🏈 Why do we claim 1941 as a championship year?

[PhillyGirl]

If we are so obsessed with keeping 17 championships, that's fine, just claim the 1966 or 1977 seasons. But 1941? REALLY?

Can someone take off their crimson glasses and honestly explain how/why this is a thing?

From what I can gather, 5 pre-Bryant titles were added to the media guide in the 1980s to boost the (already good) number.

Seems kinda bullshit to me. Seems like they just want to sell more crap with the number of "championships" on it, or something.

 

[bamachine]

It was done originally to spit in the face of ND, so Bama could claim more than them. I agree, why pick '41 when '66 would be a much better claim. Both years they were selected by a minor selector.

FWIW, I own nothing with the number of claimed titles on it, other than media guides.

 

[rocknthefreeworld]

1941 is one of the ones that the NCAA recognizes Alabama for since Houlgate put Bama in number 1 for that year. So it is not wrong to accept it, although most folks think it is a really crappy one to accept.

NCAA has us down for 21 as below. I would be fine with adjusting to only accept the ones where at least 2 selected us, meaning we would take 1`7 of them.

1925 Berryman, Billingsley, Boand, Football Research, Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation, Poling, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)

1926 Berryman, Billingsley, Football Research, Helms*, National Championship Foundation*, Poling

1930 Berryman, Football Research, Parke Davis*, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)

1934 Berryman, Dunkel, Houlgate, Poling, Williamson

1941 Houlgate

1945 National Championship Foundation

1961 AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, FB News, Football Research, Helms, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, NFF, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess), UPI, Williamson

1964 AP, Berryman, Litkenhous, UPI

1965 AP, Football Research, FW*, National Championship Foundation

1966 Berryman, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)*

1973 Berryman, UPI

1975 Matthews*

1977 Football Research

1978 AP, FACT*, Football Research, FW, Helms*, National Championship Foundation*, NFF

1979 AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, FACT, FB News, FW, Helms, Matthews, National Championship Foundation, NFF, NY Times, Poling, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess), Sporting News, UPI

1992 AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, Eck, FACT, FB News, Football Research, FW, Matthews, National Championship Foundation, NY Times, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)*, Sporting News, UPI/NFF, USA/CNN

2009 Berryman, ^BCS, USA Today, AP, Dunkel, FW, NFF

2011 Berryman, ^BCS, USA Today, AP, Dunkel, FW, NFF

2012 AP, ^BCS, Dunkel, FW, NFF, USA Today

2015 College Football Playoff, AP, FW-NFF, USA Today

2017 College Football Playoff, AP, FW-NFF, USA Today

 

[PhillyGirl]

1941 is one of the ones that the NCAA recognizes Alabama for since Houlgate put Bama in number 1 for that year. So it is not wrong to accept it, although most folks think it is a really crappy one to accept.

NCAA has us down for 21 as below. I would be fine with adjusting to only accept the ones where at least 2 selected us, meaning we would take 1`7 of them.

1925 Berryman, Billingsley, Boand, Football Research, Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation, Poling, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)

1926 Berryman, Billingsley, Football Research, Helms*, National Championship Foundation*, Poling

1930 Berryman, Football Research, Parke Davis*, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)

1934 Berryman, Dunkel, Houlgate, Poling, Williamson

1941 Houlgate

1945 National Championship Foundation

1961 AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, FB News, Football Research, Helms, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, NFF, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess), UPI, Williamson

1964 AP, Berryman, Litkenhous, UPI

1965 AP, Football Research, FW*, National Championship Foundation

1966 Berryman, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)*

1973 Berryman, UPI

1975 Matthews*

1977 Football Research

1978 AP, FACT*, Football Research, FW, Helms*, National Championship Foundation*, NFF

1979 AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, FACT, FB News, FW, Helms, Matthews, National Championship Foundation, NFF, NY Times, Poling, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess), Sporting News, UPI

1992 AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, Eck, FACT, FB News, Football Research, FW, Matthews, National Championship Foundation, NY Times, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)*, Sporting News, UPI/NFF, USA/CNN

2009 Berryman, ^BCS, USA Today, AP, Dunkel, FW, NFF

2011 Berryman, ^BCS, USA Today, AP, Dunkel, FW, NFF

2012 AP, ^BCS, Dunkel, FW, NFF, USA Today

2015 College Football Playoff, AP, FW-NFF, USA Today

2017 College Football Playoff, AP, FW-NFF, USA Today

I guess I just don't get why we claim 1941 instead of 1945, 1966, 1975, or 1977. Why do we claim the most ridiculous one?

 

[PhillyGirl]

It was done originally to spit in the face of ND, so Bama could claim more than them. I agree, why pick '41 when '66 would be a much better claim. Both years they were selected by a minor selector.

FWIW, I own nothing with the number of claimed titles on it, other than media guides.

That just seems petty and childish (albeit kind of funny).

Yeah, I try to avoid anything that has the number. I feel like bragging about the sheer volume of championships is akin to bragging about how many people you've slept with .. except that in this case, you had nothing to do with it.

 

[rocknthefreeworld]

Basically, blame Wayne Atcheson. He added all the pre-Bryant ones while he was at Bama.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

Saw something on ohio state and they claim 1961 also.
And arkansas 1964
And of course central fl claim 2017
And of course
Auburn are western division champs in 2017
And 1993...opilika news national champions
And seems most are ok with bama and 1941
If not sew a patch over 17 and put 16

 

[PhillyGirl]

Saw something on ohio state and they claim 1961 also.
And arkansas 1964
And of course central fl claim 2017
And of course
Auburn are western division champs in 2017
And 1993...opilika news national champions
And seems most are ok with bama and 1941
If not sew a patch over 17 and put 16

Define "most" haha. The Bama/1941 claim are cited on almost a yearly basis as being complete BS, and there was a LOT more talk about it this year in the wake of the UCF stuff.

 

[rick4bama]

1941 is one of the ones that the NCAA recognizes Alabama for since Houlgate put Bama in number 1 for that year. So it is not wrong to accept it, although most folks think it is a really crappy one to accept.

NCAA has us down for 21 as below. I would be fine with adjusting to only accept the ones where at least 2 selected us, meaning we would take 1`7 of them.

1925 Berryman, Billingsley, Boand, Football Research, Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation, Poling, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)

1926 Berryman, Billingsley, Football Research, Helms*, National Championship Foundation*, Poling

1930 Berryman, Football Research, Parke Davis*, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)

1934 Berryman, Dunkel, Houlgate, Poling, Williamson

1941 Houlgate

1945 National Championship Foundation

1961 AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, FB News, Football Research, Helms, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, NFF, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess), UPI, Williamson

1964 AP, Berryman, Litkenhous, UPI

1965 AP, Football Research, FW*, National Championship Foundation

1966 Berryman, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)*

1973 Berryman, UPI

1975 Matthews*

1977 Football Research

1978 AP, FACT*, Football Research, FW, Helms*, National Championship Foundation*, NFF

1979 AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, FACT, FB News, FW, Helms, Matthews, National Championship Foundation, NFF, NY Times, Poling, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess), Sporting News, UPI

1992 AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, Eck, FACT, FB News, Football Research, FW, Matthews, National Championship Foundation, NY Times, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)*, Sporting News, UPI/NFF, USA/CNN

2009 Berryman, ^BCS, USA Today, AP, Dunkel, FW, NFF

2011 Berryman, ^BCS, USA Today, AP, Dunkel, FW, NFF

2012 AP, ^BCS, Dunkel, FW, NFF, USA Today

2015 College Football Playoff, AP, FW-NFF, USA Today

2017 College Football Playoff, AP, FW-NFF, USA Today

I guess I just don't get why we claim 1941 instead of 1945, 1966, 1975, or 1977. Why do we claim the most ridiculous one?

PIZZ those barners off!!

 

[PhillyGirl]

1941 is one of the ones that the NCAA recognizes Alabama for since Houlgate put Bama in number 1 for that year. So it is not wrong to accept it, although most folks think it is a really crappy one to accept.

NCAA has us down for 21 as below. I would be fine with adjusting to only accept the ones where at least 2 selected us, meaning we would take 1`7 of them.

1925 Berryman, Billingsley, Boand, Football Research, Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation, Poling, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)

1926 Berryman, Billingsley, Football Research, Helms*, National Championship Foundation*, Poling

1930 Berryman, Football Research, Parke Davis*, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)

1934 Berryman, Dunkel, Houlgate, Poling, Williamson

1941 Houlgate

1945 National Championship Foundation

1961 AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, FB News, Football Research, Helms, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, NFF, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess), UPI, Williamson

1964 AP, Berryman, Litkenhous, UPI

1965 AP, Football Research, FW*, National Championship Foundation

1966 Berryman, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)*

1973 Berryman, UPI

1975 Matthews*

1977 Football Research

1978 AP, FACT*, Football Research, FW, Helms*, National Championship Foundation*, NFF

1979 AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, FACT, FB News, FW, Helms, Matthews, National Championship Foundation, NFF, NY Times, Poling, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess), Sporting News, UPI

1992 AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, Eck, FACT, FB News, Football Research, FW, Matthews, National Championship Foundation, NY Times, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)*, Sporting News, UPI/NFF, USA/CNN

2009 Berryman, ^BCS, USA Today, AP, Dunkel, FW, NFF

2011 Berryman, ^BCS, USA Today, AP, Dunkel, FW, NFF

2012 AP, ^BCS, Dunkel, FW, NFF, USA Today

2015 College Football Playoff, AP, FW-NFF, USA Today

2017 College Football Playoff, AP, FW-NFF, USA Today

I guess I just don't get why we claim 1941 instead of 1945, 1966, 1975, or 1977. Why do we claim the most ridiculous one?

PIZZ those barners off!!

It IS always fun

 

[TUSKtimes]

Define "most" haha. The Bama/1941 claim are cited on almost a yearly basis as being complete BS, and there was a LOT more talk about it this year in the wake of the UCF stuff.

But why is it brought up? Mainly because Alabama is a tree shredding machine and has made a mockery of the BCS/playoffs since it has been a fair fight for everyone. I seldom have people who care enough to bring up 1941 who also care to congratulate the Tide for all the dominance since the 2 best teams have met on the field. Now I'm hearing from some of those same folks just how legitimate the UCF self-proclaimed title is, because of 1941, when that ugly beauty contest has been long gone decades ago.

My conclusion: It's good to be king." And I'm still partying like it was 2015.

 

[PhillyGirl]

Define "most" haha. The Bama/1941 claim are cited on almost a yearly basis as being complete BS, and there was a LOT more talk about it this year in the wake of the UCF stuff.

But why is it brought up? Mainly because Alabama is a tree shredding machine and has made a mockery of the BCS/playoffs since it has been a fair fight for everyone. I seldom have people who care enough to bring up 1941 who also care to congratulate the Tide for all the dominance since the 2 best teams have met on the field. Now I'm hearing from some of those same folks just how legitimate the UCF self-proclaimed title is, because of 1941, when that ugly beauty contest has been long gone decades ago.

My conclusion: It's good to be king." And I'm still partying like it was 2015.

So in 40 years (which is about how much time passed between 1941 and the 1941 'championship' being claimed by Bama), will it be OK for UCF to claim 2017?

I'd argue that it really hasn't been a fair fight, at least not for non-P5 teams .. and that's coming from me, a person who can't stand the UCF "truthers" and has defended Bama tooth and nail.

I'm playing Devil's advocate in most of this, but I do think the 1941 claim is dubious at best. One thing that bugs me, as an Alabama fan, is the circlejerk over sheer volume of titles. Again, it's like naming every ex you have. Has nothing to do with today and your current team. It's fine to celebrate a dynasty or back-to-backs but who the hell cares beyond that? Good memories are fun, sure, and it's important to honor a history of success .. but the dick stroking over championships many of today's fans weren't even alive for is just obnoxious.

 

[UAgrad93]

I never really understood the claim to '41. I would rather stake a claim to the '66 title.

 

[PhillyGirl]

I never really understood the claim to '41. I would rather stake a claim to the '66 title.

It has far more value than the 1941 "claim". I kinda wish we'd drop 1973 too. It's like we always have to contend seasons when Notre Dame is a clear winner (or co-winner).

 

[TUSKtimes]

So in 40 years (which is about how much time passed between 1941 and the 1941 'championship' being claimed by Bama), will it be OK for UCF to claim 2017?

No, this is NOT the beauty contest era. How will any revisionist look back on the BCS/Playoff era and claim anything when the 2 best teams settled it on the field?

I'd argue that it really hasn't been a fair fight, at least not for non-P5 teams .. and that's coming from me, a person who can't stand the UCF "truthers" and has defended Bama tooth and nail.

Sure, but we get tore a new one every year that our SOS isn't as strong as other years. This hasn't just cost UCF because of their regular season schedule, this has cost TCU, for their OOC schedule and when they didn't have a conference game. How indignant do you still get over that? It cost them and it should continue to cost teams like UCF and the Boise State's before them. Only 4 are getting in and lots of teams sitting at #5 are still wondering what happened.

I'm playing Devil's advocate in most of this, but I do think the 1941 claim is dubious at best. One thing that bugs me, as an Alabama fan, is the circlejerk over sheer volume of titles. Again, it's like naming every ex you have. Has nothing to do with today and your current team. It's fine to celebrate a dynasty or back-to-backs but who the hell cares beyond that? Good memories are fun, sure, and it's important to honor a history of success .. but the dick stroking over championships many of today's fans weren't even alive for is just obnoxious.

Most beauty contest years are dubious. We called them mythical national championships for over a 100 years for a reason. Just an opinion at best. If they don't mean much and people like yourself "don't really care" and so many teams are doing it, why the indignation at Alabama's claim? I submit it's because we are Alabama and we make an easy target.

But the term you've used a few times likening NCs to "every ex you've had" doesn't work for me. I may not think too hard on the 20's, 30's, and 40's of Alabama football but I get a kick out of our football history. Nothing compares.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

I never really understood the claim to '41. I would rather stake a claim to the '66 title.

It has far more value than the 1941 "claim". I kinda wish we'd drop 1973 too. It's like we always have to contend seasons when Notre Dame is a clear winner (or co-winner).

Well....there evolved into 2 polls...ap....upi.....through 60s and 70s....
Back n forth....yes in anybodys thoughts....nd beat Bama in 73 in the old sugar bowl...tulane stadium....i was there freezing to near death...
But upi voted before bowls...saying a bowl was a reward for a great season and dont over pressure it....( or something like that)....ap still did after bowls...
Both polls went post bowl after...again ND beating Bama in the orange bowl...this time...
Same thinking....remember 1978....we split with USC.....who beat bama in regular season... ( but usc lost to..I think...Stanford in regular season)....this time we got the NC after the bowls.......
Futher thinking....Auburn got 1957 NC....but was on probation.....so NO bowl...again...I think...should that be invalidated?
Polls...polls...polls...computers.....playoffs...BCS.....Oplika News....whatever

 

[ChemE]

ALERT - Not calling anyone here an aub fan!!!

When my aubarn friends bring up number of titles I use this:
Let's count backwards using the exact same metrics:
CFP
barn none - BAMA 2017, 2015
BCS
barn 2010 - BAMA 2012, 2011, 2009
Poll Era
barn 1957 - BAMA 1992, 1979, 1978, 1973, 1965, 1964, 1961
That's 12-2, do we really need to keep going?

 

[JoshB]

I wrote this a few years back...

Alabama’s National Championships: The Definitive Guide

 

[We All Bleed Crimson]

The bottom line is that Houlgate claimed Bama as national champs in 1941. Central Fla claimed themselves as champs in 2017 which is even more BS since there is now a playoff. And.. they ucf were NOT in it.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

The bottom line is that Houlgate claimed Bama as national champs in 1941. Central Fla claimed themselves as champs in 2017 which is even more BS since there is now a playoff. And.. they ucf were NOT in it.

But they have a tshirt that so claims it.....a banner...a police car...how much else do you want...!!!