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1956 Rose Bowl
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. Michigan State halfback Walt Kowalczyk was named the Player of the Game.
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. 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. 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.
As New Year's Day fell on a Sunday in 1956, the bowl games were played the following day.
The Ohio State Buckeyes were the undefeated Big Ten conference champions. However, Ohio State would not be invited to the Rose Bowl because of the no-repeat rule in the Big Ten conference. This left Michigan State to be accepted. Ohio State was ranked fourth with a 7–2 record, and Michigan State was second with a 9–1 record. The teams did not play each other during the regular season. Michigan State opened with a 20–13 win at Indiana, but fell to in-state rival Michigan 14–7, their only setback of the season. They won 38–14 over then-#20 Stanford, and defeated then-#4 Notre Dame 21–7. The Spartans did not play Northwestern, Iowa, or Ohio State. The Buckeyes' two losses were out of conference, to Duke (20–14) and Stanford (6–0).
UCLA was the defending national champion after an undefeated season in 1954. The Bruins began the 1955 season ranked number one. In a showdown at #5 Maryland, the Bruins lost 0–7 to the Terrapins. A 38–0 win over Oregon State ultimately proved to be the game for the conference championship. The Bruins won the rest of their regular season games, including a 21–13 win over Stanford. With the Pacific Coast conference championship already won, the Bruins won their third straight rivalry game over USC 17–7.
In a Sports Illustrated article preceding the 1956 Rose Bowl, UCLA head coach Red Sanders was quoted as saying "Sure, winning isn't every thing, It's the only thing." Coaches Duffy Daugherty and Red Sanders appeared on The Jack Benny Program "New Years Day" 1956 episode on Sunday, January 1, 1956, preceding the game to be played the next day.
This was the second meeting between the two schools, the first was a 28–20 victory for the Spartans two years earlier in the 1954 Rose Bowl. The Spartans wore their green home jerseys and the Bruins wore their white road jerseys.
On the first play from scrimmage, Jim Decker of UCLA intercepted a pass from Michigan State quarterback Earl Morrall, and returned four yards to the MSU 16-yard line. Four plays later, Bob Davenport scored on a two-yard run over left guard to give the Bruins a 7–0 lead.
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1956 Rose Bowl
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. Michigan State halfback Walt Kowalczyk was named the Player of the Game.
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. 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. 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.
As New Year's Day fell on a Sunday in 1956, the bowl games were played the following day.
The Ohio State Buckeyes were the undefeated Big Ten conference champions. However, Ohio State would not be invited to the Rose Bowl because of the no-repeat rule in the Big Ten conference. This left Michigan State to be accepted. Ohio State was ranked fourth with a 7–2 record, and Michigan State was second with a 9–1 record. The teams did not play each other during the regular season. Michigan State opened with a 20–13 win at Indiana, but fell to in-state rival Michigan 14–7, their only setback of the season. They won 38–14 over then-#20 Stanford, and defeated then-#4 Notre Dame 21–7. The Spartans did not play Northwestern, Iowa, or Ohio State. The Buckeyes' two losses were out of conference, to Duke (20–14) and Stanford (6–0).
UCLA was the defending national champion after an undefeated season in 1954. The Bruins began the 1955 season ranked number one. In a showdown at #5 Maryland, the Bruins lost 0–7 to the Terrapins. A 38–0 win over Oregon State ultimately proved to be the game for the conference championship. The Bruins won the rest of their regular season games, including a 21–13 win over Stanford. With the Pacific Coast conference championship already won, the Bruins won their third straight rivalry game over USC 17–7.
In a Sports Illustrated article preceding the 1956 Rose Bowl, UCLA head coach Red Sanders was quoted as saying "Sure, winning isn't every thing, It's the only thing." Coaches Duffy Daugherty and Red Sanders appeared on The Jack Benny Program "New Years Day" 1956 episode on Sunday, January 1, 1956, preceding the game to be played the next day.
This was the second meeting between the two schools, the first was a 28–20 victory for the Spartans two years earlier in the 1954 Rose Bowl. The Spartans wore their green home jerseys and the Bruins wore their white road jerseys.
On the first play from scrimmage, Jim Decker of UCLA intercepted a pass from Michigan State quarterback Earl Morrall, and returned four yards to the MSU 16-yard line. Four plays later, Bob Davenport scored on a two-yard run over left guard to give the Bruins a 7–0 lead.