History of the Alabama Crimson Tide Football Team
Alabama had a good team right from the beginning of their history. Over the first 30 years they went 116 – 53 – 16, but still lacked respect from the college football world. Going into the 1922 season the University of Penn was one of the powerhouses in college football with a 336 – 101 – 19 record dating back to 1885. That season Penn had Alabama on the schedule and they weren’t giving Alabama any respect, the game against the Tide was considered to be “a breather”. The Tide won 9 – 7 and was the first time Alabama had gone up north and won a game. It may not have been their most dominating game or their most exciting game, but it was the game that gave validation to the Alabama football program.
Alabama had many good seasons over the next 33 years but were unable to capture a National Championships. But when J.B. Whitworth coached the Tide to a 4 – 24 – 2 record from 1955 to 1957 Alabama decided it was time for a change. That’s when they hired Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. The one person who is synonymous with Alabama Football is Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. Bryant arrived in Tuscaloosa as head coach in 1958 and you could see an almost immediate change. Each of his first four years Alabama’s record increased culminating with a 11 – 0 record in 1961 that included a Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas and Coach Bryant’s first National Championship. The defense in 1961 gave up just 25 points the entire season, compiling six shutouts, five of them in consecutive games. Alabama followed up with a 10 – 1 record in 1962, a 9 – 2 record in 1963 and then back to back National Championships in ’64 and ’65. In 1966 Alabama went undefeated again but were only reward the number 3 spot, even though number 1 and 2 two had both tied a game that year. Bryant would coach Alabama for 25 seasons, winning six National Titles and compiling a record of 232 – 46 – 9.
There is a long list of players that could be considered as Alabama’s best: Joe Namath, Johnny Mack Brown, Lee Roy Jordan, Ozzie Newsome, John Hannah, Cornelius Bennett, Derrick Thomas and Shaun Alexander. But if forced to choose most people would say wide receiver Don Hutson, not just for his accomplishments at Alabama but also his contribution to the NFL afterwards. In the 1930s when Hutson played very few football teams, college or pro, passed the ball. Most teams only ran the ball then chose to pass only if they were desperate or wanted to surprise their opponent. One columnist once wrote “Hutson was football’s Copernicus, proving that the universe did not revolve around the run.” By the time Hutson retired in the 40’s the passing was an integral part of football offenses. After his days at Alabama Hutson played just nine seasons in the NFL but he led the NFL in touchdowns in eight of those nine seasons (nobody else has led the league more than three times). He also led the league in catches a record 8 times. Hutson holds the record for consecutive years leading the NFL in touchdowns catches with five straight seasons, and then he had another string of four consecutive years which still stands as the second longest streak. When Hutson retired with 488 receptions and 7,991 yards the next best receiver only had 190 catches and 3,309 yards.
Alabama’s biggest rival is easily the Auburn Tigers and it is perhaps the number one rivalry in all of sports. When the two teams first started playing each other the rivalry got so heated and ugly that arguments and fights arose. Their hate escalated to such a high level that they decided they couldn’t play each other anymore. After 41 years of refusing to play each other the two sides finally agreed to face off once again, but only if they played at a neutral site in Birmingham. Alabama’s legendary coach, Paul “Bear” Bryant, added fuel to the rivalry by referring to Auburn as “that cow college on the other side of the state.” The two school’s hate for each other is shared by the very passionate fans. Just about every single living soul in the state of Alabama is either an Alabama or Auburn fan. Alabama and Auburn is such a big rivalry that friends stop talking to each other because of their loyalties to their teams. There have even been some cases where coupled have divorced because of an Alabama-Auburn game.
It’s hard to pick Alabama’s best game because of all the history the school has. The game against Penn I mentioned before is certainly the most important game because it put the Crimson Tide on the map. Alabama’s biggest upset came in the 1966 Orange Bowl. After the regular season Alabama was ranked number four with an 8 – 1 – 1 record. The first through third place teams were undefeated so it looked like Alabama had no shot at the National Championship. The Orange Bowl was the last bowl game scheduled and in two previous games the number two and number three teams were upset. This meant there was just one team ahead of Alabama in the rankings, Nebraska, the team they faced that night. They could now win a share of the National Championship if they could beat Nebraska. The Cornhuskers were overwhelming favorites because of their size, their lineman outweighed Alabama’s linemen by twenty pounds each. However, Alabama shocked everyone with a few trick plays including running the ball with a Tackle and an onside kick while up 24 – 7. Nebraska never knew what hit them and Alabama went on to win 39 – 28 and won the National Championship.
