The Moon Winx Court

A Moon Winx postcard from the 1930s.

The Moon Winx Court was built in the 1920s about four and a half miles outside of Tuscaloosa proper on the Birmingham Highway (US 11) which today is University Boulevard in Alberta City neighborhood of the city.

Originally owned by Meade Johnston, the motor court-style motel was a landmark for out-of-town visitors in the 1920s and 1930s. Its 20 rooms could accommodate a total of 56 guests.

Ad from a 1932 issue of the UA
humor magazine Rammer Jammer.

During its initial heyday the motel hosted celebrities such as St. Louis Cardinals' owner Sam Breadon, women's golfer Louise Suggs, singer Helen Jepson and famed explorer Dr. R. Chapman Andrews. It was also a regular stop for fans and officials accompanying teams playing the University of Alabama squads.

Eddie Jacquin, a sportswriter with the Champaign, Ill. News-Gazette, who traveled extensively in the south covering University of Illinois baseball during the 20's, wrote of the Moon Winx: "Tuscaloosa also goes down in our notebook of travels as having on its outskirts the finest motor court we have ever seen. It is called Moon Winx and nobody knows just why except that in Alabama on a certain night the moon winks! So there you are."

In 1946, Johnson retired to the Gulf Coast and sold the Moon Winx to Holt native Victor Rogers. During Rogers' tenure as owner the motel it was considered one of the most respectable lodgings for visitors in the area. Visiting luminaries such as actors Robert Mitchum and Allan "Rocky" Lane stayed at the motel in this period.

An ad for the motel in the Tuscaloosa 
News after the 1954 renovation.

It was during the 1940s that the Moon Winx became part of Quality Courts – a referral group that formed in the late 1930s to control the growing negative perception the public had of motels. Rogers' daughter, Susan Elmore, recalled in 2003 that vehicles with local license plates were required to have a very good reason to stay.

In 1950 the Moon Winx was expanded with the construction of a new building that boasted 12 air-conditioned rooms - increasing the motel's capacity by half. Four years later Rogers completed a renovation of the entire motel that included upgrading all the rooms with air-conditioning, television and telephones.

A restaurant, The Barn, was added during that period which was renowned for its home cooking. The restaurant became one of The Lamplighter chain in 1960.

Rogers sold the hotel in 1956 when he learned that traffic on the highway was to be routed to Skyland Boulevard. It would be the construction of Interstate 20 between Tuscaloosa and Birmingham during the 1960s that would lead to the decline of the motel. But two notable events occurred before that time which elevated the Moon Winx to a Tuscaloosa institution.

In 1959, artist Glenn House with the River Sign Company made a half moon sign for the motel using dayglo paint. The lettering and moon were outlined in neon lighting. The eye catching design has become indelibly associated with the business if not Tuscaloosa itself.

A year prior, Paul W. Bryant returned to take over the Crimson Tide football team and he began the practice of housing the squad at the Moon Winx the night before home games. The team would have their pre-game meal in a partitioned-off section of the motel dining room where Bryant would give his charges a final speech before heading to the stadium.

A Moon Winx postcard from the 1960s.

"Big" Jim Folsom Campaigning With the Crimson Tide

UA President Raymond Paty, Alabama star Harry Gilmer and
Democratic candidate for Alabama Governor, Jim Folsom.

On Oct. 12, 1946, Alabama played its first game of the season at Denny Field against an outmatched Southwestern Louisiana squad (now UL-Lafayette). While spectators might have let their attention wander from the 54-0 blowout there was a distinctive six foot-eight inch figure on the sideline they could hardly miss -- "Big" Jim Folsom.

Folsom was a candidate in the state's gubernatorial election to be held in just three weeks time. The former University of Alabama student (he never graduated from the school) had survived an ugly party primary in the spring and was considered a shoo-in for the general election due to the weakness of the Republican party in the state.

According to the Tuscaloosa News, Folsom "was cheered by thousands of students. He gave the fans a thrill when he picked up and hugged and kissed a pretty co-ed cheerleader."

Folsom had been unsuccessful in his previous run for governor in 1942 but his calls for reform and colorful style earned him a growing base of support across the state. For the 1946 election he returned with his now trademark mop and bucket which he said would "clean out" the Capitol. As expected he was elected on Nov. 5, 1946 and was inaugurated the following January for the first of his two terms in office.

1935 Rose Bowl Coaches Cartoon

A newspaper cartoon from December 1934 featuring the coaches of the upcoming Rose Bowl game; Alabama's Frank Thomas and Stanford's Claude "Tiny" Thornhill. The cartoon at the bottom features Stanford's mascot at the time, the Indian.

The 1927 Rose Bowl from the Air

An aerial view of the Rose Bowl stadium during the 1927 game pitting Alabama against Stanford. This was the last game in the distinctive "horseshoe" version of the venue as the southern end was completed prior to the following year's contest. The 1927 game ended in a 7-7 tie.

The 1948 Sugar Bowl Game Film

In 1947 Alabama rolled up an 8-2 regular season record under first year coach Harold Drew. The performance earned the Crimson Tide an invitation to play Texas in the 1948 Sugar Bowl at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. The game was expected to be a clash of two of the country's hottest passers, Alabama's Harry Gilmer and the Texas' Bobby Layne. The result was a 27-7 defeat at the hands of the Longhorns, the fourth straight for the Tide against Texas.

The Crimson Tide Special

In 1934, Alabama blasted through the regular season undefeated and garnered the team's fourth invitation to play in the Rose Bowl against western champion Stanford. The arrangements for the three-day trip to California were handled by Athletic Department business manager Jefferson Coleman and advertised in local newspapers the first week of December.

The 14-car "Crimson Tide Special" left Tuscaloosa on time at 10:20 a.m. Dec. 21 carrying the 35 members of the Alabama team and about 350 fans who signed up for the "Crimson Tide Special" offer. A host of coaches, athletic department officials and sports writers were part of the official party as well. An orchestra of university students, The Alabama Cavaliers, accompanied the group to play for the crowd on stop overs along the way.

Alabama's Riley Smith and the Washington Redskins

Riley Smith kicks a field goal in the first quarter of a Washington
Redskins game vs. the Brooklyn Dodgers on Oct. 30, 1938.  

In the first NFL Draft on on Feb. 8, 1936, Alabama halfback Riley Smith was chosen second behind inaugural Heisman Trophy winner Jay Berwanger from the University of Chicago. When Berwanger chose to forgo a pro career, Smith became the first NFL player selected in the draft to play in the league.

At the time, the Redskins were still located in Boston but owner George Marshall was already pondering moving the franchise due to lack of fan support. While the Harvard and Yale were packing in the crowds on Saturday the Redskins could only average 5,000 or so per contest. The situation darkened further with the arrival of the Boston Shamrocks AFL team in 1936.

With Smith at quarterback, the Redskins put together the team's first winning season as well as the franchise's first Championship appearance. The Green Bay Packers' offense, fueled by Smith's former Alabama teammate, receiver Don Hutson, defeated the Redskin's 21-6 in the title game.

Smith became a part of Redskins lore on Sept. 16, 1937 when he starred in the first game the team played in Washington D.C. after moving from Boston. In front of a capacity crowd of 24,492  Smith shone in the floodlights at Griffith Stadium against the New York Giants. He would score all of the Redskin's points in a 13-3 victory over the Giants; a 60-yard interception runback, two field goals and a conversion kick.

"With deft toes and hands and a streaky change of pace when that need arose, the comparatively unheralded Smith projected himself full into the spotlight of last night’s scene to win the game for Washington," gushed Washington Post sportswriter Shirley Povich of the performance.

Smith's starring role in the offense was already being eclipsed by the Redskins' first pick in the in 1937 draft: TCU's Sammy Baugh whose one-year $8,000 contract made him the highest paid player on the team. Yet, in 1937, the offensive punch of Smith, Baugh and receiver Wayne Milliner of Notre Dame proved to much for the opposition.

The 1937 Washington Redskins

The Redskins would go on to an 8-2 regular season record which earned them the NFL's Eastern Division Crown. Their reward was to face George Halas' formidable Chicago Bears at Wrigley Field in the NFL Championship game. Smith was undaunted by the Bear's reputation and guaranteed a Redskins victory. "Washington will beat the Bears and Sammy Baugh will be the man responsible."

On Dec. 12, 1937 the Redskins beat the Bears 28-21 in front of a crowd of 15,870 on a bitterly cold Chicago day. The 15-degree temperatures and freezing cold ground prompted Baugh to call it "the worst game I ever played in terms of the conditions." Still, Smith proved prescient as Baugh completed 17 of 34 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns. The Redskins were the 1937 NFL Champions.

In his first two seasons, Smith had been a workhorse for the Redskins squad, missing only three minutes in 26 games. In 1938 he played just seven games due to injury and decided to retire from the sport saying "there just wasn't any money in it." Playing 60 minutes each week for just $250 a game, "just didn't add up."

After  his stint in the pros, Smith went on to coach at Washington & Lee University for several years. After serving in the Navy during World War II he returned to Alabama and went into real estate. He died in Mobile on Aug. 9, 1999.