1944 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

1944 Alabama Crimson Tide football
Sugar Bowl, L 26–29 vs. Duke
Conference	Southeastern Conference
1944 record	5–2–2 (3–1–2 SEC)
Head coach	Frank Thomas
Home stadium	Denny Stadium Legion Field Cramton Bowl

1944 SEC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#13 Georgia Tech †	4	–	0	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
#12 Tennessee	5	–	0	–	1			7	–	1	–	1
Georgia	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Alabama	3	–	1	–	2			5	–	2	–	2
Mississippi State	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	2	–	0
LSU	2	–	3	–	1			2	–	5	–	1
Ole Miss	2	–	3	–	0			2	–	6	–	0
Tulane	1	–	2	–	0			4	–	3	–	0
Kentucky	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Florida	0	–	3	–	0			4	–	3	–	0
Auburn	0	–	4	–	0			4	–	4	–	0
Vanderbilt	0	–	0	–	0			3	–	0	–	1
† – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1944 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the University of Alabama in the 1944 college football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 50th overall and 11th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Frank Thomas, in his 13th year, and played their home games at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Legion Field in Birmingham and at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery. They finished the season with a record of five wins, two losses and two ties (5–2–2 overall, 3–1–2 in the SEC) and with a loss in the Sugar Bowl against Duke.

After a tie against LSU to open the season, Alabama then defeated both Howard and Millsaps before they dueled Tennessee to a scoreless tie in the fourth week. The Crimson Tide then defeated Kentucky before they suffered their only regular season loss against Georgia. Alabama then closed the season with wins over both Ole Miss and Mississippi State and secured a position in the Sugar Bowl where they lost to Duke.

The 1944 squad marked the return of football at Alabama after a one-year hiatus for the 1943 season due to the effects of World War II. However as the war effort was ongoing at that time, the 1944 team was composed of players who were either too young and/or physically unable to enlist in the military.^[1] As the squad was generally smaller than both previous Alabama squads and than many they competed against, coach Thomas called this and the 1945 team the "War Babies."^[1][2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	Result	Attendance
September 30	at LSU		Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA (Rivalry)	T 27–27	32,000
October 7	Howard*		Legion Field • Birmingham, AL	W 63–7	5,000
October 14	Millsaps*		Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL	W 55–0
October 21	at #17 Tennessee		Shields-Watkins Field • Knoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October)	T 0–0	32,000
October 27	Kentucky		Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, AL	W 41–0	16,000
November 4	Georgia	#19	Legion Field • Birmingham, AL	L 7–14	22,000
November 11	Ole Miss		Murphy High School Stadium • Mobile, AL (Rivalry)	W 34–6	8,000
November 18	#16 Mississippi State		Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL (Rivalry)	W 19–0	23,000
January 1	vs. #11 Duke*		Tulane Stadium • New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	L 26–29	66,822
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll.

• Source: Rolltide.com: 1944 Alabama football schedule^[3]

Game notes

LSU

1 2 3 4 Total Alabama 7 14 6 0 27 LSU 7 7 7 6 27 Date: September 30 Location: Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA Game attendance: 32,000 Source:[4]

In what marked the return of Alabama football for the first time since the 1942 season, the Crimson Tide met LSU for the first time since 1930 and left Baton Rouge with a 27–27 tie to open the season.^[4][5] LSU scored first on a 76-yard, Elwyn Rowan touchdown run in the first minute of play for a 7–0 Tigers' lead. Alabama tied the game at 7–7 by the end of the quarter when Lowell Tew scored on a two-yard run to cap a drive that started from the LSU ten-yard line after a Ray Coates fumble was recovered by James Pearl.^[4] The Tigers retook a 14–7 lead early in the second quarter when Y. A. Tittle threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Dan Sandifer. However, the Crimson Tide responded with touchdown runs of 16-yards by Tew and 24-yards by Harry Gilmer for a 21–14 halftime lead.^[4][5]

The Tigers again tied the game in the third when Felix Trapani blocked a John Wade punt and returned it 26-yards for a touchdown.^[4][5] On the kickoff that ensued, Gilmer returned it 95-yards for a touchdown, for a 27–21 lead after a missed extra point by Hugh Morrow.^[4][5] Clyde Lindsey tied the game at 27 for LSU in the fourth after he both blocked and returned an Alabama kick, but Andrew Lay missed the extra point to make the final score 27–27.^[4] The tie brought Alabama's all-time record against LSU to 11–3–3.^[6]

Howard

1 2 3 4 Total Howard 0 0 0 7 7 • Alabama 0 14 28 21 63 Date: October 7 Location: Legion Field Birmingham, AL Game attendance: 5,000 Source:[7]

In the first Legion Field game of the season, Alabama defeated Howard (now Samford University) 63–7 in a game that featured 49, second half points.^[5][7] After a scoreless first quarter, Lowell Tew scored both of the Alabama touchdowns in the second quarter on a 35-yard interception return and on a 21-yard touchdown run for a 14–0 halftime lead.^[7] The Crimson Tide then closed the game with four touchdowns in the third and three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Third-quarter touchdowns were scored by Norwood Hodges and John Hite twice on runs and by Jim Rupich on a blocked punt recovery.^[7] Fourth-quarter touchdowns were scored on touchdown passes from George Albright to Lacey West (34 and 55-yards) and to Carlos Izaguirre (49-yards).^[7] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Howard to 20–0–1, and also marked the final game ever played between the respective schools on the football field.^[8]

Millsaps

1 2 3 4 Total Millsaps 0 0 0 0 0 • Alabama 7 6 21 21 55 Date: October 14 Location: Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL Source:[9]

In the first Denny Stadium game of the season, Alabama shutout the Millsaps Majors 55–0 in a game that featured 42, second half points.^[5][9] The Crimson Tide took a 13–0 halftime lead after touchdown runs of one-yard by Norwood Hodges in the first and four-yards by Jimmy Robertson in the second.^[9] They extended their lead to 34–0 at the end of the third with touchdowns scored on a one-yard Hal Self run, a six-yard Harry Gilmer run and on an 11-yard Hodges run.^[9] Alabama then concluded with three fourth-quarter touchdowns on a 12-yard Ed Podbielniak run, a short Self run and on a 19-yard John Hite run.^[9] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Millsaps to 3–0, and also marked the final game ever played between the respective schools on the football field.^[10]

Tennessee

Third Saturday in October

1 2 3 4 Total Alabama 0 0 0 0 0 #17 Tennessee 0 0 0 0 0 Date: October 21 Location: Shields-Watkins Field Knoxville, TN Game attendance: 32,000 Source:[11][12]

Against the Volunteers, Alabama settled for a 0–0 tie before 32,000 fans at Shields-Watkins Field.^[5][11] In a game dominated by both defenses, Tennessee stopped Alabama drives three times from within their own 30-yard line in the fourth quarter to preserve the tie score.^[11][12] The tie brought Alabama's all-time record against Tennessee to 15–8–3.^[13]

Kentucky

1 2 3 4 Total Kentucky 0 0 0 0 0 • Alabama 7 20 14 0 41 Date: October 27 Location: Cramton Bowl Montgomery, AL Game attendance: 16,000 Source:[14]

At the Cramton Bowl, the Crimson Tide shutout the Wildcats 41–0 for their first conference victory of the season.^[5][14] Harry Gilmer scored the first touchdown for Alabama on a 41-yard run for a 7–0 lead after the first.^[14] In the second, Gilmer scored again on a short run and threw touchdown passes to George Albright and Hugh Morrow for a 27–0 halftime lead.^[5][14] John Hite was then responsible for the final two touchdowns of the game with his six-yard pass to Ralph Jones and his 41-yard interception return.^[5][14] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Kentucky 21–1–1.^[15]

Georgia

1 2 3 4 Total • Georgia 0 0 7 7 14 #19 Alabama 0 7 0 0 7 Date: November 4 Location: Legion Field Birmingham, AL Game attendance: 22,000 Source:[16][17]

After their victory over Kentucky, Alabama entered the weekly AP Poll for the first time during the season at the No. 19 position.^[18] Although the Crimson Tide led 7–0 at halftime, a pair of second half touchdowns gave the Bulldogs the 17–7 victory at Legion Field.^[5][16] Fred Grant scored the only Alabama points of the game with his five-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.^[16] Down by a touchdown, Charles Smith tied the game with his three-yard run in the third and Stan Nestorak scored the game-winning touchdown in the fourth with his three-yard run.^[16][17] The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Georgia to 14–13–3.^[19]

Ole Miss

1 2 3 4 Total Ole Miss 0 6 0 0 6 • Alabama 21 0 0 13 34 Date: November 11 Location: Murphy H.S. Stadium Mobile, AL Game attendance: 8,000 Source:[20]

In what was the first game played against Ole Miss since the 1933 season, Alabama defeated the Rebels 34–6 tie in Mobile.^[5][20][21] The Crimson Tide took control early with a three touchdown first quarter on a Fred Grant run, 48-yard Lowell Tew run and a short George Albright run.^[20] The Rebels' responded with their only points of the game in the second on a 29-yard Johnnie Bruce touchdown pass to Clyde Hooker to make the halftime score 21–6.^[20] After a scoreless third, a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns were scored on runs by John Hite and Grant to make the final score 34–6.^[20] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Ole Miss 16–3–2.^[22]

Mississippi State

1 2 3 4 Total #16 Mississippi State 0 0 0 0 0 • Alabama 7 6 6 0 19 Date: November 18 Location: Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL Game attendance: 23,000 Source:[23]

On what was homecoming before the largest crowd to date at Denny Stadium, Alabama upset an undefeated Mississippi State Maroons squad 19–0 in Tuscaloosa.^[5][23] After Harry Gilmer fumbled the opening kickoff to give the Maroons excellent field position, Fred Grant returned an interception 87-yards for a 7–0 lead.^[23] The other two Alabama touchdowns were scored on runs by Lowell Tew and Grant.^[5][23] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi State to 21–7–2.^[24]

Duke

Sugar Bowl

1 2 3 4 Total Alabama 12 7 0 7 26 • #11 Duke 7 6 7 9 29 Date: January 1 Location: Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA Game attendance: 32,000 Source:[25]

On November 25, University officials announced that Alabama had accepted a bid to play in the 1945 Sugar Bowl against the Duke Blue Devils.^[26] In the game, the Crimson Tide were defeated 29–26 before 66,822 fans at Tulane Stadium after Duke score a late, game-winning touchdown.^[25] The Blue Devils took an early 7–0 on a 14-yard George Clark run before a pair of one-yard, Norwood Hodges touchdown runs gave the Crimson Tide a 12–7 lead at the end of the first.^[25] Alabama extended their lead further to 19–7 after Harry Gilmer threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Ralph Jones. Duke responded with a pair of short, Tom Davis touchdown runs to take a 10–19 lead into the fourth quarter.^[25] In the fourth, Hugh Morrow had a touchdown on a 78-yard interception return; however, the Crimson Tide lost the game after Gilmer took a safety and George Clark scored the game-winning points on a 20-yard run.^[25]

Personnel

Varsity letter winners Player Hometown Position Francis Cassidy Neff, Ohio Tackle William Conway Birmingham, Alabama Guard Marion Edwards Attalla, Alabama Tackle William Fields Nashville, Tennessee End Bruno Filippini Powhatan Point, Ohio Guard Harry Gilmer Birmingham, Alabama Halfback Fred Grant Christiansburg, Virginia Fullback John Hite Nashville, Tennessee Halfback Norwood Hodges Hueytown, Alabama Fullback Ralph Jones Florence, Alabama End Vaughn Mancha Birmingham, Alabama Center Frank McAlpine Boligee, Alabama Fullback John McConville Wheeling, West Virginia End Hugh Morrow Birmingham, Alabama Quarterback James Pearl Connellsville, Pennsylvania End James Robertson Scottsboro, Alabama Halfback Hal Self Decatur, Alabama Quarterback Lowell Tew Waynesboro, Mississippi Fullback Wayne Walker Martha, Tennessee Tackle Tom Whitley Birmingham, Alabama Tackle John Wozniak Fairhope, Pennsylvania Guard Reference:[27]

Coaching staff Name Position Seasons at Alabama Alma Mater Frank Thomas Head coach 13 Notre Dame (1923) Lew Bostick Assistant coach 2 Alabama (1939) Ellis "Red" Houston Assistant coach 1 Alabama (1933) Malcolm Laney Assistant coach 1 Alabama (1932) Reference:[28]

NFL Draft

On April 8, 1945, the National Football League held its ninth draft. In the draft, Johnny August was selected as the fifth pick in the eighth round (70th overall) by the Cleveland Rams, Jack Aland was selected as the fifth pick in the 13th round (125th overall) by the Cleveland Rams, Hal Self was selected as the second pick in the 14th round (133rd overall) by the Brooklyn Tigers, Bobby Tom Jenkins was selected as the sixth pick in the 17th round (170th overall) by the Washington Redskins, Jim McWhorter was selected as the sixth pick in the 18th round (181st overall) by the Detroit Lions, Norm Mosley was selected as the ninth pick in the 23rd round (239th overall) by the Philadelphia Eagles, Jack Green was selected as the sixth pick in the 25th round (258th overall) by the Chicago Bears, Charley Compton was selected as the fifth pick in the 30th round (312th overall) by the Cleveland Rams, Ken Reese was selected as the fourth pick in the 31st round (322nd overall) by the Philadelphia Eagles and John Staples was selected as the fifth pick in the 32nd round (329th overall) by the New York Giants.^[29]

References

General

Specific

Alabama Crimson Tide football Venues University of Alabama Quad (1893–1914) Denny Field (1915–1928) Bryant–Denny Stadium (1929–present) Rickwood Field (alternate, 1912–1927) Cramton Bowl (alternate, 1922–1954) Ernest F. Ladd Stadium (alternate, 1948–1968) Legion Field (alternate, 1927–2003) Bowls & rivalries Bowl games Auburn: Iron Bowl (James E. Foy, V-ODK Sportsmanship Trophy) LSU Mississippi State Ole Miss Penn State Tennessee: Third Saturday in October Culture & lore Series records Saban era Traditions Big Al "Yea Alabama" A-Day Million Dollar Band Walk of Fame Paul W. Bryant Museum The Bear The Bear Bryant Show 1922 Alabama vs. Penn football game People Head coaches All-Americans College Football Hall of Fame inductees NFL draftees Starting quarterbacks Statistical leaders Seasons 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 National championship seasons in bold