0	37
Jim Maddock	5	79	15.8	1	23
Tom Maentz	6	70	11.7	0	17

Kickoff returns

Player	Returns	Yards	Yds/Return	TD	Long
Jim Pace	11	274	24.9	0	39
Jim Van Pelt	4	84	21.0	0	36

Punt returns

Player	Returns	Yards	Yds/Return	TD	Long
Terry Barr	6	118	19.7	0	51
Ed Shannon	7	38	5.4	0	9
Bob Ptacek	6	36	6.0	0	12

Players

Varsity letter winners

Terry Barr, halfback, senior, Grand Rapids, Michigan - started 7 games at right halfback
Thomas E. Berger, guard, junior, Detroit, Michigan
Alex Bochnowski, guard, junior, Munster, Indiana
David C. Bowers, end, junior, Traverse City, Michigan
Charles Books, end, senior, Marshall, Michigan
James Byers, fullback, sophomore, Evansville, Indiana
Clement Corona, guard, senior, Berwick, Pennsylvania
James H. Davies, tackle, senior, Muskegon Heights, Michigan
James A. Dickey, fullback, junior, Miamisburg, Ohio
Lawrence Faul, guard, junior, River Forest, Illinois
John Greenwood, halfback, senior, Bay City, Michigan
John Herrnstein, fullback, sophomore, Chillicothe, Ohio - started 9 games at fullback
Richard B. Heynen, tackle, senior, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Dick Hill, guard, sophomore, Gary, Indiana - started 9 games at left guard
Walter N. Johnson, end, sophomore, Dearborn, Michigan
Ron Kramer, end, senior, East Detroit, Michigan - started 9 games at left end
Jack Lousma, quarterback, sophomore, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Jim Maddock, quarterback, senior, Chicago, Illinois
Tom Maentz, end, senior, Holland, Michigan - started 9 games at right end
Jerry Marciniak, fullback, sophomore, Chicago, Illinois
Marvin R. Nyren, guard, junior, Des Plaines, Illinois - started 9 games at right guard
James B. Orwig, tackle, senior, Toledo, Ohio - started 9 games at left tackle
Jim Pace, halfback, junior, Little Rock, Arkansas - started 7 games at left halfback
Gary Prahst, end, sophomore, Berea, Ohio
Bob Ptacek, halfback, sophomore, Cleveland, Ohio - started 2 games at left halfback
David F. Rentschler, halfback, junior, Detroit, Michigan
Mike Rotunno, center, senior, Canton, Ohio - started 8 games at center
Edward J. Shannon, running back, senior, River Forest, Illinois - started 2 games at right halfback
Michael Shatusky, halfback, senior, Menominee, Michigan
Lionel Albert Sigman, tackle, senior, Ann Arbor, Michigan - started 9 games at right tackle
Eugene Sisinyak, fullback, sophomore, Monroe, Michigan
Willie Smith, tackle, sophomore, Little Rock, Arkansas - tackle
Eugene "Gene" Snider, center, junior, Hamtramck, Michigan - started 1 game at center
John Spidel, quarterback, sophomore, Greenville, Ohio
Jim Van Pelt, quarterback, junior, Evanston, Illinois - started 9 games at quarterback
Raymond L. Wine, center, sophomore, Port Huron, Michigan

Awards and honors

Captain: Tom Maentz
All-Americans: Ron Kramer
All-Conference: Ron Kramer
Most Valuable Player: Dick Hill
Meyer Morton Award: John Herrnstein
John Maulbetsch Award: John Herrnstein

Coaching staff

Head coach: Bennie Oosterbaan
Assistant coaches: Jack Blott, Don Dufek, Robert Hollway, Cliff Keen, Pete Kinyon, Matt Patanelli, Don Robinson, Walter Weber
Trainer: Jim Hunt
Manager: Dave Lundquist

References

External links

1956 Football Team -- Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Athletics History

Michigan Wolverines football

Venues	Washtenaw County Fairgrounds (1883–1892) Regents Field (1893–1905) Ferry Field (1906–1926) Michigan Stadium (1927–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Michigan State (Paul Bunyan Trophy) Minnesota (Little Brown Jug) Notre Dame Ohio State (The Ten Year War) Chicago (defunct)

Culture & lore	Series records Early years Yost era Kipke years Crisler years Oosterbaan years Elliott years Biff, the Michigan Wolverine "The Victors" Michigan Marching Band Winged football helmet Michigan IMG Sports Network

People	Head coaches Trainers Players All-Americans Statistical leaders

Seasons	1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 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

National championship seasons in bold