Alabama Crimson Tide football, 1900–1909
1900
Tulane beat the Tide 6–0 when time expired as Alabama's last drive reached Tulane's 10-yard line.[1] The ugly 53–5 loss to Auburn marked the renewal of that series after a five-year hiatus. A 35–0 loss at the hands of Clemson in Birmingham marked the only football game Alabama ever played at North Birmingham Park.
1901
The game against Tennessee ended early, in a 6–6 tie, when fans rushed onto the field after a controversial offsides call and the umpires were unable to clear out the crowd.[2] It was the very first game in what later became the Third Saturday in October rivalry.
The 1901 Iron Bowl was the second meeting in Tuscaloosa between Alabama and Auburn, the first having been in 1895. The next meeting between the schools in Tuscaloosa was 99 years later.
1902
Eli Abbott returned as head coach after coaching the Tide from 1893 to 1895; he is the only Alabama head coach to serve two separate stints in Tuscaloosa. In 1902 he shared the duty with James Heyworth. Auburn continued its early domination of the Iron Bowl, scoring another decisive victory. Alabama lost to Georgia when time expired as the Tide drove down to the Georgia 12.[3]
| Date |
Opponent |
Site |
Result |
| October 10 |
Birmingham High School |
UA Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL |
W 57–0 |
| October 13 |
Marion Military Institute |
UA Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL |
W 81–0 |
| October 18 |
Auburn |
West End Park • Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl) |
L 0–23 |
| November 1 |
Georgia |
West End Park • Birmingham, AL |
L 0–5 |
| November 8 |
Mississippi State |
UA Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL |
W 27–0 |
| November 11 |
Texas |
UA Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL |
L 0–10 |
| November 27 |
Georgia Tech |
West End Park • Birmingham, AL |
W 26–0 |
| November 29 |
LSU |
UA Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL |
L 0–11 |
1903
Alabama turned the tables on Auburn in 1903, springing an 18–6 upset over a Tiger team that had been a 5 to 1 favorite.[4] However, the renewal of the rivalry with Sewanee after a seven-year layoff ended in Alabama's third loss in four meetings. Sewanee, a Southern football power since winning its first SIAA championship in 1898, dominated Alabama in matchups in this decade and the next.[5]
1904
Alabama's 6–0 victory over Mississippi State on October 15 was awarded by forfeit. Alabama was leading 10–5 in the second half when the Mississippi State captain claimed Bama had turned the ball over on downs at the MSU four-yard line. The referee disagreed, stating that Alabama had run only three plays on that set of downs, whereupon MSU walked off the field.[6]
| Date |
Opponent |
Site |
Result |
| October 3 |
Florida |
UA Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL |
W 29–0 |
| October 8 |
Clemson |
West End Park • Birmingham, AL |
L 0–18 |
| October 15 |
Mississippi State |
Columbus, MS |
W 6–0 |
| October 24 |
Nashville |
UA Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL |
W 17–0 |
| November 5 |
Georgia |
UA Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL |
W 16–5 |
| November 12 |
Auburn |
West End Park • Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl) |
L 0–29 |
| November 24 |
Tennessee |
West End Park • Birmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October) |
L 0–5 |
| December 2 |
LSU |
Baton Rouge, LA |
W 11–0 |
| December 3 |
Tulane |
New Orleans, LA |
W 6–0 |
| December 4 |
Pensacola Athletic Club |
Pensacola, FL |
W 10–6 |
1905
In 1905 the Tide moved its Birmingham games to the Birmingham Fairgrounds. The move paid off as the largest crowd ever to see a football game in Birmingham, 4,000 people, watched the Tide crush Auburn 30–0 in the Iron Bowl.[7]
| Date |
Opponent |
Site |
Result |
| October 3 |
Maryville College |
UA Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL |
W 17–0 |
| October 7 |
Vanderbilt |
Dudley Field • Nashville, TN |
L 0–34 |
| October 14 |
Mississippi State |
UA Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL |
W 34–0 |
| October 21 |
Georgia Tech |
Brisbane Park • Atlanta, GA |
L 5–12 |
| October 25 |
Clemson |
Columbia, SC |
L 0–25 |
| November 4 |
Georgia |
Birmingham Fairgrounds • Birmingham, AL |
W 36–0 |
| November 9 |
Centre College |
UA Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL |
W 21–0 |
| November 18 |
Auburn |
Birmingham Fairgrounds • Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl) |
W 30–0 |
| November 23 |
Sewanee |
Birmingham Fairgrounds • Birmingham, AL |
L 6–42 |
| November 30 |
Tennessee |
Birmingham Fairgrounds • Birmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October) |
W 29–0 |
1906
The 78–0 loss to Vanderbilt set records for most points allowed by Alabama in a game and most lopsided Alabama loss, both of which still stand. Vanderbilt led 57–0 at the half. The first and second halves were, respectively, only 17 minutes and only 12 minutes long. Alabama attempted to cancel this game after seven of their regular players were sidelined by injury but Vanderbilt refused.[8]
1907
The 54–4 loss to Sewanee remains the last time Alabama ever allowed an opponent to score 50 points in a regulation game (the 2003 team lost 51–43 to Tennessee in a game that went five overtimes).
Alabama's victory over LSU marked the first ever Tide home game played in Mobile. The exact location of the game is unknown.
Alabama's 6–6 tie with Auburn in 1907 was both the only tie in the history of the Iron Bowl and the last meeting between the two teams for forty years. Auburn was a 3 to 1 favorite going into the game, due to their earlier victory over Georgia and the fact that they had lost to Sewanee by only 6 points while Alabama lost to Sewanee by 50. Alabama missed a chance to win when a 15-yard field goal attempt failed.[9]
1908
Later mythmaking held that the Iron Bowl was discontinued as a safety precaution after the 1907 game involved brutal violence both on the field and amongst the fans. In fact, it was trivial disputes over organizing the game that led to the 1908 contest being cancelled. Alabama and Auburn disagreed on how much per diem to allow players for the trip to Birmingham, how many players each school should bring, and where to find officials. By the time all these matters were resolved, it was too late to play in 1908, and the series ended. For forty years the two teams failed to play each other, even though they were in the same state and members of the same conferences. Finally, pressure from the state legislature resulted in the renewal of the rivalry in 1948.[10]
Haskell Institute dominated play against the Crimson Tide (then called the "Thin Red Line"), but Bama scored a touchdown on a 65-yard interception return, Haskell missed a field goal, and another Haskell drive was killed by an interception deep in Alabama territory. Haskell was driving again when time expired. In the season finale against Tennessee, Alabama back Derrill Pratt attempted eight field goals and made only one, but that was good enough for a 4–0 Alabama victory.[11]
| Date |
Opponent |
Site |
Result |
| October 8 |
Wetumpka Agricultural School |
UA Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL |
W 26–0 |
| October 10 |
Howard |
Birmingham Fairgrounds • Birmingham, AL |
W 17–0 |
| October 17 |
Cincinnati |
Birmingham Fairgrounds • Birmingham, AL |
W 16–0 |
| October 24 |
Georgia Tech |
Ponce de Leon Park • Atlanta, GA |
L 6–11 |
| October 31 |
Tennessee-Chattanooga |
UA Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL |
W 23–6 |
| November 14 |
Georgia |
Birmingham Fairgrounds • Birmingham, AL |
T 6–6 |
| November 20 |
Haskell Institute |
UA Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL |
W 9–8 |
| November 26 |
Tennessee |
Birmingham Fairgrounds • Birmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October) |
W 4–0 |
1909
1909 marked the end of J.W.H. "Doc" Pollard's four-year tenure as head coach at Alabama. Pollard's teams suffered embarrassing losses to Sewanee and Vanderbilt, but his overall record at Alabama was 21–4–5, good for a .783 percentage that ranks him fifth all-time amongst Alabama coaches, behind Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Paul "Bear" Bryant, and current coach Nick Saban (not counting Allen McCants, who coached and won exactly one game).
Mississippi dominated play against the Tide but had to settle for a scoreless tie after missing three field goals. Alabama stumbled at the end of their season, tying Tulane and losing to LSU, after team captain Derrill Pratt was ruled ineligible due to "faculty trouble".[12]
| Date |
Opponent |
Site |
Result |
| October 2 |
Union |
UA Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL |
W 16–0 |
| October 9 |
Howard |
UA Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL |
W 14–0 |
| October 17 |
Clemson |
Birmingham Fairgrounds • Birmingham, AL |
W 3–0 |
| October 24 |
Ole Miss |
Jackson, MS |
T 0–0 |
| October 30 |
Georgia |
Ponce De Leon Park • Atlanta, GA |
W 14–0 |
| November 13 |
Tennessee |
Wait Field • Knoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October) |
W 10–0 |
| November 20 |
Tulane |
New Orleans, LA |
T 5–5 |
| November 25 |
LSU |
Birmingham Fairgrounds • Birmingham, AL |
L 6–12 |
References and external links
- ^ 1900 game recaps
- ^ 1901 game recaps
- ^ 1902 game recaps
- ^ 1903 game recaps
- ^ 2006 Sewanee Football media guide, p. 31
- ^ 1904 game recaps
- ^ 1905 game recaps
- ^ 1906 game recaps
- ^ 1907 game recaps
- ^ Norman, Geoffrey. Alabama Showdown. 1986, Zebra Books paperback (Kensington Publishing Co.), ISBN 0821721577, pp. 48–50
- ^ 1908 game recaps
- ^ 1909 game recaps
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