| FTBL Alabama Football History

[252BAMA]

The only real blemish on Coach Bryant’s record is his Bowl Record. Following the second close loss to ND, my dad punched our refrigerator so hard it damaged the Freon tube and we didn’t have use of a refrigerator for several weeks until we could afford another one.

I'm inclined to give coach Bryant a pass on the 7 winless Bowl games from 1968-1975. Reason being the death of one Pat Trammell on 12/10/1968. I surmise he had difficulty focusing on football in December for at least those next seven years. The Bowl record certainly indicates as much.

"A short time after Coach Bryant retired (due to advanced heart disease), legendary Birmingham News writer Clyde Bolton caught Bryant in a melancholy moment and asked him quietly, “Who was your favorite player, Coach?”

Oh course, Bryant would never pick one kid over the other, and he loved the guys who consistently tried to outwork their limited abilities every bit as much as his glittering All-Americans, but Bolton finally caught the legendary Alabama molder-of-men just right.

Coach Bryant talked about 10 or 15 “really special” players and then, pausing a moment, famously told the writer, “Now you’ll have to forgive me here for getting a little sentimental but … Pat Trammell was not just my favorite player … he was the favorite person … I’ve ever had in my life.”

That's who Pat Trammell was."

There is much, much more here that justifies my belief. A very good read.

Roy Exum: Scottsboro’s Pat Trammell

 

[Kirk Van de Graaff]

I'm inclined to give coach Bryant a pass on the 7 winless Bowl games from 1968-1975. Reason being the death of one Pat Trammell on 12/10/1968. I surmise he had difficulty focusing on football in December for at least those next seven years. The Bowl record certainly indicates as much.

"A short time after Coach Bryant retired (due to advanced heart disease), legendary Birmingham News writer Clyde Bolton caught Bryant in a melancholy moment and asked him quietly, “Who was your favorite player, Coach?”

Oh course, Bryant would never pick one kid over the other, and he loved the guys who consistently tried to outwork their limited abilities every bit as much as his glittering All-Americans, but Bolton finally caught the legendary Alabama molder-of-men just right.

Coach Bryant talked about 10 or 15 “really special” players and then, pausing a moment, famously told the writer, “Now you’ll have to forgive me here for getting a little sentimental but … Pat Trammell was not just my favorite player … he was the favorite person … I’ve ever had in my life.”

That's who Pat Trammell was."

There is much, much more here that justifies my belief. A very good read.

Roy Exum: Scottsboro’s Pat Trammell

As this thread goes on, There will be a Player aspect of it along with other things. Great read so far!

 

[252BAMA]

Good stuff.

Starr, Namath, and Stabler... all 3 incredible players, but all 3 were also extremely nice and generous with their time to their fans...

I passed up on a chance several years ago to get a signed helmet by all 3, and it was a really cool UA throwback helmet with no facemask. I regret not getting it way too often...

Pat Trammell was the nicest person I ever met while at Bama. He would sit on the bleachers at Foster and watch intramural basketball. Would talk to any and all who approached him.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Pat Trammell was the nicest person I ever met while at Bama. He would sit on the bleachers at Foster and watch intramural basketball. Would talk to any and all who approached him.

Always heard he was super nice.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Pat Trammell was the nicest person I ever met while at Bama. He would sit on the bleachers at Foster and watch intramural basketball. Would talk to any and all who approached him.

Also, since you brought it up... Foster was looking glorious yesterday morning...

| LIFE - A phone photo thread...

A bald eagle looking out the Potomac River at Mount Vernon. Sorry, I couldn't get any closer. Seeing an eagle in the wild never gets old.

rolltidebama.com

 

[64Tide]

Trammel the QB and Bama having trouble moving the ball. So he calls for a punt on 3rd down. Reaching the sideline, Coach Bryant asks him why punt on 3rd down. “Well Coach those SoB’s couldn’t block anybody so I thought I’d see if we could play defense”. Year and opponent escapes me.

 

[Kirk Van de Graaff]

Ozzie Newsome Jr.
The quarterbacks who would follow Trammell were a virtual all-star list, most notably Joe Namath and Kenny Stabler. After winning two more national championships in 1964 and 1965.

Ozzie Newsome

Joe Namath

Kenny Stabler (The Snake)

 

[Kirk Van de Graaff]

Alabama endured several subpar seasons in the late 1960s. In response to this mediocrity, Bryant made a radical change in 1971 when, on the eve of the team’s showdown with Southern California at the Los Angeles Coliseum, he installed the wishbone offense, primarily an option offense that used a running quarterback, a fullback, and two tailbacks. In one of the best-kept secrets in football history, the Crimson Tide shifted to the formation in August practices, helping them to surprise the Trojans with a 17-10 victory. It was an upset of epic proportions and served as the catalyst for a memorable decade that featured national title runs in 1973, 1978, and 1979. Among the players of the decade were guard John Hannah and wide receiver Ozzie Newsome, both of whom would become college and NFL Hall of Fame members.

John Hannah


Ozzie Newsome (Encyclopedia of Alabama)

 

[Kirk Van de Graaff]

Alabama capped off the 1970s with back-to-back national championships in 1978 and 1979. One of the most famous plays in the decade came in the 1979 Sugar Bowl, when linebacker Barry Krauss stopped Penn State’s Mike Guman on a fourth-down goal-line stand. In a match-up of legendary coaches, Bryant and Penn State’s Joe Paterno, second-ranked Alabama defeated top-ranked Penn State 14-7 to capture the fifth national crown under Bryant’s leadership. Bryant’s final national championship came a year later, when the Crimson Tide finished with a 12-0 record and beat Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl.

After the 1982 season, Bryant announced his retirement.


On Jan/26th of 1983 just 28 days after his Liberty bowl win, Coach Passed away, leaving what most thought was a career that will never be matched.

 

[PurlJam]

Alabama capped off the 1970s with back-to-back national championships in 1978 and 1979. One of the most famous plays in the decade came in the 1979 Sugar Bowl, when linebacker Barry Krauss stopped Penn State’s Mike Guman on a fourth-down goal-line stand. In a match-up of legendary coaches, Bryant and Penn State’s Joe Paterno, second-ranked Alabama defeated top-ranked Penn State 14-7 to capture the fifth national crown under Bryant’s leadership. Bryant’s final national championship came a year later, when the Crimson Tide finished with a 12-0 record and beat Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl.

After the 1982 season, Bryant announced his retirement.

View attachment 26161
On Jan/26th of 1983 just 28 days after his Liberty bowl win, Coach Passed away, leaving what most thought was a career that will never be matched.

The day Paul W. Bryant passed is one of those "days" in life you never forget. Down to where you were, to the exact day and time of day it was when you heard the news.

 

[Rolltide24]

The day Paul W. Bryant passed is one of those "days" in life you never forget. Down to where you were, to the exact day and time of day it was when you heard the news.

Yes. Saw it on the local news sitting in the floor in front of our black and white console TV in the living room. The memory would not have been significant nor stayed with me these 40 years if not for my dad crying. First time I’d ever seen that. That made it impactful. I knew who Bear was and had seen him at a few games, but was too young to appreciate him and the situation.

 

[Kirk Van de Graaff]

After The Bear retired, he turned over the reins to former player Ray Perkins, then the head coach of the New York Giants. A month after coaching his team to a victory over Illinois in the Liberty Bowl, Alabama’s icon passed away from a heart attack on January 26, 1983. More than 100,000 fans lined the interstate from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham, where the coach was interred at Elmwood Cemetery. Perkins served as head coach until 1986, compiling a record of 32-15-1. He was responsible for recruiting two of Alabama’s greatest players, the linebacking tandem of Cornelius Bennett and Derrick Thomas. Bennett’s outstanding play in a 28-10 win over Notre Dame in 1986 helped him earn the Lombardi Trophy, given annually to the best lineman in the nation. Two years later, Thomas’s sterling performance against Penn State helped him earn the Butkus Trophy.

 

[OldPlayer]

After three dismal seasons from 1955-57 under Jennings B. “Ears” Whitworth, Alabama had an Abismal record of 4–24–2. His omly Notable Player you ask? Bart Starr...

Alabama Crimson Tide (Southeastern Conference) (1955–1957)
1955	Alabama	0–10	0–7	12th
1956	Alabama	2–7–1	2–5	T–8th
1957	Alabama	2–7–1	1–6–1	10th
Alabama:	4–24–2	3–18–1
Total:	26–51–4

View attachment 26120

Jennings B. Whitworth
View attachment 26121

Bart Starr

Drafted in the 17th round, #200 overall.

 

[Kirk Van de Graaff]

After Perkins accepted the head coaching job with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 1986 season, Georgia Tech’s Bill Curry assumed the helm of the Crimson Tide, a position he held for only three years. His 1989 team, which included future Clemson coach William “Dabo” Swinney, finished 10-2 and shared the SEC title with Auburn and Tennessee. Curry left for the University of Kentucky after the 1990 Sugar Bowl with 26 wins and 10 losses.

Bill Curry and Derrik Thomas

 

[Kirk Van de Graaff]

Gene Stallings—a former Bryant player at Texas A&M and assistant at Alabama—was hired as Alabama’s next head coach. The tall Texan displayed many of the qualities of Bryant, especially the mental and physical toughness of his teams. From 1990-96, Stallings’ teams went 70-16-1, including a 13-0 season in 1992, when Alabama won the national championship and Stallings was selected as national Coach of the Year. The Stallings era ended on New Year’s Day 1997, when his Crimson Tide team defeated Michigan, 17-14, in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, with future award-winning Washington Football Team player Chris Samuels playing in his first season for Alabama.

 

[mando]

Gene Stallings—a former Bryant player at Texas A&M and assistant at Alabama—was hired as Alabama’s next head coach. The tall Texan displayed many of the qualities of Bryant, especially the mental and physical toughness of his teams. From 1990-96, Stallings’ teams went 70-16-1, including a 13-0 season in 1992, when Alabama won the national championship and Stallings was selected as national Coach of the Year. The Stallings era ended on New Year’s Day 1997, when his Crimson Tide team defeated Michigan, 17-14, in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, with future award-winning Washington Football Team player Chris Samuels playing in his first season for Alabama.

View attachment 26196

Was always curious if we would have floundered in the wilderness if Stallings would have stayed on for another 10-15 years. Does not seem like we would have. Also would not have gotten CNS so mabe it worked out in the end.

I was a big fan of Coach Stallings. Loved the toughness his teams played with. Of course most people did not like his offensive philisophy but I was ok with it. Might have been a struggle keeping up if he was unwilling to adapt.

 

[Kirk Van de Graaff]

Former Alabama player Mike Dubose coached the Crimson Tide from 1997-2000, with his 1999 team winning the SEC title and earning a spot in the Orange Bowl. Running back Shaun Alexander and offensive tackle Chris Samuels were the stars of the team. Alexander was voted as the SEC Player of the Year, and Samuels claimed the Outland Trophy as the best lineman in the country.

 

[Kirk Van de Graaff]

Was always curious if we would have floundered in the wilderness if Stallings would have stayed on for another 10-15 years. Does not seem like we would have. Also would not have gotten CNS so mabe it worked out in the end.

I was a big fan of Coach Stallings. Loved the toughness his teams played with. Of course most people did not like his offensive philisophy but I was ok with it. Might have been a struggle keeping up if he was unwilling to adapt.

NCAA Sanctions and hiring a new AD made him feel the need to move on. I Liked him too, Loved seeing John Mark at the museum too.

 

[It Takes Eleven]

Was always curious if we would have floundered in the wilderness if Stallings would have stayed on for another 10-15 years. Does not seem like we would have. Also would not have gotten CNS so mabe it worked out in the end.

I was a big fan of Coach Stallings. Loved the toughness his teams played with. Of course most people did not like his offensive philisophy but I was ok with it. Might have been a struggle keeping up if he was unwilling to adapt.

I think he had a falling out with the administration, but I was a big fan, too. He's the only coach I've ever had the chance to talk to, and what a treat that was.

 

[Kirk Van de Graaff]

I think he had a falling out with the administration, but I was a big fan, too. He's the only coach I've ever had the chance to talk to, and what a treat that was.

Him and Sorenson didnt see eye to eye.