1956 All-America college football team
The 1956 All-America college football team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose All-America college football teams in 1956. The seven selectors recognized by the NCAA as "official" for the 1956 season are the American Football Coaches Association, the Associated Press, the Football Writers Association of America, the International News Service, the Newspaper Enterprise Association, the Sporting News, and the United Press.
Consensus All-Americans
For the year 1956, the NCAA recognizes seven published All-American teams as "official" designations for purposes of its consensus determinations. The following chart identifies the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans and displays which first-team designations they received.| Name | Position | School | Number | Official | Other |
| Ron Kramer | End | Michigan | 7/7 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, INS, NEA, SN, UP | CP, WC |
| Joe Walton | End | Pittsburgh | 7/7 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, INS, NEA, SN, UP | CP, WC |
| Jim Parker | Guard | Ohio State | 7/7 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, INS, NEA, SN, UP | CP, WC |
| Bill Glass | Guard | Baylor | 7/7 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, INS, NEA, SN, UP | WC |
| Jerry Tubbs | Center | Oklahoma | 7/7 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, INS, NEA, SN, UP | CP, WC |
| Jim Brown | Back | Syracuse | 7/7 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, INS, NEA, SN, UP | CP, WC |
| Johnny Majors | Back | Tennessee | 7/7 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, INS, NEA, SN, UP | WC |
| John Witte | Tackle | Oregon State | 6/7 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, INS, NEA, UP | CP, WC |
| Tommy McDonald | Back | Oklahoma | 6/7 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, INS, SN, UP | CP, WC |
| John Brodie | Quarterback | Stanford | 4/7 | AFCA, FWAA, INS, NEA | WC |
| Lou Michaels | Tackle | Kentucky | 3/7 | AFCA, NEA, UP | WC |
All-American selections for 1956
Ends
- Ron Kramer, Michigan
- Joe Walton, Pittsburgh
- Buddy Cruze, Tennessee
- Bill Steiger, Washington State
- Walter Brodie, William & Mary
- Lamar Lundy, Purdue
- Tom Maentz, Michigan
- Paul Lopata, Yale
- Frank Gilliam, Iowa
- Jack Johnson, Miami
- Brad Bomba, Indiana
- Ernie Pitts, Denver
- John Bell, Oklahoma
Tackles
- John Witte, Oregon State
- Lou Michaels, Kentucky
- Alex Karras, Iowa,
- Charlie Krueger, Texas A&M
- Norm Hamilton, TCU
- Bob Hobert, Minnesota
- Paul Wiggin, Stanford
- Ed Gray, Oklahoma
- Mike Sandusky, Maryland
- Esker Harris, UCLA
Guards
- Jim Parker, Ohio State
- Bill Glass, Baylor
- Sam Valentine, Penn State
- John Barrow, Florida
- Allen Ecker, Georgia Tech
- Dick Day, Washington
- Stan Slater, Army
- Bill Krisher, Oklahoma
- John Owselchik, Yale
- Dan Currie, Michigan State
Centers
- Jerry Tubbs, Oklahoma
- Don Stephenson, Georgia Tech
- John Matsko, Michigan State
- Don Suchy, Iowa
- Jim Matheny, UCLA
Quarterbacks
- John Brodie, Stanford
- Paul Hornung, Notre Dame
- Claude Benham, Columbia
- Len Dawson, Purdue
- Gene Newton, Tulane
Backs
- Jim Brown, Syracuse
- Johnny Majors, Tennessee
- Tommy McDonald, Oklahoma
- Jack Pardee, Texas A&M
- Jim Crawford, Wyoming
- Don Bosseler, Miami
- Billy Ray Barnes, Wake Forest
- John David Crow, Texas A&M
- Clendon Thomas, Oklahoma
- Ken Ploen, Iowa
- Jim Swink, TCU
- Paige Cothren, Mississippi
- Mel Dillard, Purdue
- Jon Arnett, Southern California
- Bob McKeiver, Northwestern
- John Bayuk, Colorado
- Joel Wells, Clemson
- Paul Rotenberry, Georgia Tech
- Dennis McGill, Yale
- Earnel Durden, Oregon State
Key
Official selectors
- AFCA = American Football Coaches Association; selected by the votes of the 503 members of the AFCA and published in Collier's Weekly magazine,
- AP = Associated Press
- FWAA = Football Writers Association of America
- INS = International News Service
- NEA = Newspaper Enterprise Association
- SN = The Sporting News
- UP = United Press
Other selectors
- CP = Central Press Association, selected by college football team captains
- WC = Walter Camp Football Foundation