1956 UCLA Bruins football team

The 1956 UCLA Bruins football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1956 college football season. In their eighth year under head coach Red Sanders, the Bruins compiled a 7–3 record (5–2 in PCC, third).^[1] Entering the season, UCLA had won three consecutive conference titles.

1956 UCLA Bruins football
Conference	Pacific Coast Conference
Record	7–3 (5–2 PCC)
Head coach	Red Sanders (8th season)
Offensive scheme	Single-wing
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Seasons ← 1955 1957 →

1956 Pacific Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 Oregon State $	6	–	1	–	1			7	–	3	–	1
No. 18 USC	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
UCLA	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Washington	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Oregon	3	–	3	–	2			4	–	4	–	2
Stanford	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Washington State	2	–	5	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
California	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Idaho	0	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

UCLA's offensive leaders were Doug Bradley with 293 passing yards, Barry Billington with 399 rushing yards, and Dick Wallen with 308 receiving yards.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 21	Utah*	No. 17	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 13–7	37,038	[3]
September 29	at No. 13 Michigan*		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	L 13–42	70,159
October 5	Oregon		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 6–0	32,097
October 13	Washington State		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 28–0	27,192
October 20	at California		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA (rivalry)	W 34–20	48,000	[4]
October 27	at Oregon State		Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR	L 7–21	17,080
November 3	No. 10 Stanford		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 14–13	76,505	[5]
November 10	at Washington	No. 19	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 13–9	27,950
November 17	Kansas*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 13–0	21,913	[6]
November 24	USC		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Victory Bell)	L 7–10	63,709
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[7]

Personnel

Players

• Bob Bergdahl
• Barry Billington, fullback
• Don Birren
• Doug Bradley, halfback
• Dick Butler, center
• Jim Dawson, tackle
• Preston Dills, senior
• Dennis Dressel, center, sophomore
• Don Duncan, halfback, sophomore
• Bob Dutcher
• Lou Elias, wingback
• Bob Enger, quarterback, junior
• Steve Gertsman, quarterback
• Edison Griffin, safety/halfback junior
• Joe Harper, guard
• Esker Harris, guard
• Chuck Holloway, halfback
• Bill Leeka, sophomore
• Don Long
• Jim Matheny, junior
• Pete O'Garro, end
• Phil Parslow, halfback
• Jerry Penner, tackle
• Dan Peterson
• Dave Peterson, fullback
• Pat Pinkston, end
• Don Shinnick
• Hal Smith, junior
• Dick Wallen, end
• Clint Whitfield, guard, sophomore
• Kirk Wilson, punter
• Gary Yurosek, tackle

Coaching staff

• Head coach - Red Sanders
• Assistant coaches - Bill Barns, Deke Brackett, Ray Nagle, George Dickerson, Jim Myers, Johnny Johnson^[8]

Other personnel

• Managers - Ted Manos, Frances Helstein, Jim Walker, Ted Dallas, and Barry Snooke^[8]
• Head trainer - Ducky Drake^[9]