1956 was the first year that the Ballon d'Or was awarded. Unlike the current award, it was awarded only to football players from Europe. At the time the prize was widely known as the European Footballer of the Year award.

The award was presented on 18 December 1956. Below are the 25 nominees in the final order after voting. The winner was English player Stanley Matthews, who played for Blackpool FC in the English First Division. At the time, Matthews was 41 years old, making him the oldest player to receive the honor. His win was a recognition of his extraordinary career, which spanned several decades.

See the list of all Ballon d'Or winners.

Final order for the men's 1956 Ballon d'Or

Order Player Club Nationality Points
1 Stanley Matthews Blackpool England 47
2 Alfredo Di Stéfano Real Madrid Spain 44
3 Raymond Kopa Reims /  Real Madrid France 33
4 Ferenc Puskás Budapest Honvéd Hungary 32
5 Lev Yashin Dynamo Moscow Soviet Union 19
6 József Bozsik Budapest Honvéd Hungary 15
7 Ernst Ocwirk Austria Wien / Sampdoria Austria 9
8 Sándor Kocsis Budapest Honvéd Hungary 6
9 Thadée Cisowski RC Paris France 4
  Ivan Kolev CDNA Sofia Bulgaria 4
  Billy Wright Wolverhampton Wanderers England 4
12 Júlio Botelho Fiorentina Italy 3
13 Stefan Bozhkov CDNA Sofia Bulgaria 2
  Duncan Edwards Manchester United England 2
  Gerhard Hanappi Rapid Wien Austria 2
  Robert Jonquet Reims France 2
  Miguel Montuori Fiorentina Italy 2
  Pepillo Sevilla Spain 2
  Juan Alberto Schiaffino Milan Italy 2
  Eduard Streltsov Torpedo Moscow Soviet Union 2
21 Marcelino Campanal Sevilla Spain 1
  Břetislav Dolejší Dukla Prague Czechoslovakia 1
  Roger Piantoni FC Nancy France 1
  Kees Rijvers Saint-Étienne Netherlands 1