1956 Indiana Hoosiers football team

The 1956 Indiana Hoosiers football team was an American football team that represented the Indiana Hoosiers in the 1956 Big Ten Conference football season. The Hoosiers played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. The team was coached by Bernie Crimmins, in his fifth and final year as head coach of the Hoosiers. On November 28, 1956, Crimmins, at age 37, resigned as Indiana's head football coach. He had compiled a 13–32 record and was unable to produce a winning team in five years in the position.[1]

1956 Indiana Hoosiers football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
1956 record3–6 (1–5 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPBob Fee
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
(Capacity: 20,000)
1956 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 3 Iowa $ 5 –1 –0  9 –1 –0
No. 7 Michigan 5 –2 –0  7 –2 –0
No. 12 Minnesota 4 –1 –2  6 –1 –2
No. 9 Michigan State 4 –2 –0  7 –2 –0
No. 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 team's statistical leaders included Steve Filipowski with 391 passing yards, Bob Fee with 621 rushing yards, and Brad Bomba with 407 receiving yards. Bomba's receiving yardage also led the Big Ten.[2]

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendance
September 29Iowa
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Bloomington, IN
L 0–2725,000
October 6at No. 17 Notre Dame*
L 6–2058,372
October 13at No. 2 Michigan State
L 6–53
October 20at Nebraska*
W 19–1437,527
October 27Northwestern
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Bloomington, IN
W 19–1323,000
November 3Marquette*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Bloomington, IN
W 19–13
November 10at No. 7 Ohio State
L 14–3582,073
November 17at No. 10 Michigan
L 26–4958,515
November 24at Purdue
L 20–39
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[3]

Game summaries

On September 29, 1956, Iowa defeated Indiana, 27–0, before a crowd of 25,000 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana, for the first conference game of the 1956 season. Iowa scored two touchdowns in the first quarter off an Indiana fumble and an interception. Iowa rushed for 242 yards to 76 yards for Indiana.[4]

On October 6, Notre Dame (ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll) defeated Indiana, 20–6, before a crowd of 58,372 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.[5]

On October 13, Michigan State (ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll) defeated Indiana, 53–6, before a crowd of 58,858 at Macklin Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. The Spartans gained 264 rushing yards and 204 passing yards. Clarence Peaks also returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown. Michigan State played backups for much of the second half with a total of 50 Spartans seeing game action. The outcome was Indiana's worst defeat since 1948.[6]

On October 20, Indiana defeated Nebraska, 19–14, before a crowd of 38,000 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska led, 14–0, at halftime, but Indiana rallied for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The result was Indiana's first win of the season. Brad Bomba caught six passes in the game.[7]

On October 27, Indiana defeated Northwestern, 19–13, before a homecoming crowd of 23,000 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. The game was tied, 13–13, at halftime. Indiana intercepted a Northwestern pass with four minutes remaining to set up the winning touchdown.[8]

On November 3, Indiana defeated Marquette, 19–13, before a crowd of approximately 21,000 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. In the fourth quarter, Indiana's Arnold Steeves recovered a fumble at Marquette's 43-yard line to set up the winning touchdown.[9]

On November 10, Ohio State (ranked No. 7 in the AP Poll) defeated Indiana, 35–14, before a crowd of 82,073 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. The victory was Ohio State's 17th in a row against conference opponents, setting a new conference record. The Buckeyes also broke the Big Ten single-game record with 465 rushing yards against the Hoosiers.[10]

On November 17, Michigan defeated Indiana, 49–26, before a crowd of 58,515 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Michigan led, 35–0, at halftime and gained for 427 yards (275 rushing, 142 passing) in the game. Michigan's Terry Barr scored three touchdowns in the game.[11]

On November 24, in the annual battle for the Old Oaken Bucket, Purdue defeated Indiana, 39–20, at Ross–Ade Stadium in Lafayette, Indiana. In his final college game, Purdue quarterback Len Dawson threw two touchdown passes, both caught by end Lamar Lundy. Mel Dillard rushed for 130 yards and three touchdowns in the game and a conference high 873 yards for the season. The game proved to be a battle for last place in the conference, with Purdue finishing in ninth place and Indiana in tenth and last place.[12]

1957 NFL Draft
PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL Club
Milt CampbellBack553Cleveland Browns
Joe AmstutzCenter663Cleveland Browns
Bob FeeBack14166Chicago Cardinals
Brad BombaEnd15177Washington Redskins
Gene CichowskiQuarterback21246Pittsburgh Steelers

[13]

References
  1. "Crimmins Is 2d I.U. Coach In Row To Quit Because His Grid Teams Couldn't Win". The Courier-Journal. November 29, 1956. pp. 2–6 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "1956 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  3. "1956 Football Schedule". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  4. Bert McGrane (September 30, 1956). "Hawkeyes Smash Indiana, 27–0". The Des Moines Register. pp. 1S, 10S – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Charles Bartlett (October 7, 1956). "Irish Win: Halt Indiana Surge in 3d Period, 20–6". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Marshall Dann (October 14, 1956). "Michigan State Gives Hoosiers the Air, 53–6". Detroit Free Press. p. 1F – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Floyd Olds (October 21, 1956). "Indiana Wins: Hoosiers Defeat Nebraska, 19–14". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1.
  8. Robert Cromie (October 28, 1956). "Late Indiana Score Beats N.U., 19–13". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Kurt Freudenthal (November 4, 1956). "Indiana Drops Marquette, 19–13". The Terre Haute Tribune. p. 47 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Bucks Wallop IU and Set Loop Mark". The Muncie (IN) Star. November 11, 1956. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Lyall Smith (November 18, 1956). "All's Lost Even as U-M Wins, 49–26". Detroit Free Press. p. 1D – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Jep Cadou Jr. (November 25, 1956). "Purdue Explodes, Buries Hoosiers, 39 To 20: Score 3 Times in 3rd Period". The Indianapolis Star. p. 4-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1957.htm
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