1956 California Golden Bears football team

The 1956 California Golden Bears football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Berkeley in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1956 NCAA University Division football season. In their 10th and final year under head coach Pappy Waldorf, the Golden Bears compiled a 3–7 record (2–5 against PCC opponents), finished in eighth place in the PCC, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 181 to 135.[1][2]

1956 California Golden Bears football
Conference	Pacific Coast Conference
1956 record	3–7 (2–5 PCC)
Head coach	Pappy Waldorf (10th season)
Home stadium	California Memorial Stadium

1956 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
	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

At the Big Game and even though they even though they were a 14-point underdog, the Bears beat Stanford. Waldorf's players knew that it was his last game and following the win they carried him off the field on their shoulders.[3] Pappy Waldorf was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1966.^[1]

That season, team's statistical leaders included Joe Kapp with 667 passing yards, Herb Jackson with 462 rushing yards, and Norm Becker with 313 receiving yards.[4] Kapp was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.[5]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 22	Baylor*	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 6–7	36,000[6]
September 29	at Illinois*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 20–32	54,833[7]
October 6	No. 7 Pittsburgh*	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 14–0	31,000[8]
October 13	at Oregon State	Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR	L 13–21	14,125[9]
October 20	UCLA	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA (rivalry)	L 20–34	48,000[10]
October 27	at Washington	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 16–7	30,510[11]
November 3	Oregon	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 6–28	32,000[12]
November 10	at No. 16 USC	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 7–20	41,628[13]
November 17	Washington State	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 13–14	34,000[14]
November 24	Stanford	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA (Big Game)	W 20–18	81,400[15]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[16]

References

1. "1956 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
2. "California 2015 Football Information Guide" (PDF). CalBears.com. Cal Golden Bears Athletics. p. 164. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
3. CalBear81 (June 29, 2011). "Cal's Greatest Football Coaches: #2 Pappy Waldorf". California Golden Blogs. Archived from the original on January 18, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016..
4. "1956 California Golden Bears Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
5. "Joe Kapp". www.footballfoundation.org. National Football Foundation. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
6. "California vs Baylor Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
7. "Illinois vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
8. "California vs Pitt Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
9. "Oregon State vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
10. "California vs UCLA Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
11. "Washington vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
12. "California vs Oregon Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
13. "USC vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
14. "California vs Washington State Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
15. "California vs Stanford Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
16. 2015 Football Information Guide (PDF). Cal Athletics. 2015. p. 164. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016.