The 1956 Rose Bowl game, played on January 2, 1956 was the 42nd Rose Bowl game. The Michigan State Spartans defeated the UCLA Bruins, 17–14. Michigan State halfback Walt Kowalczyk was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game. The game was played on January 2, because New Year's Day was a Sunday. It 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 1956 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.
Read more about 1956 Rose Bowl: Game Summary, Aftermath
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—Ray Evans (b. 1915)
“It seemed a long way from 143rd Street. Shaking hands with the Queen of England was a long way from being forced to sit in the colored section of the bus going into downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. Dancing with the Duke of Devonshire was a long way from not being allowed to bowl in Jefferson City, Missouri, because the white customers complained about it.”
—Althea Gibson (b. 1927)