Alabama Homecoming 1941

Alabama welcomed Kentucky to Denny Stadium on Nov. 1, 1941 for the Crimson Tide's homecoming game. University officials heralded the occasion as an opportunity to "re-dedicate" the school for the service of the state and the nation. "In sum," said the Tuscaloosa News in an editorial, "the day was more spiritual than physical, for those who follow the University both 'on and off the football field.' "

Inclement weather played havoc with the festivities. A Friday night pep rally planned at Denny Stadium had to be moved to the the University auditorium and, on Saturday, a relatively lackluster crowd of 11,000 showed up for the game itself. Prior to the kickoff University president Richard C. Foster (whom the school's auditorium would later be named for) dedicated the game to the country's active duty servicemen.

Alabama's all-conference star, halfback Jimmy Nelson, led the team to a 30-0 rout of the Wildcats. The Crimson Tide starters lodged a touchdown each of the first three quarters before turning the game over to the second team in the final period. The backups proceeded to score a pair of touchdowns in the final minutes of the game to finish the lopsided victory. Oddly, Alabama failed to score a single point after touchdown all afternoon.

Following the contest, UA's Million Dollar Band mingled with the Kentucky band and entertained the spectators who remained in the stadium with a 20-minute concert. The rainy weather gave way to clear skies for the late afternoon A Club smoker.

With the victory Alabama earned the No. 15 spot in the AP poll; the Tide's first appearance in the rankings that season.

Alabama vs Pensacola Naval Air Base 1945

Alabama coaches Tilden Campbell, Hank Crisp and
 Frank Thomas watch the game from the Tide bench.

Just 7,500 fans came to Denny Stadium on Nov. 24, 1945 to see the No. 3 ranked Crimson Tide crush the Pensacola Naval Air Base Goslings 55-6. The Tides' first string scored three touchdowns in their first three possessions and then left the rest of the game to the backups. It was the eighth straight win for Alabama who had just been invited to play in the 1946 Rose Bowl game.

Bernard Patrick "Tony" Holm

Tony Holm was a standout running back for Wallace Wade's powerful teams in the late 1920s, who would go onto a journeyman career in the pro ranks that included a spot on the first Pittsburgh Steelers roster.

A native of Birmingham, Holm played at Fairfield High School before heading to Tuscaloosa in 1926. At jsut more than six feet and 214 pounds, Holm was considered physically imposing for a back in that era. His size allied with a "high knee action" running style made him difficult to tackle. His running prowess earned him sobriquets such as "The Battering Buckaroo" from sports writers.

While he was a productive player in the Tide's varsity backfield in 1927 and 1928, it was the 1929 season that made him a star. Alabama began that year's campaign bulldozing its first three opponents but then traveled to Knoxville to face Tennessee. The revived Volunteer squad under Major Robert Neyland had surprised the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa the season before earning a 15-13 victory. Alabama was looking for payback and as shot at the conference title.

The game proved to be a match of almost complete equals with the two teams battling to a stalemate. The outcome hinged on a punt of Holm's that was blocked and then recovered by Tennessee. The Vols drove to the Tide two-yard-line and then Tennessee's Gene McEver pulled off a play-action fake and ran in for the score. Tennessee won 6-0.

With injuries to backfield stars Billy Hicks, "Flash" Suther and "Monk" Campbell, Alabama's hopes of a championship season dimmed. When Holm went down with a broken rib in a 13-0 loss to Vanderbilt all seemed lost. The Crimson Tide's odds against an undefeated Kentucky team in Montgomery's Cramton Bowl seemed remote.

Holm entered the game "bandaged from his belt up, taped fro his waste down and reeking of liniments and lotion" but it didn't seem to hinder him at all. He grabbed the opening kickoff and ran it back 86 yards to the Wildcat's 15-yard-line. Over the next 60 minutes he would score three of the Tide's touchdowns while stymieing Kentucky's offense with his kicks and blocking. Alabama won 24-13.

The next week Holm repeated his performance in a 14-0 drubbing of Georgia Tech in Atlanta. He scored the Tide's two touchdowns, snagged a key interception and ran for 128 yards while slashing the Golden Tornado with his passing and punting prowess. Despite another stellar performance against Georgia in Birmingham to close the season, the Tide fell to the Bulldogs 12-0.

Holm's 1,387 yards on the season -- almost half of the team's total gained on the ground -- earned him All-Conference and All-American honors.

After unsuccessfully trying to enter West Point to play for Army (he was three months too old), Holm started his professional career with the Providence, RI Steamrollers in 1930 but moved on to   the Portsmouth VA Spartans the following season. In 1932 he was on the Chicago Cardinals roster but at the start of the 1933 season Holm was part of the very first Pittsburgh Pirates squad -- the franchise that would later become famous as the Steelers.

The 1933 Pittsburgh Pirates.

In the Pirates' inaugural game against the New York Giants on Sept. 20, a powerful 65 yard punt by Holm led to his team's only points. When the His kick pinned the Giants on their own one-yard-line and when they were forced to punt, the Pirate's Johnny Oehler blocked it and earned the safety. The visiting Giants would claim a 23-2 victory.

Holm played nine games for the Pirates but a leg injury cut his season short. He finished the season with 406 yards passing and 160 yards rushing, his best marks as a pro. He joined the American Professional Football League's Charlotte NC Bantams as a player coach in 1934 but resigned after three games, ending his playing career.

The 1945 Rose Bowl

On Jan. 1, 1945 the University of Tennessee played in their second (and last) Rose Bowl. They lost 25-0 to USC.

The 1940 Rose Bowl

On Jan. 1, 1940 the University of Tennessee played in their first Rose Bowl game. They lost 14-0 to USC.

Rose Bowl Postcard

A postcard of the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California during one of the venue's New Year's Day inter-sectional games from the 1920s.

The 1930 Alabama Football Banquet

A telegram from Atlanta Georgian sports editor Jimmy Burns
to Alabama Coach Wallace Wade. 

Alabama's annual football banquet for the 1930 season was held  Dec. 2, at the McLester Hotel in Tuscaloosa with more than 250 people in attendance. The Tide team was on hand as well as members of numerous local high school football teams. Alabama varsity squad had gone undefeated through the regular season and, just days prior, had received an invitation to play Washington State in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day 1931.

"This team will go down as the greatest ever seen in the South," declared University of Alabama President George Denny at the banquet. "Greatest in exemplifying and illustrating the correct ideals of character, fine spirit, scholarship and devotion to duty in the daily walks under these old oak trees we love so well."

The event was bittersweet for Alabama fans as head coach Wallace Wade had announced his resignation prior to the season and his intention to accept the job as the head coach of Duke. Wade was presented a wristwatch from the the Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Merchant's Bureau who sponsored the banquet.

William Little, the captain of Alabama's first football team spoke as did V.H. Friedman, a longtime supporter of the team. Incoming Alabama coach Frank Thomas sent a telegram with his praise for Wade and the 1930 team as did Jimmy Burns, the sports editor at the Atlanta Georgian. Burns covered southern sports for 17 years at the paper, decamping in the late 1930s for Florida where he became  the Miami Herald's sports editor for almost a quarter century. The text of his telegram is below.