The 1951 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

in the

1951 college football season The 1951 college football season was the 83rd season of intercollegiate football in the United States. It finished with Princeton halfback Dick Kazmaier winning the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award. Five teams have laid claim to the 1951 nat ...

. It was the Crimson Tide's 57th overall and 18th season as a member of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC). The team was led by head coach

Harold Drew Harold Delbert "Red" Drew (November 9, 1894 – October 20, 1979) was an American football, basketball, and track and field coach for over 40 years. He was the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1947 to 1954, compiling a ...

, in his fifth year, and played their home games at Denny Stadium in

Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

Legion Field Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, Ladd Stadium in Mobile and at the

Cramton Bowl Cramton Bowl is a 21,000-seat stadium located in Montgomery, Alabama. Cramton Bowl opened in 1922 as a Baseball park, baseball stadium and has been home to Major League Baseball spring training and to minor league baseball. Today, however, its pr ...

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

. They finished with a record of five wins and six losses (5–6 overall, 3–5 in the SEC). The Crimson Tide opened the season with an 89–0 victory over

Delta State Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...

, and the 89 points were the most scored by an Alabama team since the 1922 squad defeated

Marion Military Institute Marion Military Institute, the Military College of Alabama, (MMI, sometimes Marion Institute, Marion Military, or simply Marion) is a Public college, public military junior college in Marion, Alabama. Founded in 1842, it is the official state mi ...

110–0. However, the Tide followed the victory up with a four-game losing streak that included losses against

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, Vanderbilt, Villanova and

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. Alabama then evened its record at 4–4 with victories over

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and , but then lost to

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

to secure their first losing season since

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 10 – The Aceh Sultanate was fully annexed by the Dutch forces, deposing the last sultan, marking the end of the Aceh War that have lasted for al ...

. The Crimson Tide then closed the season with a 25–7 victory over Auburn. The game against Delta State at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery marked the first year of a four-year period in which Alabama, which was already regularly playing games in Mobile and Birmingham as well as Tuscaloosa, began playing "home" games in four different cities.

Schedule

Game summaries

Delta State

*Source: To open the 1951 season, Alabama shutout the

Statesmen 89–0 at the Cramton Bowl in the only all-time meeting between the schools.1951 Season Recap The Crimson Tide scored multiple touchdowns in all four quarters in what was the largest margin of victory for Alabama since a 110–0 win over the

to open the 1922 season. In the first quarter, touchdowns were scored on a 30-yard Bobby Marlow run, a 27-yard James Melton run and an 11-yard Clell Hobson pass to Joe Curtis for a 21–0 lead. In the second quarter, touchdowns were scored on a 36-yard Larry Chiodetti run and a three-yard Joe Compton run for a 35–0 halftime lead. In the third quarter, touchdowns were scored on a 51-yard Marlow run, a 15-yard George McCain pass to Chiodetti, a one-yard Bobby Luna run and a 46-yard Luna pass to Thomas Tharp for a 63–0 lead. In the fourth quarter, touchdowns were scored on a 63-yard Tommy Lewis run, a 44-yard Luna run, an 11-yard Tharp run and a 19-yard Hobson run to make the final score 89–0. In total, the Crimson Tide outgained the Statesmen in total offense 553 to 163 yards.

LSU

*Source: To open conference play for the 1951 season, Alabama was defeated by

13–7 at Ladd Stadium in Mobile. After a scoreless first quarter, LSU took a 6–0 halftime lead when James Barton threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Warren Virgets. The Crimson Tide responded to take a 7–6 lead in the third after Bobby Marlow scored on a one-yard touchdown run. However, their lead was short lived as Leroy Labat scored the game-winning touchdown for the Tigers on an 18-yard run for the 13–7 victory. The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against LSU to 13–6–3.

Vanderbilt

*Source: In what was their first road game of the season, the Crimson Tide lost to the Vanderbilt

Commodores Commodores, often billed as The Commodores, are an American funk and Soul music, soul group. The group's most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer. The members of the group met as m ...

by a final score of 22–20 in Nashville. After Alabama took a 7–0 lead in the first quarter on a one-yard James Melton run, Vanderbilt took a 12–7 lead in the second quarter on a Richard Foster run and a four-yard Charles Wade pass to Ted Kirkland. The Crimson Tide responded with a one-yard Bobby Marlow touchdown run late in the second to take a 13–12 halftime lead. The Commodores rebounded in the third to retake the lead 22–13 after Foster scored on a 10-yard run and later kick a 46-yard

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

. A four-yard Marlow touchdown in the fourth made the final score 22–20 in favor of the Commodores. The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Vanderbilt to 16–14–1.

Villanova

*Source: On a Friday night in the first Tuscaloosa game of the season, Alabama was defeated by the Villanova

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

, 41–18, at Denny Stadium in the only all-time meeting between the schools. After a scoreless first quarter, Villanova took a 21–0 lead into halftime with touchdowns scored on touchdown runs of eight-yards by Robert Haner, two-yards by Dick Bedesem and 38-yards by Benjamin Addiego. Alabama opened the third with their first points of the game on a two-yard Bobby Marlow touchdown run. However, the Wildcats responded with a four-yard William Brannau touchdown pass to Joseph Rilo to make the score 28–6 as the teams entered the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter, each team scored a pair of touchdowns and made the final score 41–18 in favor of the Wildcats. Alabama scored on a pair of long touchdown passes from Clell Hobson to George MacAfee from 75 and 67 yards and Villanova scored on touchdown runs of one yard by Bedesem and five yards by Addiego. The loss marked the first time the Crimson Tide lost three consecutive games since the 1927 season, ended a 20-game winning streak at Denny Stadium and the 41 points allowed to the Wildcats were the most scored by an Alabama opponent since a 54–4 loss to Sewanee in

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 9 – The "Mud March (suffragists), Mud March", the ...

Tennessee

*Sources: Alabama lost 27–13 to the rival

Volunteers Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...

and it marked both their first loss to Tennessee at Legion Field since the 1940 season and the first four-game losing streak for the Crimson Tide since the 1910 season. Alabama took a 7–0 first quarter lead on a one-yard Bobby Marlow run only to see Tennessee tie the game 7–7 at halftime after

Bert Rechichar Albert Daniel Rechichar (Pronounced: "Rech-i-SHAR") (July 16, 1930 – July 19, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a defensive back, halfback, and kicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college footbal ...

scored on a 20-yard

Hank Lauricella Francis Edward Lauricella, known as Hank Lauricella (October 9, 1930 – March 25, 2014), was an American real estate developer from suburban New Orleans, Louisiana, a college football player, and a member of both houses of the Louisiana State ...

touchdown pass in the second quarter. The Volunteers then took a 14–7 lead in the third on a three-yard Dick Ernsberger run before they closed the game with a pair of touchdowns in the fourth. In the final period Tennessee touchdowns were scored by Lauricella on a 35-yard run and on a 20-yard Harold Payne pass to Vince Kaseta; the lone Alabama touchdown was scored on a second, one-yard Marlow run to make the final score 27–13. Although the first Alabama game to be televised occurred in their matchup at Fordham in 1939, this game was broadcast on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

and was the first Alabama game to be broadcast over network television. The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Tennessee to 17–12–4.

Mississippi State

*Source: At Starkville, the Crimson Tide shutout the

Maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas and islands of the Indian Ocean who escaped from slavery, through flight or manumission, and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with Indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into ...

7–0 to end their four-game losing streak at Scott Field. The only points of the game came in the second quarter when Clell Hobson threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Larry Chiodetti for Alabama. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi State to 27–7–2.

Georgia

*Sources: In their final road game of the season, Alabama defeated the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a rel ...

16–14 Sanford Stadium in Athens. After a scoreless first quarter, the Bulldogs took a 7–0 halftime lead after Conrad Manisera returned a punt 72-yards for a second-quarter touchdown. The Crimson Tide responded over the final two quarters with a pair of Clell Hobson touchdown passes to George McCain from 14 and 21-yards and a 21-yard Harold Lutz

for a 16–7 lead. Georgia then scored the final touchdown of the game late in the fourth on a two-yard Manisera run to make the final score 16–14. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Georgia to 19–15–3.

Mississippi Southern

*Source: After the Mississippi Southern Southerners took a 7–0 lead, the Crimson Tide responded with 40 unanswered points for the 40–7 victory at Denny Stadium. The lone Southern touchdown came early in the first quarter on a two-yard Granville Hart run for their brief 7–0 lead. Alabama responded with touchdowns on 58-yard Virgil Willis

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

return and runs of 53 and five yards by George McCain for a 19–7 Crimson Tide lead at the end of the first quarter. They then closed the game with touchdowns on a four-yard Bobby Marlow run in the third and two-yard Thomas Tharp run and 21-yard Clell Hobson pass to Bobby Luna in the fourth quarter. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi Southern to 5–0.

Georgia Tech

*Source: After Alabama held

to only six first half points, the Yellow Jackets scored three second half touchdowns en route to a 27–7 victory at Legion Field. The only first half points were scored on a 17-yard Elbert Crawford touchdown pass to Lambert Knox in the second quarter for a 6–0 halftime lead for Tech. The Yellow Jackets continued their scoring into the fourth quarter with touchdowns on a two-yard Windle Hardeman run and 21-yard Crawford pass to Jake Martin in the third and a 31-yard Crawford pass to Knox in the fourth for a 27–0 lead. The only Alabama points were scored late in the fourth on a one-yard Larry Chiodetti run to end the Tech shutout bid. The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Georgia Tech to 17–13–3.

Florida

*Source: On

homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States and Canada. United St ...

in Tuscaloosa, 17 unanswered points by

in the second half gave the Gators 30–21 win at Denny Stadium. The teams traded touchdowns in the first half to give Alabama a 21–13 halftime lead. Crimson Tide touchdowns were scored on a 10-yard Clell Hobson run, a 73-yard George McCain pass to Al Lary and a six-yard James Melton run; Gators touchdowns were scored on

Buford Long Buford Eugene Long (December 14, 1931 – September 1, 2006) was an American college and professional football player who was a defensive back, halfback and end in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons during the 1950s. Long pla ...

touchdown runs of 10 and eight-yards. Florida then closed with game with a 45-yard Haywood Sullivan touchdown pass to James French and a 14-yard Richard Casares

in the third and a one-yard Sullivan touchdown run in the fourth for the 30–21 Gators victory. The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Florida to 8–4.

Auburn

*Source: For the third time in four years since the revival of the Auburn series, Alabama defeated the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

25–7 at Legion Field. The Crimson Tide took a 13–0 halftime lead on touchdown runs of seven-yards by Bobby Marlow in the first and of three-yards by James Melton in the second. Third quarter Marlow touchdown runs of 39 and 22-yards gave Alabama a 25–0 lead before Auburn scored their only points on an eight-yard Homer Williams run in the fourth to make the final score 25–7. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Auburn to 7–8–1.

Personnel

Varsity letter winners

Coaching staff

References

General * Specific {{Alabama Crimson Tide football navbox

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Alabama Crimson Tide football seasons

Alabama Crimson Tide football The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama (variously Alabama, UA, or Bama) in the sport of American football. The Alabama Crimson Tide, Crimson Tide competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the Nat ...