ALBION HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL 1956 HOMECOMING PARADE

October is football month for our area high schools. Albion High School was part of the Twin Valley league during the 1950s, and one of the toughest teams they had to play against was the East Lansing Trojans. The 1956 season saw Albion play the Trojans for Albion’s homecoming. Albion didn’t have its own football field back then, and so until 1967 they played at Briton Field at Albion College.

A favorite event for homecoming was a homecoming parade, with floats from the various classes and other groups. These parades were held in downtown Albion the afternoon of the game. From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photo of the 1956 homecoming parade in downtown Albion. Featured are the football players around a float bearing the legend "Push Those Trojans Back to Troy." A shield with a cross is part of the design and appears on the right. In the distance, left to right are these businesses: Miller Jewelers, Union Store, Albion Paint Spot, and of course, the Bohm Theatre.

Unfortunately, Albion lost their homecoming game that year, by a score of 19 Albion, 20 East Lansing, but won all their others. The 1957 Breeze Annual summarized that season: "The 1956-57 football season was another successful one as the final Twin Valley standings found Albion in second place, the only loss being to East Lansing, the title holder, and the team rated first in State Class B standings. In that same poll Albion was rated fifth for the second year in a row. The Wildcats piled up a record of seven wins and one loss in conference play, and one win in a "non-league" game against Grand Ledge before the start of the regular season."

	Frank Passic — Albion Historian An Albion native and 1971 graduate of Albion High School, Frank Passic has been researching and writing Albion history since 1976. He is the creator of the Albion Historical Notebook, with hundreds of articles appearing weekly in the Morning Star and The Recorder. Frank maintains an extensive personal archive including Riverside Cemetery records, family surname files, genealogies, photographs, city directories, and high school yearbooks. Support his 2026 research at the Historic Albion Michigan Facebook page. Historical Notebook \| From the Archives \| Subject List \| 100 Years Ago \| Alphabetical Index \| Frank Passic Home Page \| Albion History Books \| Contact Frank
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