December 22, 1956

War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock (Pulaski County) hosted the Aluminum Bowl football game. The game pitted Montana State College against St. Joseph’s College of Indiana in the first national football championship game of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). A variety of events and celebrations promoted the industries, ingenuity, and talent of Arkansas, but the game itself—rain soaked, poorly attended, and ending in a tie—was nothing short of a disaster. Even the halftime feature—Miss Arkansas, Barbara Banks, wearing a $25,000 dress made out of aluminum as she introduced Governor Orval Faubus—had to be bundled in a coat to protect the dress from the downpour.