The 1959 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 1959 college football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 65th overall and 26th 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

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

, in his second 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 ...

and at Ladd Stadium in

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. They finished with a record of seven wins, two losses and two ties (7–2–2 overall, 4–1–2 in the SEC) and with a loss against

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

in the inaugural

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic Cit ...

. The Crimson Tide opened the 1959 season with three consecutive games on the road. After they dropped the opener at

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 ...

, they rebounded with a victory at

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and then played Vanderbilt to a 7–7 tie at Dudley Field. Alabama then defeated in the first Denny Stadium game of the season and tied

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 ...

7–7 at Legion Field. On homecoming, the Crimson Tide defeated

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 ...

and then one week later defeated Tulane at Ladd Stadium. The win over Tulane was both the 100th Southeastern Conference victory in the history of the Alabama program and the 100th all-time victory for Bryant as a head coach. Alabama then went on to upset

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 as a result entered the polls the following week for the first time since the 1954 season. The Crimson Tide then closed the regular season with a wins over Memphis State and Auburn that snapped what was then a school record five-game Iron Bowl losing streak. Alabama next accepted an invitation to compete in the inaugural

where they were upset by

in the final game of the season.

Schedule

Game summaries

Georgia

*Sources: To open the 1959 season,

Fran Tarkenton Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940), nicknamed "the Scrambler", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He is wi ...

led the

Bulldogs to a 17–3 victory over the Crimson Tide at Athens.1959 Season Recap The Bulldogs took an early 3–0 lead after Durward Pennington connected on a 35-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, ...

in the first quarter. Georgia then extended their lead further to 10–0 at halftime on a 40-yard Bill Godfrey touchdown run in the second quarter. After Alabama responded with their only points in the third on a 23-yard Fred Sington Jr. field goal, Tarkenton scored on a one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that made the final score 17–3. The 17 points scored were the most allowed by a Bryant led defense to that point, and the Georgia win marked their first in an opening game since their 1954 season. The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Georgia to 23–18–4.

Houston

*Source: A week after they opened the season with a loss at Georgia, the Crimson Tide shutout the

Cougars 3–0 in the first all-time meeting between the schools. On a rainy evening, the only points scored came in the third quarter on a 25-yard Fred Sington Jr.

. In the game, the Crimson Tide defense had three

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 ...

s, but was also penalized eight times for 99-yards in the victory.

Vanderbilt

*Sources: For the third time in as many seasons, the Crimson Tide played 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 ...

to a tie, this time by a 7–7 margin in Nashville. After a scoreless first quarter, the Commodores took a 7–0 halftime lead after Tom Moore scored on a short touchdown run in the second quarter. Alabama tied the game early in the fourth quarter on a short Pat Trammell touchdown run, Russell Morris missed a 37-yard

attempt later in the quarter and the game ended tied 7–7. The tie brought Alabama's all-time record against Vanderbilt to 18–16–4.

Chattanooga

*Sources: In rainy conditions for the first home game of the 1959 season, the Crimson Tide shutout the

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

Mocs 13–0 in Tuscaloosa. Alabama took a 7–0 first quarter lead when Robert Skelton scored on an 18-yard touchdown run. Pat Trammell then scored the second touchdown of the game in the third on a 54-yard run that made the score 13–0. For the game, Trammell rushed for 106 yards on 17 carries to lead the Crimson Tide. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Chattanooga to 8–0.

Tennessee

*Sources: In their annual rivalry game against

, Alabama played the No. 14

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 ...

to a 7–7 tie in Birmingham. Tennessee took an early 7–0 lead in the first quarter. Bill Majors scored on a two-yard touchdown run that capped a nine-play, 45-yard drive. The Crimson Tide responded in the second quarter when Pat Trammell threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Stanley Bell that tied the score 7–7. The only other scoring opportunity came late in the fourth quarter, and after Frank Sington Jr. missed an eight-yard field goal for Alabama, the game ended in a 7–7 tie. The tie brought Alabama's all-time record against Tennessee to 18–18–6.

Mississippi State

*Sources: 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, Alabama shutout the

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10–0 and secured their first conference victory of the 1959 season. After a scoreless first quarter, Alabama took a 3–0 halftime lead after Fred Sington Jr. connected on a 25-yard field goal. They then extended their lead to 10–0 in the third quarter when Bobby Skelton threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Stanley Bell. The Crimson Tide defense was dominant in the victory as they had four

s for the game. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi State to 31–10–3.

Tulane

*Sources: In their annual home game at Ladd Stadium in Mobile, the Crimson Tide overcame five turnovers and defeated the Tulane

Green Wave A green wave occurs when a series of traffic lights (usually three or more) are coordinated to allow continuous traffic flow over several Intersection (road), intersections in one main direction. Any vehicle traveling along with the green wave ( ...

19–7. After a scoreless first quarter, Alabama took a 7–0 lead after Marlin Dyess scored on a four-yard touchdown run. The Greenies responded later in the quarter with a 10-yard Phil Nugent touchdown pass to Pete Abadie that tied the game 7–7 at halftime. The Crimson Tide then scored a pair of second half touchdowns. The first came in the third quarter on a 22-yard Bobby Skelton pass to Tommy Brooker and the second in the fourth quarter on a 10-yard W. E. Richardson run. The win was both the 100th Southeastern Conference victory in the history of the Alabama program and the 100th victory for Bryant as a head coach. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Tulane to 18–10–2.

Georgia Tech

*Sources: Behind a 43-yard game-winning Fred Sington Jr. field goal, the Crimson Tide upset the

Yellow Jackets 9–7 at Legion Field. Tech took an early 7–0 after Gary O'Steen

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

d the opening kickoff that gave the Yellow Jackets possession at the Alabama 27-yard line. Six plays later Marvin Tibbetts scored on a two-yard run. Alabama's only touchdown drive was set up on their next possession after Tech fumbled a punt that was recovered by W. E. Richardson at their 49-yard line. Eight plays later, Marlin Dyess scored on a 10-yard run, but Bryant then elected to go for a

two-point conversion In gridiron football, a two-point conversion, two-point convert, or two-point attempt is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that ...

that was unsuccessful and the Jackets led 7–6. What proved to be the game-winning

came on a 43-yard Sington kick in the second quarter that made the score 9–7. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Georgia Tech to 20–18–3.

Memphis State

*Sources: After their upset victory over Georgia Tech, the Crimson Tide entered the polls for the first time since the 1954 season in the No. 17 position. Down 7–0 at halftime to underdog Memphis State, the Crimson Tide rallied with a pair of second half touchdowns and defeated the Tigers 14–7 at Denny Stadium. After a scoreless first quarter, Memphis took a 7–0 lead after Jimmy Wright scored on a one-yard touchdown run that capped an 84-yard drive. Alabama then took an 8–7 lead in the third quarter when W. E. Richardson scored on a fourth-and-three touchdown run followed it with a successful

. Mal Moore then threw a four-yard touchdown pass to William Rice in the fourth quarter that made the final score 14–7. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Memphis State to 2–0.

Auburn

*Sources: As they entered their season finale against No. 11 Auburn, the Crimson Tide dropped two spots to the No. 19 position after their closer than expected game against Memphis State. At Legion Field in the annual

Iron Bowl The Alabama–Auburn football rivalry, better known as the Iron Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game between the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn University Tigers, both charter members of the Southeastern Conf ...

game, Alabama shutout the Tigers 10–0 and won their first game against their rival since the 1953 season. After a scoreless first quarter, Alabama took a 3–0 halftime lead on a 27-yard Tommy Brooker field goal. They extended their lead further to 10–0 in the third quarter on a 39-yard Bobby Skelton touchdown pass to Marlin Dyess. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Auburn to 10–13–1.

Penn State

*Sources: After their victory over Auburn in their season finale, Bryant turned down an invitation to play in the Bluegrass Bowl. However, two days later they accepted an invitation to compete in the inaugural

against the

Nittany Lions in the first all-time meeting between the schools. As they entered their contest against Penn State, Alabama finished the season with the No. 10 ranking and the Nittany Lions with the No. 12 ranking. At Municipal Stadium, Alabama was upset 7–0 by Penn State with the only touchdown scored in the second quarter on a 17-yard touchdown reception by Roger Kochman from Galen Hall on a fake field goal attempt. This bowl game marked the beginning of a school record 25 consecutive bowl appearances.

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 ...