1956 Rose Bowl

1956 Rose Bowl
42nd Rose Bowl Game
Michigan State Spartans UCLA Bruins
(8–1) (9–1)
Big Ten Pacific Coast
17 14
Head coach: 
Duffy Daugherty		 Head coach: 
Red Sanders
APCoaches
22
APCoaches
44
1234 Total
Michigan State 07010 17
UCLA 7007 14
DateJanuary 2, 1956
Season1955
StadiumRose Bowl
LocationPasadena, California
MVPWalt Kowalczyk
(Michigan State HB)
FavoriteMichigan State by 7 points[1]
National anthemUCLA Band and Michigan State Marching Band combined
RefereeRoss Dean (Big Ten;
split crew: Big Ten, AAWU)
Halftime showUCLA Band, Michigan State Marching Band
Attendance100,809
United States TV coverage
NetworkNBC
AnnouncersMel Allen, Sam Balter
Rose Bowl
 < 1955  1957 > 

The 1956 Rose Bowl was the 42nd edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Monday, January 2. The Michigan State Spartans of the Big Ten Conference defeated the UCLA Bruins of the Pacific Coast Conference, 17–14.[2][3] Michigan State halfback Walt Kowalczyk was named the Player of the Game.[4]

The game featured two of the most racially integrated college football teams of the day, with six African American players for the Bruins and seven for the Spartans.[5][6] This stood in stark contrast to the Sugar Bowl, where there was controversy over whether Bobby Grier from Pitt should be allowed to play and whether Georgia Tech should even play at all, due to Georgia governor Marvin Griffin's opposition to integration.[7][8][9] Only one month previous, Rosa Parks made her famous protest in the Montgomery bus boycott. The 1956 Rose Bowl has the highest TV rating of all college bowl games, watched by 41.1% of all people in the US with TV sets.[10]

As New Year's Day fell on a Sunday in 1956, the bowl games were played the following day.

  1. ^ "Eight of top 11 teams play". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 2, 1956. p. 48.
  2. ^ "Michigan State tips UCLA 17-14 in Rose Bowl". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 3, 1956. p. 3B.
  3. ^ "Disputes rise over calls in Spartan win". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. January 3, 1956. p. 28.
  4. ^ 2008 Rose Bowl Program Archived 2008-03-06 at the Wayback Machine, 2008 Rose Bowl. Accessed January 26, 2008.
  5. ^ MICHIGAN STATE VS. UCLA JET'S ROSE BOWL PREVIEW * * *. Jet Magazine, December 1955, Quote:"A record number of Negro football players-13-are eligible for the 42nd annual Rose Bowl game to be played by Michigan State and UCLA on January 2."
  6. ^ Smith, John Matthew – "Breaking the Plane": Integration and Black Protest in Michigan State University Football during the 1960s Archived February 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. The Michigan Historical Review Vol. 33, Issue 2.
  7. ^ Mulé, Marty – A Time For Change: Bobby Grier And The 1956 Sugar Bowl[usurped]. Black Athlete Sports Network, December 28, 2005
  8. ^ *Zeise, Paul – Bobby Grier broke bowl's color line. The Panthers' Bobby Grier was the first African-American to play in Sugar Bowl Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 07, 2005
  9. ^ Pete Thamel – Grier Integrated a Game and Earned the World's Respect. New York Times, Published: January 1, 2006.
  10. ^ Harvey, Randy – Bucking Tradition: Rose Bowl, Planted in the Past, No Longer the Flower of Football. Los Angeles Times, December 29, 1988 Of the 10 highest-rated college bowl games of all time, 9 are Rose Bowls. At the top of the list is the 1956 game between UCLA and Michigan State, which was watched by 41.1% of all people in the United States who had television sets at the time.