The 1939 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

in the 1939 college football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 46th overall and 7th season as a member of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC). The team was led by head coach Frank Thomas, in his ninth year, and played their home games at Denny Stadium in

Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...

and

Legion Field Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in ho ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. They finished the season with a record of five wins, three losses and one tie (5–3–1 overall, 2–3–1 in the SEC). The Crimson Tide opened the season with a victory over

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

before they upset Fordham 7–6 in an intersectional contest at the Polo Grounds in week two. After their victory over

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader, ...

, Alabama was shut out 21–0 by

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, their second consecutive shutout loss against the Volunteers. The Crimson Tide then rebounded with a

homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

victory over

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

. Alabama then went winless over their next three conference games with a tie against

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

followed by shutout losses to both

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

and

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. The Crimson Tide rebounded in their final game of the season to defeat Vanderbilt. Alabama was not ranked in the final AP poll, but it was ranked at No. 17 in the 1939

Williamson System The Williamson System was a mathematical system used to rank college football teams. The system was created by Paul B. Williamson, a geologist and member of the Sugar Bowl committee. The NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCA ...

ratings, and at No. 22 in the final

Litkenhous Ratings The Litkenhous Difference by Score Ratings system was a mathematical system used to rank football and basketball teams. The Litrating system was developed by Vanderbilt University professor Edward E. Litkenhous (1907 – December 22, 1984) and his b ...

for 1939.

Schedule

Game summaries

Howard

*Source: To open the 1939 season, Alabama defeated Howard (now Samford University) 21–0 at Denny Stadium.1939 Season Recap After a scoreless first half, the Crimson Tide scored their first touchdown on a one-yard Paul Spencer run in the third quarter. Alabama then closed the game with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns for the 21–0 win. The first came on a five-yard Herschel Mosley pass to

Holt Rast Holt Rast (October 10, 1917 – November 22, 1998) was an American football player and entrepreneur who founded Rast Construction. Rast served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946 and was later elected to serve in the Alabama House of Repr ...

and the second on a second, one-yard run by Spencer. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Howard to 17–0–1.

Fordham

*Sources: On the road against a favored Fordham squad, the Crimson Tide defeated the

Rams In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)Polo Grounds in an intersectional matchup. The Crimson Tide scored their only points of the game in the first quarter. Jimmy Nelson scored Alabama's only touchdown on an 18-yard run to cap a 40-yard drive, and then Hayward Sanford connected on the

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

to give the Crimson Tide a 7–0 lead. Sanford later missed a 33-yard

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

in the first, and the Rams turned the ball over on downs at the Alabama 19-yard line to keep the score 7–0 at the end of the quarter. Fordham then scored their only points of the game late in the fourth after Dom Principe scored on a short touchdown run; however, Alex Yudikaitis missed the extra point which proved to be the margin in their loss. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Fordham to 1–1. This game is also noted as being the second televised

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

game after the 1939 Waynesburg vs. Fordham football game played one week earlier. The game was televised exclusively in New York City as it was broadcast over

W2XBS WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo station W ...

and only a few hundred televisions were thought to be in existence at the time.

Mercer

*Source: A week after the road win at Fordham, Alabama defeated the

Bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

20–0 at Denny Stadium in the first all-time meeting between the schools. The Crimson Tide took a 7–0 first quarter lead after Paul Spencer scored on a one-yard touchdown run to cap a 42-yard drive. After a scoreless second quarter, Alabama scored a pair of third-quarter touchdowns for the 20–0 victory. Gene Blackwell scored first on an eight-yard run and Herschel Mosley scored on a four-yard run.

Tennessee

*Source: On the Monday prior to their annual game against the

Volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

, Alabama was selected to the No. 8 and Tennessee was selected to the No. 5 position in the first

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

of the 1939 season. In the game, Alabama was

shut out Shut Out may refer to: * Shutout, a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring * ''Shut Out'' (album), a 1977 album by Paul Jabara * "Shut Out" (song), a 1977 song by Paul Jabara and Donna Summer * "Shutout", a song by The Walk ...

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

21–0 before an overflow crowd of 40,000 at Shields-Watkins Field. After a scoreless first quarter, Tennessee took a 7–0 lead in the second after Johnny Butler scored on a 56-yard run. Up by a touchdown at the end of the third, a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown runs gave the Volunteers the 21–0 win. The first was made by Bob Foxx on an 11-yard run and the second by Buss Warren om a 12-yard run. Although Alabama was shut out and lost by three touchdowns, Tennessee head coach

Robert Neyland Robert Reese Neyland (; February 17, 1892 – March 28, 1962) was an American football player and coach and officer in the United States Army, reaching the rank of brigadier general. He served three stints as the head football coach at the Univ ...

said of the Crimson Tide's performance that "I don't think the score indicates the difference between the teams. It should have been about 7 to 0." The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Tennessee to 13–7–2.

Mississippi State

*Source: After their loss to Tennessee, Alabama dropped from No. 8 to No. 20 in the AP Poll as they entered their annual

game. Against

the Crimson Tide defeated the

Maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into separate creole cultures such as the Garifuna and the Mascogos. ...

7–0 before 15,000 fans at Denny Stadium. The only points of the game came in the first quarter when Charley Boswell threw a four-yard touchdown pass to

. Alabama outgained the Maroons in rushing yardage 173 to 65 in the victory. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi State to 19–5–2.

Kentucky

*Source: As Alabama entered their contest against

, they gained one position the rankings to No. 19 and the

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

entered the rankings at No. 15 in the weekly AP Poll. In the game, the Crimson Tide battled the Wildcats to a 7–7 tie in the first game played at Legion Field of the season. After a scoreless first,

blocked a Kentucky punt that was recovered by Alabama at the Wildcats' two-yard line. Two plays later, Paul Spencer scored on a short run and Bud Waites converted the

to give the Crimson Tide a 7–0 lead. Still down by a touchdown at the end of the third, Kentucky tied the game in the fourth on a short Noah Mullins run and Jim Hardin extra point. The tie brought Alabama's all-time record against Kentucky 17–1–1.

Tulane

*Source: After their tie with Kentucky, the Crimson Tide dropped out of the weekly AP Poll, and

took the No. 7 position after their victory over Ole Miss. In New Orleans, the Crimson Tide was

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

by the

Green Wave A green wave occurs when a series of traffic lights (usually three or more) are coordinated to allow continuous traffic flow over several intersections in one main direction. Any vehicle traveling along with the green wave (at an approximate spee ...

13–0 before a crowd of 52,000 at Tulane Stadium. After a scoreless first, Tulane took a 6–0 halftime lead when Harry Hays scored a touchdown on a 69-yard

reverse Reverse or reversing may refer to: Arts and media * ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001 * ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film * ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film * ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005 * ''Reverse'' ...

. Robert Kellogg then scored the Green Wave's other touchdown in the third with his three-yard run. The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Tulane to 12–4–1.

Georgia Tech

*Source: In their final home game of the season game against

Alabama lost their second consecutive game by a shutout, 6–0 against the

Yellow Jackets Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genera '' Vespula'' and '' Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of th ...

at Legion Field. The only score of the game was set up after R. W. Murphy recovered a John Hanson

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

at the Alabama 38-yard line. Three plays later the Yellow Jackets scored on a 24-yard E. M. Wheby touchdown reception from Johnny Bosch, and after

blocked the extra point attempt, Georgia Tech led 6–0. The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Georgia Tech to 11–11–3.

Vanderbilt

*Source: In their season finale against the Vanderbilt

Commodores Commodores are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in ...

, Alabama won 39–0 at Dudley Field on

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden a ...

to end a two-game losing streak. In the first half touchdowns were scored on a Jimmy Nelson touchdown reception in the first and by a 77-yard Herschel Mosley run and a 67-yard Paul Spencer run in the second. Up by three touchdowns at halftime, the Crimson Tide scored three second half touchdowns in the 39–0 victory. Second half touchdowns were scored on a 20-yard Jimmy Nelson reception and by Spencer on an eight-yard run and by Hal Newman on an 18-yard reception from Billy Harrell as time expired. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Vanderbilt to 12–9.

After the season

NFL draft

Several players that were varsity lettermen from the 1939 squad were drafted into the

National Football League (NFL) The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

between the 1940 and 1942 drafts. These players included the following:

Personnel

Varsity letter winners

Coaching staff

References

General * Specific {{Alabama Crimson Tide football navbox

Alabama Crimson Tide football seasons

Alabama Crimson Tide football The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama (variously Alabama, UA, or Bama) in the sport of American football. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Asso ...