The

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

faced the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

in the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

game for the third consecutive year. And for the third consecutive year, the Edmonton Eskimos were Grey Cup champions. It was the first time in a Grey Cup that a touchdown was worth six points instead of five.

Canadian Football News in 1956

On Sunday, January 22, representatives of the two largest and most powerful leagues in the Canadian Rugby Union, the

Interprovincial Rugby Football Union The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League, its counterpart being the West Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the East Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues. T ...

and the

Western Interprovincial Football Union The West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), its counterpart being the East Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the West Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagu ...

, met in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

and formed the Canadian Football Council as an umbrella organization. G. Sydney Halter, QC, was named as commissioner of the CFC, which would evolve into today's

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. The CFC introduced a national negotiation list. Television rights for Canadian football games were sold for $101,000. The touchdown point value was increased from five to six points. The first

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

All-Star game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

was played at

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

's Empire Stadium on December 8. The day after the game,

Trans-Canada Air Lines Trans-Canada Air Lines (also known as TCA in English, and Trans-Canada in French) was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGrego ...

Flight 810 crashed into

Mount Slesse Slesse Mountain, usually referred to as Mount Slesse, is a mountain just north of the United States, US-Canada border, in the North Cascades, Cascade Mountains of British Columbia, near the town of Chilliwack. It is notable for its large, steep lo ...

, killing five players and one official who were on their way from Vancouver to

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

. The five players who died in the crash included four members of the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

: offensive linemen

Mario DeMarco Mario Joseph DeMarco, (July 24, 1924 – December 9, 1956) was an American college football, National Football League, and professional Canadian football player, and was one of 62 people who died on Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, on December ...

and

Ray Syrnyk Raymond Nicholas "Ray" Syrnyk, (1934 – December 9, 1956) was a professional Canadian football player, and was one of 62 people who died on Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810. Syrnyk played professionally for the Saskatchewan Roughriders as a ro ...

, centre/tight end

Mel Becket Melvin Howard "Mel" Becket, (1929 – December 9, 1956) was an American college football and professional Canadian football player, and was one of 62 people who died on Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, on December 9, 1956. Becket played his e ...

, and defensive lineman

Gordon Sturtridge Gordon Henry Sturtridge (1929 – December 9, 1956) was a professional Canadian football player, and was one of 62 people who died on Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, on December 9, 1956. Sturtridge played his entire five-year professional footb ...

, along with Winnipeg Blue Bomber offensive lineman

Cal Jones Calvin Jack Jones (February 7, 1933 – December 9, 1956) was a college football player for the University of Iowa. Jones is one of only two Iowa football players (along with Nile Kinnick) to have his jersey number retired by the school. Jone ...

. The official killed in the crash was Ed Pettit, of Calgary.

Regular season

Final regular season standings

''Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points'' *Bold text means the team clinched a playoff berth. *''Edmonton and Montreal had first-round byes.'' *X – Rochester withdrew from the league.

Grey Cup playoffs

Source: ''Note: All dates in 1956''

Semi-finals

*''Saskatchewan won the total-point series 50–26. The Roughriders moved on to play the Edmonton Eskimos in the WIFU Finals.'' *''The Tiger-Cats advanced to play the Montreal Alouettes in the IRFU Finals.''

Finals

*''Edmonton won the best of three series 2–1 and advanced to the Grey Cup game.'' * ''Montreal won the total-point series 78–62 and advanced to the Grey Cup game.''

Playoff Bracket

Grey Cup Championship

Canadian Football Leaders

CFL Passing Leaders The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

CFL Rushing Leaders The CFL was officially formed in 1958. Statistics for the IRFU/Eastern Division date back to 1954 whereas WIFU/Western Division statistics date back to 1950. See also *List of Canadian Football League annual passing leaders *List of Canadian Fo ...

CFL Receiving Leaders The CFL was officially formed in 1958. Statistics for the IRFU/Eastern Division date back to 1954 whereas WIFU/Western Division statistics date back to 1950. See also *List of Canadian Football League annual passing leaders *List of Canadian ...

1956 Eastern (Interprovincial Rugby Football Union) All-Stars

Offence

*QB –

Sam Etcheverry Samuel "The Rifle" Etcheverry (May 20, 1930 – August 29, 2009) was a professional American football, American and Canadian football player and head coach. Etcheverry played the quarterback position, most famously with the Montreal Alouettes of ...

, Montreal Alouettes *RB –

Cookie Gilchrist Carlton Chester "Cookie" Gilchrist (May 25, 1935 – January 10, 2011) was an American football player who played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). Career A star player at Har-Brack High S ...

, Hamilton Tiger-Cats *RB –

Pat Abbruzzi Pasquale "Pat" Abbruzzi (August 29, 1932 – June 3, 1998) was an American college and professional Canadian football running back and a successful high school football coach. Abbruzzi played collegiately for the University of Rhode Island (Cla ...

, Montreal Alouettes *RB –

Dick Shatto Richard Darrell Shatto (February 5, 1933 – February 4, 2003) was a professional Canadian football player for the Canadian Football League Toronto Argonauts. Shatto also served as the Argonauts general manager after his playing days with the cl ...

, Toronto Argonauts *E –

Hal Patterson Harold Edward Patterson (October 4, 1932November 21, 2011), nicknamed Prince Hal, was a star American college basketball player at the University of Kansas, and a professional Canadian football player with the Canadian Football League Montreal Al ...

, Montreal Alouettes *E – Bobby Simpson, Ottawa Rough Riders *FW – Joey Pal, Montreal Alouettes *C –

Tommy Hugo Tom Hugo (August 25, 1930 – November 15, 2004) was a Canadian Football League offensive lineman and linebacker who played seven seasons for the Montreal Alouettes from 1953 to 1959. He was a Montreal All-Star 12 times (1953 offence, 1954–1958 ...

, Montreal Alouettes *OG –

Francis Machinsky Francis C. "Moose" Machinsky (September 15, 1934 – September 5, 2014) was an American gridiron football player who played for the Toronto Argonauts. He played college football at Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly c ...

, Toronto Argonauts *OG – Larry Hayes, Ottawa Rough Riders *OT –

Kaye Vaughan Charles Kaye Vaughan (born June 30, 1931) is a former professional football player, a lineman with the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League for twelve seasons. He won the CFL's Outstanding Lineman Award in 1956 and 1957 and is a ...

, Ottawa Rough Riders *OT – Bill Albright, Toronto Argonauts

Defence

*DT –

, Ottawa Rough Riders *DT – Bill Albright, Toronto Argonauts *DE –

Pete Neumann Peter Michael Neumann (1931 – January 1, 2020) was a Canadian Football League player for 14 seasons the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He was a 9-time CFL's Eastern All-Star and a part of three Grey Cup championship teams. Neumann was inducted into the ...

, Hamilton Tiger-Cats *DE – Jim Miller, Montreal Alouettes *DG –

Vince Scott Vincent Joseph "Boomer" Scott (July 10, 1925 – July 13, 1992) was a Canadian football player. He played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and was later a Hamilton city councillor. He became a Canadian citizen in the mid-1950s Scott was born in ...

, Hamilton Tiger-Cats *MG –

Hardiman Cureton Hardiman Cureton (December 8, 1933 - October 1, 2003) was an American player of Canadian football. He played high school football for the Monrovia Wildcats. He played the tackle position. Cureton was a dominant offensive guard and also played ...

, Toronto Argonauts *LB –

, Montreal Alouettes *LB –

Ken Vargo Kenneth Vargo (born c. 1934) is an American gridiron football player who played for the Ottawa Rough Riders. He played college football at Ohio State University. Vargo was selected in the ninth round of the 1956 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, bu ...

, Montreal Alouettes *DB –

Ralph Goldston Ralph Peter Goldston (February 25, 1929 – July 9, 2011) was a running back and defensive back in the Canadian Football League who played nine seasons for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He helped the Tiger-Cats to two Grey Cup wins in 1957 and 1963. H ...

, Hamilton Tiger-Cats *DB – Ray Truant, Hamilton Tiger-Cats *S – Don Pinney, Ottawa Rough Riders

1956 Western (Western Interprovincial Football Union) All-Stars

Offence

*QB –

Jackie Parker John Dickerson "Jackie" Parker (January 1, 1932 – November 7, 2006) was an American gridiron football player and coach. He was an All-American in college football and an outstanding professional football player in the Canadian Football League ...

, Edmonton Eskimos *RB – Ken Carpenter, Saskatchewan Roughriders *RB –

Ed Vereb Edward John Vereb (May 21, 1934 – December 18, 2014) was an American football halfback in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the BC Lions and the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins. He played college football at t ...

, British Columbia Lions *RB –

Normie Kwong Norman Lim Kwong (born Kwong Lim Yew; ; October 24, 1929 – September 3, 2016) was a Canadian football player who played for the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was also an active businessman ...

, Edmonton Eskimos *RB – Bob McNamara, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *E –

Don Edwards William Donlon Edwards (January 6, 1915 – October 1, 2015) was an American politician of the Democratic Party and a member of the United States House of Representatives from California for 32 years in the late 20th century. Early life Edwar ...

, British Columbia Lions *E –

Bud Grant Harry Peter "Bud" Grant Jr. (born May 20, 1927) is a former head coach and player of American football, Canadian football, and a former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Grant served as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings ...

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *C –

, Saskatchewan Roughriders *C – George Druxman, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *OG – Harry Langford, Calgary Stampeders *OG –

Buddy Alliston Vaughn Samuel "Buddy" Alliston Jr. (December 14, 1933 – October 1, 2021) was a professional American football player who played the positions of guard and linebacker. He played college football at the University of Mississippi before being dra ...

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers *OT –

Martin Ruby Martin Owen Ruby (June 9, 1922 – January 3, 2002) was an offensive tackle and defensive tackle for the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers in the All-America Football Conference, New York Yanks of the National Football League,''Will Coach ...

, Saskatchewan Roughriders *OT –

Buddy Tinsley Robert Porter "Buddy" Tinsley (August 16, 1924 – September 14, 2011) was a Canadian Football League offensive lineman for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1982, and was a member of the Winn ...

, Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Defence

*DT –

Dick Huffman Richard Maxwell Huffman (March 27, 1923 – September 13, 1992) was an American gridiron football tackle in the National Football League (NFL) and the Canadian Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU). A 9th round selection (81st overall ...

, Calgary Stampeders *DT –

, Saskatchewan Roughriders *DE – Frank Anderson, Edmonton Eskimos *DE – Gord Sturtridge, Saskatchewan Roughriders *MG –

Ron Atchison Ronald William Atchison (April 21, 1930 – June 23, 2010) was a Canadian football defensive lineman who played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1952 through 1968. He was part of the Grey Cup championship-winning Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1 ...

, Saskatchewan Roughriders *LB –

John Wozniak John Keith Wozniak (born January 19, 1971) is an American musician best known as the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of the band Marcy Playground. Early life Wozniak was born and raised in Minneapolis. He learned how to play the guitar ...

, Saskatchewan Roughriders *LB – Earl Lindley, Edmonton Eskimos *LB –

Bobby Marlow Robert R. "Bobby" Marlow (February 8, 1930 – June 5, 1985) was an American and Canadian football running back who played for the Alabama Crimson Tide football, University of Alabama and the Canadian Football League's (CFL) Saskatchewan Roughrider ...

, Saskatchewan Roughriders *LB – Ted Tully, Edmonton Eskimos *DB –

Rollie Miles Rollie is a nickname, often for Roland or Rolland, and occasionally a given name which may refer to: Rolands * Rollie Boutin (born 1957), Canadian retired ice hockey goaltender * Rollie Cook (born 1952), Canadian politician * Rollie Dotsch (1933- ...

, Edmonton Eskimos *DB –

Larry Isbell Lawrence Dale Isbell (January 8, 1930 – October 31, 1978) was an American baseball and gridiron football player. He was one of the rare players to be All-American in both baseball and in football. He was an All-American quarterback in 1951, wh ...

, Saskatchewan Roughriders *S –

Paul Cameron Paul Drummond Cameron (born November 9, 1939) is an American psychologist. Cameron has been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-gay extremist. While employed at various institutions, including the University of Nebraska–Li ...

, British Columbia Lions

1956 Canadian Football Awards

* Most Outstanding Player Award –

(DB/OE), Montreal Alouettes * Most Outstanding Canadian Award –

(RB), Edmonton Eskimos * Most Outstanding Lineman Award –

(OT/DT), Ottawa Rough Riders *

Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy The Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy is a Canadian football award recognizing the most outstanding football player of the Quebec Student Sport Federation (RESQ) The trophy was originally presented to the player who best exemplified skill, sportsmanship ...

(IRFU MVP) –

(DB/OE), Montreal Alouettes *

Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy The Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy is a trophy awarded to the Canadian Football League West Division's most outstanding player, chosen from the nominees from each team in the division. Either this trophy winner or the winner of the Terry Evanshen T ...

(WIFU MVP) -

(QB), Edmonton Eskimos * Gruen Trophy (IRFU Rookie of the Year) - Tommy Grant (RB), Hamilton Tiger-Cats * Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy (WIFU Rookie of the Year) - Norm Rauhaus (DB), Winnipeg Blue Bombers * Imperial Oil Trophy (ORFU MVP) - ???

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1956 In Canadian Football Canadian Football League seasons