ORIGINS OF ALABAMA FOOTBALL
In 1892, W.G. Little of Livingston, Alabama introduced football to the
University where students showed much enthusiasm. Alabama's first game
was played in Birmingham on Nov. 11, 1892 against a picked team from
Professor Taylor's school and Birmingham high schools. Alabama won
56-0. Football quickly became a favorite with the students and the
athletes. In 1896, the board of trustees passed a rule that forbid
teams from traveling off campus. In 1897, only one game was played and
football was abandoned in 1898. Students protested to have the
football and travel bans lifted and play resumed again in 1899 and
continued without interruption until World War I cancelled the 1918
games. Alabama first gained national recognition in 1922 when they
defeated Penn, 9-7 in Philadelphia. In 1923, Wallace Wade became head
coach and led Alabama to a Rose Bowl victory and national championship
in 1925. On Jan 1, 1926, an underdog Alabama team defeated Washington
20-19 in the Rose Bowl and established a precedent that all Crimson
Tide teams uphold.
"CRIMSON TIDE" NICKNAME
Early football teams were simply know as the Varsity or the Crimson
White after the school colors. The nickname Thin Red Line was used by
sports writers until 1906. The nickname Crimson Tide was penned by
Hugh Roberts, of the Birmingham Age-Herald, after the 1907
Alabama-Auburn game. In a game that was played in a sea of red mud,
Alabama played heavily favored Auburn to a 6-6 tie. After the game,
Roberts dubbed Alabama the Crimson Tide. Zipp Newman, of the
Birmingham News, probably popularized the name more than anyone else.
ELEPHANT MASCOT
In the 1930 Alabama-Ole Miss game, Coach Wallace Wade started his
second string in the first quarter. They were still bigger than the
Mississippi first string but Ole Miss was hanging tough. Sports writer
Everett Strupper, of the Atlanta Journal, wrote "At the end of the
(first) quarter, the earth started to tremble, there was a distant
rumble that continued to grow. Some excited fan in the stands
bellowed, 'Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,' and out
stamped this Alabama varsity." Several other writers referred to the
Alabama linemen Red Elephants and the name stuck. That is how Alabama
came to be associated with elephants. Now, the Crimson Tide mascot is
an elephant fittingly named Big Al.
UNIFORM CHANGES
1892 - White with crimson stockings. Crimson "U of A" on their
sweaters. Also, crimson sweaters with white "A"
1894 - Collar with string tie, thick pants
1895 - Striped stockings
1899 - Striped jerseys, solid crimson stockings
1900 - Crimson jersey with stripes on arms, crimson stockings,
noseguards, helmets
1902 - Combination of past years
1903 - Crimson jersey, crimson stockings with white stripe, shoulder
pads
1905 - Mixture of past uniforms, vest-shoulder pads
1919 - Crimson with with stripes on arms, white jerseys for away
games
1920 - Thicker white stripes on arms, white stockings, numbers on
back of jerseys
1922 - Thinner white stripes on jersey
1923 - Up and down stripes on jerseys and patches on arms
1924 - Long stripe down arm
1926 - Some players wear helmets
1928 - Use of white jerseys
1930 - Addition of Crimson and white jerseys with numbers on front,
white helmets with crimson markings
1931 - Crimson and white jerseys but still use front stripe jersey,
dark or black helmets
1942 - Some players have face masks
1945 - White pants worn midway through season
1946 - White pants with two crimson strips down side of leg
1947 - Two tone (tan?) pants at home games
1948 - Two tone pants all year
1949 - White helmets with crimson stripe, Crimson jerseys
1950 - New white jerseys with crimson shoulders and 3 crimson stripes
on arms
1953 - Jan 1, one crimson stripe down pants leg, Nov 14, two crimson
stripes down pants leg
1954 - New white jersey without crimson shoulders, stripes on arms
1955 - White helmets, no stripes on pants, shirts, or helmets,
plastic face guard
1956 - Facemasks, Crimson stripes on helmets
1957 - Numbers on side of helmets
1958 - White helmets with crimson stripe, three stripes on arms,
numbers on arms and helmets, white pants with two crimson stripes down
leg
1959 - Last year with stripes on arms
1960 - Crimson helmet used in bowl game, white numbers on helmets,
white stripe down middle of helmet
1961 - Red and white helmets used
1962 - During the 1960's, sometimes used white helmets on eligible
receivers at night games or when helmets resembled opponents
1984 - Crimson helmets for home games, white helmets for road games
1985 - Crimson helmets only
1988 - Wear only black shoes
1992 - Wore Centennial patch on left shoulder
Alabama's National Championships
1925 1926 1930 1934 1941
1961 1964 1965 1973 1978
1978 1979 1992 ?
Alabama should have been National Champions in 1966
as the only undefeated-untied team in the country!
