| 1956Tennessee A&I Tigers football | |
|---|---|
Black college national champion MAA champion | |
Orange Blossom Classic, W 41–39 vs.Florida A&M | |
| Conference | Midwest Athletic Association |
| Record | 10–0 (4–0 MAA) |
| Head coach |
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| Home stadium | Hale Stadium |
Seasons | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1Tennessee A&I $ | 4 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3Grambling | 1 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7Jackson State | 1 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 14Central State (OH) | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lincoln (MO) | 1 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky State | 0 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1956 Tennessee A&I Tigers football team representedTennessee Agricultural & Industrial State College as a member of theMidwest Athletic Association (MAA) during the1956 college football season. In their second season under head coachHoward C. Gentry, the Tigers compiled a perfect 10–0 record, won the MAA championship, shut out five of ten opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 394 to 64. The team was also recognized asblack college national champion.
The team was led by halfbacks Jesse Wilburn and Ray Mitchell, quarterback Robert Crawford, ends Don Taylor and Leon Jamison, and tackle Charles Gavin. Allowing only 25 points in nine regular season games, the team had the best scoring defense in the country.[2]
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 29 | Langston* | W 46–7 | |||||
| October 6 | Grambling |
| W 33–0 | [3] | |||
| October 15 | vs.Prairie View A&M* | W 45–0 | 5,000 | [4] | |||
| October 20 | atCentral State (OH) | Wilberforce, OH | W 32–6 | ||||
| October 27 | vs.Maryland State* | Washington, DC | W 6–0 | 12,000 | [5] | ||
| November 3 | Southern* |
| W 52–6 | [6] | |||
| November 10 | vs.Alcorn A&M* | Memphis, TN | W 52–6 | [7] | |||
| November 17 | atKentucky State | Frankfort, KY | W 40–0 | ||||
| November 22 | Lincoln (MO) |
| W 47–0 | ||||
| December 1 | vs.Florida A&M* | W 41–39 | 41,808 | [8] | |||
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