1956 VPI Gobblers football team

The 1956 VPI Gobblers football team represented the Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the 1956 NCAA University Division football season.[1]

1956 VPI Gobblers football
Conference	Southern Conference
1956 record	7–2–1 (3–0 SoCon)
Head coach	Frank Moseley (6th season)
Home stadium	Lane Stadium

1956 Southern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
West Virginia $	5	–	0	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
VPI	3	–	0	–	0			7	–	2	–	1
No. 17 George Washington	5	–	1	–	0			8	–	1	–	1
Davidson	2	–	2	–	1			5	–	3	–	1
Furman	2	–	2	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
VMI	2	–	3	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
Richmond	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
The Citadel	1	–	3	–	0			3	–	5	–	1
Washington and Lee	0	–	1	–	0			1	–	7	–	0
William & Mary	0	–	5	–	0			0	–	9	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 15	8:00 p.m.[2]	vs. East Carolina*		Mitchell Stadium Bluefield, WV	W 37–2
September 22		Tulane*		Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA	L 14–21	30,000[3]
September 29	2:00 p.m.[4]	vs. No. 20 NC State*		Foreman Field[3] Norfolk, VA	W 35–6	10,000[3]
October 6	8:00 p.m.[5]	at Florida State*		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	W 20–7
October 13		William & Mary		Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 34–7
October 20	2:30 p.m.[6]	at Richmond	No. 18	City Stadium Richmond, VA	W 46–14
October 27		vs. Virginia*	No. 16	Victory Stadium Roanoke, VA (rivalry)	W 14–7
November 3	2:00 p.m.[7]	at No. 13 Clemson*	No. 15	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	L 6–21	23,000[8]
November 10		Wake Forest*		Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA	T 13–13	7,000[3]
November 22		vs. VMI		Victory Stadium Roanoke, VA (rivalry)	W 45–0	24,000
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

• Source: HokieSports.com: 1956 Virginia Tech football schedule[9]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
AP	NR	NR	NR	NR	18	16	15	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

Players

The following players were members of the 1956 football team according to the roster published in the 1957 edition of The Bugle, the Virginia Tech yearbook.[3]

VPI 1956 roster
	Quarterbacks Raymond Donald Divers Frank H. Eastman Billy Holsclaw Jim Lugar Bob McCoy Guards Warren Leroy Belcher James Alexander Burks Pat Luis Carpenito Bill Daley James Holloway Bernard Frank Schmidt Tackles Robert J. Cruickshank Thomas John Dalzell Russell Sidney Moon Ted Uzelac		Centers John Rufus Hall Hillmer John "Swede" Olson Frank Webster Ends Ed Brinkley Carroll Dale James Lupton Hedrick Grover Cleveland Jones III Nicholas M. Mihalas John Stewart Moody Billy Tilling Halfbacks Corbin Bailey Hugh David Ebert Ray England Barry Frazee Harry Keast Dick Ringer Jay N. Whitesell Bobby Wolfenden		Fullbacks Bobby Conner Jim Randall Albert Sebest Substitutes Tom Betz William C. Cranwell Charles Cuba John Herndon William Edward Jamerson Kuruc Doug Mullins Bobby Seal Ronnie Settles

Coaching Staff

The following coaches were members of the 1956 football team according to the roster published in the 1957 edition of The Bugle.[3]

VPI 1956 coaches' roster
	Head Coach Frank Moseley Assistant Coach Buck Chapman Macauley McEver George Preas Alf Satterfield		Trainer Ed Motley Equipment Manager Luke Lindon

References

1. "1956 Virginia Tech Hokies". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
2. "Coal Bowl: V.P.I. vs. E.C.C." ECU Football Programs. East Carolina University. September 15, 1956. p. 1. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
3. "The Bugle 1957" (PDF). Virginia Tech Bugle. 1957. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
4. "VPI Gobblers vs N.C. State Wolfpack - Good Neighbor Bowl". VPI vs. NC State Football Program. 1956. p. 1. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
5. "Tribe Set to Ambush Gobblers". Florida Flambeau. Florida State University. October 5, 1956. p. 3. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
6. "Semples, Mingis, Davis; Other Spider Stars Ready to "Gobble" Tech". The Collegian. University of Richmond. October 19, 1956. p. 4. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
7. "Clemson - VPI Football Game Program". Clemson University. November 3, 1956. p. 29. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
8. "Bengals Rout Virginia Tech In Homecoming Game, 21-6". The Tiger. Clemson University. November 8, 1956. p. 5. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
9. Virginia Tech Football Past Schedules "1956–1957". Virginia Tech Sports Information Department, Hokiesports.com. Accessed September 14, 2017.