1956 Sugar Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 1956 Sugar Bowl featured the 7th ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
, and the 11th ranked Pitt Panthers. The game was played on January 2, since New Year's Day was a Sunday. Much controversy preceded the 1956 Sugar Bowl. There was controversy over whether Bobby Grier from Pitt should be allowed to play because he was black, and whether Georgia Tech should even play at all due to Georgia governor Marvin Griffin
's opposition to integration. This stood in stark contrast to the 1956 Rose Bowl
, which featured two of the most racially integrated college football teams of the day with six African American players for the UCLA Bruins and seven for the Michigan State Spartans. Ultimately, Bobby Grier played making this the first integrated Sugar Bowl and is regarded as the first integrated bowl game in the Deep South
.
made her famous protest in the Montgomery Bus Boycott
where she refused to relinquish her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama
transit bus.
A large contingent from the New Orleans community, as well as many related to Georgia Tech
, openly fought to bar either Grier, Pitt, or the Yellow Jacket team from the game. However, students and football players from the Atlanta based school, civil rights leaders, as well as a large number of the Pitt community succeeded in seeing Grier take to the gridiron that January day.
In anticipation of Bobby Grier's presence against Georgia Tech, Georgia governor Marvin Griffin
, in December 1955 publicly sent a telegram to his state's Board Of Regents imploring that teams from Georgia not engage in racially integrated events which had Blacks either as participants or in the stands.
The game was a high caliber defensive game. The two teams gave up a combined 7 points, on 453 combined yards. The only score of the game came on a 1 yard touchdown run by quarterback Wade Mitchell. Georgia Tech was held without any points the remaining three quarters of the game, and ended up winning by a 7-0 margin. Pittsburgh, despite dominating the game in terms of yardage (311-142) lost because of 2 lost fumbles, and 72 penalty yards.
The margin of victory mostly resulted from a disputed first quarter pass interference penalty which was called on Grier.
Brooks went on to have a successful coaching career after a brief stint with the Washington Redskins
. Brooks coached at the high school level before returning to Georgia Tech as an assistant coach under Pepper Rodgers
. Excelling as an assistant coach, Brooks was poised to become Rogers' replacement but was untimely stricken with inoperable lung cancer
.
Brooks was a non-smoker and non-drinker. According to doctor’s reports, he developed cancer as a result of exposure to asbestos
during a summer job as a teen. Despite his courageous fight over a two year period, Brooks passed in 1977. Among friends and family, Brooks' funeral procession included College and Pro Football greats such as Eddie Lee Ivery
and Bill Curry
.
Brooks' struggles with cancer contributed to reform and ultimately the elimination of unsafe asbestos production. Governments and businesses all around the world have urgently taken measures to eliminate structures containing asbestos over the last twenty five years.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wreck, Engineers, Blacksmiths, and Golden Tornado. There are 8 men's and 7 women's teams that...
, and the 11th ranked Pitt Panthers. The game was played on January 2, since New Year's Day was a Sunday. Much controversy preceded the 1956 Sugar Bowl. There was controversy over whether Bobby Grier from Pitt should be allowed to play because he was black, and whether Georgia Tech should even play at all due to Georgia governor Marvin Griffin
Marvin Griffin
Samuel Marvin Griffin, Sr. was a politician from the US state of Georgia. He served as the 72nd Governor of Georgia from 1955 to 1959.-Early life:...
's opposition to integration. This stood in stark contrast to the 1956 Rose Bowl
1956 Rose Bowl
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...
, which featured two of the most racially integrated college football teams of the day with six African American players for the UCLA Bruins and seven for the Michigan State Spartans. Ultimately, Bobby Grier played making this the first integrated Sugar Bowl and is regarded as the first integrated bowl game in the Deep South
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
.
Teams
Only one month previous, Rosa ParksRosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
made her famous protest in the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign that started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. Many important figures in the civil rights movement were involved in the boycott,...
where she refused to relinquish her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
transit bus.
A large contingent from the New Orleans community, as well as many related to Georgia Tech
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
, openly fought to bar either Grier, Pitt, or the Yellow Jacket team from the game. However, students and football players from the Atlanta based school, civil rights leaders, as well as a large number of the Pitt community succeeded in seeing Grier take to the gridiron that January day.
In anticipation of Bobby Grier's presence against Georgia Tech, Georgia governor Marvin Griffin
Marvin Griffin
Samuel Marvin Griffin, Sr. was a politician from the US state of Georgia. He served as the 72nd Governor of Georgia from 1955 to 1959.-Early life:...
, in December 1955 publicly sent a telegram to his state's Board Of Regents imploring that teams from Georgia not engage in racially integrated events which had Blacks either as participants or in the stands.
Game summary
The margin of victory mostly resulted from a disputed first quarter pass interference penalty which was called on Grier.
Aftermath
Georgia Tech guard Franklin Brooks was named the game's MVP. Bobby Grier's participation in the 1956 Sugar Bowl, as well as the support he received from various communities, is seen by some experts as a milestone in American race relations.Brooks went on to have a successful coaching career after a brief stint with the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
. Brooks coached at the high school level before returning to Georgia Tech as an assistant coach under Pepper Rodgers
Pepper Rodgers
Franklin C. "Pepper" Rodgers is a former American football player and coach in the United States. He served as the head coach at the University of Kansas , University of California, Los Angeles , and the Georgia Institute of Technology , compiling a career college football record of...
. Excelling as an assistant coach, Brooks was poised to become Rogers' replacement but was untimely stricken with inoperable lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
.
Brooks was a non-smoker and non-drinker. According to doctor’s reports, he developed cancer as a result of exposure to asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
during a summer job as a teen. Despite his courageous fight over a two year period, Brooks passed in 1977. Among friends and family, Brooks' funeral procession included College and Pro Football greats such as Eddie Lee Ivery
Eddie Lee Ivery
Eddie Lee Ivery is a former professional American football player.-Early years through college:Ivery was born in McDuffie County, Georgia. He played high school football at Thomson High School in Thomson, Georgia...
and Bill Curry
Bill Curry
William Alexander "Bill" Curry is an American football coach and former player. He is the current head coach at Georgia State University, which began competing in college football in 2010...
.
Brooks' struggles with cancer contributed to reform and ultimately the elimination of unsafe asbestos production. Governments and businesses all around the world have urgently taken measures to eliminate structures containing asbestos over the last twenty five years.