The 1945 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 1945 college football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 51st overall and 12th 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 14th 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 ...

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 ...

and at the

Cramton Bowl Cramton Bowl is a 25,000-seat stadium located in Montgomery, Alabama. Cramton Bowl opened in 1922 as a baseball stadium and has been home to Major League Baseball spring training and to minor league baseball. Today, however, its primary use is f ...

in Montgomery. They finished with a

perfect season A perfect season is a sports season, including any requisite playoff portion, in which a team remains and finishes undefeated and untied. The feat is extremely rare at the professional level of any team sport, and has occurred more commonly at the ...

(10–0 overall, 6–0 in the SEC) and with a victory in the Rose Bowl over USC. This team was the second season of the "War Babies" as coined by head coach Thomas. The team led the nation in total defense, allowing an average of only 109.9 yards per game. The Crimson Tide was particularly tough against the rush, allowing an average of only 33.9 rushing yards per game and less than one yard per carry (320 opposition carries for 305 yards gained). On offense, Alabama ranked second nationally behind Army, averaging 421.7 yards per game. The team's statistical leaders included

Lowell Tew Lowell William Tew (January 2, 1927 – March 1981) was an American football fullback in the All-America Football Conference for the New York Yankees. He played college football at the University of Alabama and was drafted in the first ro ...

with 715 rushing yards and

Harry Gilmer Harry Vincent Gilmer Jr. (April 14, 1926 – August 20, 2016) was an American football halfback and quarterback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and Detroit Lions. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fam ...

with 905 passing yards. Gilmer led the nation with a .648 pass completion percentage. The Crimson Tide opened the season on the road with a victory over Keesler AAF after

Jackson Army Air Base Hawkins Field is a joint civil-military public airport in Jackson, Mississippi. It is owned by the City of Jackson and operated by the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 call ...

canceled their game at Denny Stadium. Alabama then defeated

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

in Baton Rouge before their first home win of the season at the

over

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. After victories over both

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 ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, the Crimson Tide routed both

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 ...

and Vanderbilt on the road to extend their record to 7–0. They then closed the season with a pair of games at Denny Stadium where they defeated the Pensacola NAS and

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 ...

to complete an undefeated regular season. One month later, Alabama won the Rose Bowl over USC to finish the season undefeated. The 1945 season was the fourth

in Alabama history, following the perfect seasons of 1925, 1930 and 1934. However, Alabama did not win the national championship in 1945; that honor went to the Army Cadets team that went 9–0 and outscored its opponents by a 412–46 margin. The Crimson Tide finished second in the AP poll behind the Cadets.

Schedule

Game summaries

Keesler AAF

*Source: To open the 1945 season, the Crimson Tide were originally scheduled to play a game against the

at Denny Stadium. On September 8 coach Thomas announced that Jackson had canceled its entire 1945 schedule due to heavy cuts in personnel at the base. After unsuccessfully being able to schedule a replacement home game for the Jackson date, on September 23, coach Thomas announced the Crimson Tide would open the season against Keesler AAF in

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

. Against the Fliers, Alabama won 21–0 before a crowd of 14,000 military personnel.1945 Season Recap After they took a 7–0 lead, Alabama scored their second touchdown when

scored on a nine-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'' ...

off a

handoff In cellular telecommunications, handover, or handoff, is the process of transferring an ongoing call or data session from one channel connected to the core network to another channel. In satellite communications it is the process of transf ...

lat in the first quarter. Tew then scored the final points of the game in the third quarter on a 20-yard reverse for a touchdown. In the game, Alabama rushed for a total of 226 yards, but Gilmer only completed a single pass for ten-yards.

LSU

*Source: To open conference play for the 1945 season, the Crimson Tide traveled to play

and left Baton Rouge with a 26–7 victory. Alabama scored first when

threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Rebel Steiner for an early 7–0 lead. Their second touchdown came two minutes later on a second 50-yard Gilmer touchdown pass. For the second time Gilmer threw to Steiner, but this time the LSU defender

Dan Sandifer Daniel Padgett Sandifer (March 1, 1927 – August 15, 1987), was an American football defensive back who played with six National Football League teams from 1948 NFL season, 1948 to 1953 NFL season, 1953. Because of World War II, he was one ...

knocked the ball out of his hands and into the air.

then caught the deflected pass and ran it in for the score. Late in the second quarter, the Crimson tide extended their lead to 20–0 at halftime when Gilmer connected with Steiner for a 13-yard touchdown reception. The lone Tigers scoring drive came in the third and as set up after Sandifer intercepted a Gilmer pass. Eight plays later, William Montgomery made the score 20–7 with his short touchdown run. Alabama closed the game with a fourth-quarter touchdown run by Fred Grant to make the final score 26–7. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against LSU to 12–3–3. The win was Thomas' 100th win at the Capstone, making him the first coach to lead the Crimson Tide to 100 or more victories. Thomas would retire with 115 wins as the Tide's head coach. Paul "Bear" Bryant and Nick Saban have subsequently joined Thomas in guiding Crimson Tide teams to over 100 wins.

South Carolina

*Sources: After their victory over LSU, the Crimson Tide were ranked in the No. 7 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 season. In their first home game, the Crimson Tide defeated the

Gamecocks A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

55–0 at the

. Alabama opened the game with four first-quarter touchdowns to take a 27–0 lead on a short Fred Grant run, a Gordon Pettus pass to Grant, a 51-yard

run and on a

run. A pair of touchdowns in the second quarter on runs by Norwood Hodges and the Lou Scales for a 41–0 halftime lead for Alabama. The Crimson Tide scored their final points of the game in the third when Grant and Scales scored on touchdown runs for the 55–0 win. In the game, Alabama rushed for 447 yards and all 41 players that dressed saw playing time. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against South Carolina to 3–0.

Tennessee

*Sources: With their win over South Carolina, Alabama moved up to the No. 6 position in the second AP Poll of the season. Against

, the Crimson Tide defeated 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 ...

25–7 at a sold-out Legion Field. The Crimson Tide took a 7–0 lead in the first quarter on a six-yard

touchdown run. A pair of second-quarter touchdowns further extended the Alabama lead to 19–0 at halftime. The scores were made on a one-yard Fred Grant run and then on a 24-yard Gilmer pass to Grant. After a scoreless third quarter that saw a five-yard

touchdown run nullified by a holding penalty, Tennessee scored their lone points early in the fourth quarter. The touchdown was scored on a 42-yard pass from Bob Lund to Max Partin and cut the Alabama lead to 19–7. The Crimson Tide then closed the game with a one-yard Norwood Hodges touchdown run to make the final score 25–7. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Tennessee to 16–8–3.

Georgia

*Source: After their victory over Tennessee, Alabama retained their No. 6 ranking for their game against Georgia. Against the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose. On the first offensive play of the game John Donaldson

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 ...

d the ball, and Norwood Hodges recovered for Alabama at the Georgia 25-yard line. Eight plays later,

threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to

for a 7–0 Crimson Tide lead. Later in the first, Georgia tied the game at 7–7 on a 31-yard

Charley Trippi Charles Louis Trippi (December 14, 1921 – October 19, 2022) was an American professional football player for the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) from 1947 to 1955. Although primarily a running back, his versatility al ...

touchdown run. After being held on a fourth-and-goal on their first possession of the second quarter, Alabama extended their lead to 14–7 on their next possession on a six-yard Gilmer pass to Fred Davis. Gilmer then threw his third touchdown of the day late in the second quarter on a 12-yard pass to Hodges for a 21–7 halftime lead. Midway through the third, the Bulldogs scored their final touchdown of the game when

John Rauch John Rauch (August 20, 1927 – June 10, 2008), also known by his nickname Johnny Rauch, was an American football player and coach. He was head coach of the Oakland Raiders in the team's loss to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II in early 1 ...

threw a 65-yard completion to Reid Moseley. Later in the quarter, a Trippi fumble gave the Crimson Tide possession at the Georgia six-yard line, and two plays later Hodges scored from inside the one to make the final score 28–14. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Georgia to 15–13–3.

Kentucky

*Source: After their victory over Georgia, Alabama moved up two spots to the No. 4 ranking for prior to their game against Kentucky. At Louisville, the Crimson Tide rushed for 572 yards in their 60–19

rout A rout is a panicked, disorderly and undisciplined retreat of troops from a battlefield, following a collapse in a given unit's command authority, unit cohesion and combat morale (''esprit de corps''). History Historically, lightly-equi ...

of 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 ...

. In the first quarter, touchdown runs of 36, 16 and 60 yards were made by

, Norwood Hodges and

for Alabama and a 17-yard

George Blanda George Frederick Blanda (September 17, 1927 – September 27, 2010) was an American football placekicker and quarterback who played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Blanda played 26 seasons ...

touchdown pass to Dick Hensley for Kentucky made the score 21–6 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, Alabama again scored three touchdowns. This time runs of 1 and 78 yards were made by Hodges and Gordon Pettus in addition to a seven-yard Gilmer touchdown pass to Rebel Steiner. Babe Ray scored for the Wildcats on a six-yard run and the Crimson Tide led 41–12 at halftime. In the third period, each team traded touchdowns when James Robertson scored on a 51-yard run for the Crimson Tide and on a 36-yard Hartford Granitz pass to

Wallace Jones Wallace Clayton "Wah Wah" Jones (July 14, 1926 – July 27, 2014) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1949 to 1952 with the Indianapolis Olympians. Biography Jones was born ...

for the Wildcats to make the score 47–19 at the end of the third. In the fourth, Alabama tallied two more touchdowns on runs of 95 by Gilmer and two-yards by Lou Scales to make the final score 60–19. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Kentucky 22–1–1.

Vanderbilt

*Source: 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 71–0 at Dudley Field in Nashville.

scored the first points of the game on a ten-yard run for a 7–0 Alabama lead at the end of the first. In the second quarter. the Crimson Tide extended their lead to 21–0 bay halftime with touchdowns scored on a 25-yard

run and on an 18-yard Gilmer pass to James Corbitt. The scoring continued in the second half with four touchdowns in the third and three in the fourth for the 71–0 victory. Third quarter points were scored by Fred Grant on a two-yard run, a 47-yard Gilmer pass to Rebel Steiner, a five-yard Gilmer run and on a 15-yard Corbitt run. Fourth quarter points were scored by Gordon Pettus on a seven-yard run, a 20-yard blocked punt return by Dickson, a second blocked punt for a

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and on a 33-yard Frank Fedak pass to Lou Scales. In the game, the Alabama defense was also dominant in having only allowed two-yards passing and minus five-yards rushing to the Commodores for the game. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Vanderbilt to 15–10.

Pensacola NAS

*Source: The day before their game against the Goslings, Alabama accepted an invitation to compete in the 1946 Rose Bowl. In what was the first game played at Denny Stadium of the season, Alabama met the team that represented the

Naval Air Station Pensacola Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola (formerly NAS/KNAS until changed circa 1970 to allow Nassau International Airport, now Lynden Pindling International Airport, to have IATA code NAS), "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United State ...

, and defeated the Goslings 55–6. In the first quarter, Crimson Tide touchdowns were scored by

on a 15-yard run, on a short Norwood Hodges run and on a four-yard Fred Grant run for a 21–0 lead at the end on the first quarter. Alabama added second-quarter touchdowns on a two-yard Hodges run and on a 43-yard James Corbitt run for a 35–0 halftime lead. After each team traded third quarter scores, the Crimson Tide closed the game with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns for the 55–6 victory.

Mississippi State

*Source: On what was homecoming before the largest crowd to date at Denny Stadium, Alabama 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. ...

55–13 to complete the eighth undefeated regular season in school history. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi State to 22–7–2.

USC

*Source: On November 23, University officials accepted an invitation to participate in the 1946 Rose Bowl. Against USC, the Crimson Tide defeated the

Trojans Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * '' Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...

34–14 to complete a

. Alabama took a 34–0 lead into the fourth quarter before the Trojans scored their first points. Alabama touchdowns were scored on a pair of one-yard Hal Self runs, a five-yard

run, a one-yard Norwood Hodges run and on a 20-yard Self pass to

. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against USC to 2–0. This edition of the Rose Bowl also marked the final one that did not feature a matchup between teams from what are now both the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

and the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

until

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

played in the 2002 Rose Bowl. This was the case as the Pacific Coast Conference and the Big Nine Conference entered into an agreement to place their conference champions in the Rose Bowl effective for the 1946 season.

Personnel

Varsity letter winners

Coaching staff

National championship

The NCAA recognizes consensus national champions as the teams that have captured a championship by way of one of the major polls since the 1950 college football season, and prior to 1950, they were chosen by a variety of selectors. For the 1945 season,

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

was recognized as national champions. The 1945 Alabama team was later determined to be national champions by the National Championship Foundation; however, Alabama does not claim 1945 as one of their 18 recognized national championships.

References

General * Specific {{Southeastern Conference football champions

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 ...

Alabama Crimson Tide football seasons Southeastern Conference football champion seasons Rose Bowl champion seasons College football undefeated 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 ...