Highlighted Year: Rick Casares, 1956

Fullback, Chicago Bears

Age: 25

2^nd season in pro football & with Bears

College: Florida

Height: 6’2”   Weight: 225

Prelude:

Casares was an All-SEC selection in both football and basketball in college and scored the first touchdown in Florida’s 14-13 Gator Bowl win following the 1952 season. He was chosen by the Bears in the second round of the 1954 NFL draft but spent a year in the Army before joining the club for the ’55 season. While there were concerns as to his having enough speed for the NFL, Casares rushed for 672 yards, including an 81-yard TD carry, and averaged a league-high 5.4 yards per carry. He was selected to the Pro Bowl and was a first-team All-NFL selection by the New York Daily News.

1956 Season Summary

Appeared in all 12 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing

Attempts – 234 [1]
Most attempts, game - 27 (for 104 yds.) vs. LARams 11/18

Yards – 1126 [1]

Most yards, game – 190 yards (on 17 carries) vs. Detroit 12/16

Average gain – 4.8 [7]

TDs – 12 [1]

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 23

Yards – 203

Average gain – 8.8

TDs – 2

Passing

Pass attempts – 3

Pass completions – 0

Passing yardage – 0

Interceptions – 1

Punting

Punts – 1

Yards – 51

Kickoff Returns

Returns – 3

Yards – 95

Average per return – 31.7

TDs – 0

Longest return – 49 yards

All-Purpose yards – 1424 [4]

Scoring

TDs – 14 [1]

Points – 84 [2]

Postseason: 1 G (NFL Championship at NY Giants)

Rushing attempts – 14

Rushing yards – 43

Average gain rushing – 3.1

Rushing TDs – 1

Pass receptions – 4

Pass receiving yards – 41

Average yards per reception – 10.3

Pass Receiving TDs – 0

Awards & Honors:

1^st team All-NFL: AP, UPI, NEA, NY Daily News, Sporting News

Pro Bowl

Bears went 9-2-1 to finish first in the NFL Western Conference while leading the league in total yards (4537), rushing yards (2468), touchdowns (47), and scoring (363 points). Lost NFL Championship to New York Giants (47-7).

Aftermath:

Casares rushed for 700 yards on a NFL-high 204 carries in 1957 and received consensus second-team All-NFL honors in addition to being a first-team selection by The Sporting News. He was also selected to the Pro Bowl for the third of an eventual five straight seasons. Casares, who was valued for his blocking as well as power-running, went on to play a total of ten seasons for Chicago, although he never had 100 carries or gained 500 yards in a season after 1961 as assorted injuries slowed him down and Joe Marconi became the starting fullback. He departed the Bears following the 1964 season and was the franchise’s all-time rushing leader at the time with 5657 yards. Casares saw limited action with Washington in 1965 and the AFL expansion Miami Dolphins in ’66, his last season. Overall, he ran for 5797 yards on 1431 carries (4.1 avg.) and caught 191 passes for 1588 yards (8.3 avg.), scoring a total of 60 touchdowns.

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating

Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)

All-Purpose: Total Yards

Defense: Interceptions, Sacks

Kickoff Returns: Average

Punt Returns: Average

Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970

[Updated 2/21/17]

1956: Caroline Stars as Bears Edge Cards

The game between the NFL’s two Chicago franchises, the Bears and Cardinals, on December 9, 1956 had significant meaning for both teams. While the rivalry was always significant, in this instance both clubs were battling to remain in contention in their respective conferences.

The Bears, coached by Paddy Driscoll, the replacement for the (briefly) retired George Halas, had a 7-2-1 record and were trying to keep pace in the Western Conference with the Lions, who had beaten them badly at Detroit the previous week. FB Rick Casares was leading the NFL in rushing and QB Ed Brown was a productive passer who had an outstanding target available in end Harlon Hill. Injuries were a problem at halfback, however, and J.C. Caroline (pictured above), a NFL rookie who had spent a year in the CFL and was performing well in the defensive backfield, was to get a shot on offense.

The Cardinals were under the guidance of second-year Head Coach Ray Richards and had a 6-4 tally that put them behind the Giants in the Eastern Conference. While the Bears regularly contended, the Cards had not finished with a winning record since 1949. They featured the league’s second-best rusher, all-purpose HB Ollie Matson. They also had a good defensive backfield that included DHBs Dick “Night Train” Lane and Lindon Crow. QB Lamar McHan had potential and was a good fit in the team’s split-T offense, but could be temperamental and lost his starting job at one point during the season.

There were 48,606 fans in attendance on a cold day at Wrigley Field, and they saw a game that proved to be a tense and hard-fought affair. In the first quarter, Ollie Matson (pictured at left) took a pitchout and raced 65 yards for an apparent touchdown, but it was called back due to a penalty on the offense.

The game remained scoreless until the second quarter, when a shanked punt by John Roach of the Cardinals that traveled only 17 yards gave the Bears the ball at the Cards’ 27. The result was a 36-yard field goal by George Blanda to break the deadlock.

With time running out in the first half, an Ed Brown pass was intercepted by Lindon Crow and the Cards tied the score at 3-3 on the last play before halftime as Pat Summerall booted a field goal from 42 yards that barely cleared the crossbar.

In the third quarter, the Bears put together a 60-yard drive highlighted by the running of Casares and J. C. Caroline and a pass by Ed Brown to Harlon Hill that picked up 21 yards to the Cards’ 16. The series was capped by Caroline running for the last three yards and a touchdown. Blanda added the extra point for the seven-point lead.

On the next series by the Cards, Matson ran 83 yards down the sideline for another apparent TD, but again the play was nullified, this time by a holding penalty. The game had no more scoring the rest of the way. There were opportunities, but it was a rough day for the placekickers. George Blanda missed three of his four field goal attempts, all of which were blocked, and Pat Summerall was successful on only one of five tries, with two of them blocked.

With time running out in the fourth quarter, the contest came down to a wild finish. Following the interception of a Bears’ pass at the goal line, a free-for-all broke out that involved a half dozen players and a number of fans, bringing police and ushers onto the field to help restore order. Linebackers Bill George of the Bears and Carl Brettschneider of the Cardinals were ejected once the situation was calmed. On the next play, “Night Train” Lane, put in as a receiver, caught a pass from Lamar McHan that traveled 40 yards in the air. The play covered 75 yards and it appeared that Lane was sure to score a potentially game-tying touchdown, but he was caught by Caroline at the Chicago seven, the rookie’s flying tackle causing a fumble that safety McNeil Moore recovered for the Bears. The fumble was of no consequence as the final gun sounded shortly thereafter and the Bears came away with a tough 10-3 win.

The Bears had the edge in total yards (302 to 265), with258 yards of their total coming on the ground while they completed only three passes out of 15 attempts. They also led in first downs (16 to 11). The Cards turned the ball over five times, to four suffered by the Bears, but the Cards were undone by penalties, two of which negated the long potential scoring runs by Ollie Matson.

J.C. Caroline rushed for 68 yards on 16 carries that included the game’s only touchdown while making the biggest defensive play at the end. Rick Casares (pictured at right) gained 117 yards on 25 carries and Ollie Matson ended up rushing for just 26 yards on 9 attempts.

The win for the Bears kept them a half-game behind Detroit in the Western Conference standings, setting up a showdown with the Lions in the season finale that they won. Ending up with a 9-2-1 record, Chicago was thrashed by the Giants in the NFL Championship game.  The loss officially eliminated the Cardinals from contention in the Eastern Conference. They won their finale to finish in second place at 7-5.

“He was simply great out there,” said Coach Driscoll of the Bears about J.C. Caroline. “We hadn’t intended on using him much on offense, but what could we do after he took over?”

Caroline received Rookie of the Year honors from The Sporting News and was named to the Pro Bowl after intercepting six passes, two of which he returned for touchdowns. In his stint on offense, he rushed for 141 yards on 34 carries (4.1 avg.) and scored twice more.

Rick Casares finished as the NFL rushing leader with 1126 yards on 234 carries (4.8 avg.) and 12 touchdowns. He scored another two TDs among his 23 pass receptions and led the league in that category as well with 14. Ollie Matson remained the runner-up in rushing as he gained a career-high 924 yards on 192 attempts (4.8 avg.) and scored five times. Adding in pass receptions and kick returns, he topped the NFL in all-purpose yards with 1524.

The long pass reception for “Night Train” Lane was his only one of the season and one of eight, for 253 yards and a TD, over the course of his career. He was a consensus first-team All-NFL and Pro Bowl selection for his prowess in the defensive backfield as he intercepted seven passes, returning them for 206 yards and a TD.