The 1952 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 1952 college football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 58th overall and 19th 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

Harold Drew Harold Delbert "Red" Drew (November 9, 1894 – October 20, 1979) was an American football, basketball, and track and field coach for over 40 years. He was the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1947 to 1954, compiling a r ...

, in his sixth 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 ...

Ladd Stadium Ladd or Ladds may refer to: People * Ladd (surname) * Brent Ladds (born 1951), Canadian ice hockey administrator Places ;In the United States * Ladds, Georgia, an unincorporated community *Ladd, Illinois, village * Ladd, Missouri, an unincorporat ...

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

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 ...

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

. They finished with a record of ten wins and two losses (10–2 overall, 4–2 in the SEC) and with a victory over Syracuse in the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game ...

. After a 5–6 campaign for the 1951 season, Alabama bounced back in 1952 to have its best season of the decade and finished 10–2. However, losses to

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 ...

, for the fifth consecutive year without a victory, 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 ...

cost Alabama the SEC title. The Crimson Tide ended the season in its first bowl game in five years, against Syracuse in the

. The 61–6 Alabama victory set a school record for most points scored in a bowl game and an Orange Bowl record for points scored until the 2012 Orange Bowl. The 55-point margin of victory stood as the all-time record for margin of victory in a bowl game through the 2008 GMAC Bowl. Freshman quarterback

Bart Starr Bryan Bartlett Starr (January 9, 1934 – May 26, 2019) was an American professional football quarterback and head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Alab ...

, playing with the varsity, appeared in seven games as the backup to Clell Hobson. Starr went on to have a legendary Hall of Fame career as quarterback of the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

Schedule

Game summaries

Mississippi Southern

*Source: To open the 1952 season, Alabama defeated the Mississippi Southern

Golden Eagles The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds ...

20–6 at the Cramton Bowl in a game where the Crimson Tide set a conference with their 12

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 ...

s.1952 Season Recap Clell Hobson scored the first touchdown for Alabama on his eight-yard run in the first quarter for a 7–0 lead. Southern responded in the second quarter with their lone points on a 13-yard

Laurin Pepper Hugh McLaurin Pepper III (January 18, 1930 – February 4, 2018) was a collegiate All-American football player, Major League Baseball player, and high school football coach. Born in Vaughan, Mississippi, he is a member of the University of Sou ...

touchdown run before the Crimson Tide made the halftime score 13–6 after a four-yard Bobby Luna run. Alabama then scored the final touchdown of the game in the third on a four-yard Bobby Marlow run. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi Southern to 6–0.

LSU

*Source: To open conference play for the 1952 season, Alabama 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 ...

21–20 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. After the Tigers took a 7–0 lead on a 16-yard Al Doggett touchdown pass to Ron Emberg, Bobby Luna scored on a pair of two-yard touchdown runs and gave the Crimson Tide a 14-7 halftime lead. LSU responded to take a 20–14 lead late in the fourth quarter after Doggett scored on a 38-yard run in the third and on a 20-yard Norman Stevens run early in the fourth quarter. Alabama then scored the game-winning touchdown on a 95-yard Bob Conway

kickoff Kickoff or kick-off may refer to * Kick-off (association football) * Kickoff (gridiron football) * ''Kick Off'' (series), a series of computer association football games * ''Kick Off'' (album), a 1985 album by Onyanko Club * ''Kick Off'' (mag ...

return for the 21–20 win. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against LSU to 14–6–3.

Miami

*Source: On a Friday evening in Miami, Alabama defeated the

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 ...

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

21–7 at Burdine Stadium. After a scoreless first quarter, Miami scored the first touchdown of the game on a one-yard Don James run and Alabama followed with a one-yard Bobby Marlow touchdown run to tie the game at halftime 7–7. In the second half, the Crimson Tide defense shut out the Hurricanes and the offense added a pair of touchdowns to win 21–7. The second-half touchdowns were scored on a second one-yard Marlow run in the third quarter and on a four-yard Thomas Tharp run in the fourth quarter. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Miami to 3–0.

VPI

*Source: Against the Fighting Gobblers of VPI (now known as the

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

Hokies), Alabama won 33–0 at Denny Field. Four first half touchdowns gave the Crimson Tide a 27–0 halftime lead that proved insurmountable for the Gobblers. Touchdown were scored in the first on a 10-yard Bobby Luna run and a three-yard Tommy Lewis run, and in the second on Thomas Tharp runs of 85 and 20-yards. With the reserves in place of the second half, the final touchdown of the game came in the fourth quarter when Bobby Duke threw a 14-yard strike to William Oliver and made the final score 33–0. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against VPI 3–0.

Tennessee

*Sources: Against their long-time rival, 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 shut out 20–0 at Shields-Watkins Field for their first loss of the season. The first Tennessee points were set up early in the first after Mack Franklin blocked a Bobby Wilson punt. Andy Kozar then gave the Vols a 6–0 lead with his two-yard run on the drive that ensued. Tennessee did not score again until the fourth quarter when Pat Shires threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Frank Alexander and Jimmy Wade scored on a four-yard run for the 20–0 victory. The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Tennessee to 17–13–4.

Mississippi State

*Source: On

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. ...

in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide scored touchdowns in all four quarters and defeated the

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 ...

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. ...

42–19 at Denny Stadium.

Jackie Parker John Dickerson "Jackie" Parker (January 1, 1932 – November 7, 2006) was an American gridiron football player and coach. He was an All-American in college football and an outstanding professional football player in the Canadian Football League ...

scored the first touchdown of the game for the Maroons with his one-yard touchdown run and Bobby Marlow responded with a nine-yard run to tie the game 7–7 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Marlow scored touchdowns on a 56-yard run and on a 14-yard reception from Clell Hobson and gave Alabama a 21–7 halftime lead. In between Parker touchdown runs of two and six-yards for State, Thomas Tharp scored for the Tide on a 23-yard run and Alabama led 28–19 at the end of the third. The Crimson Tide then closed the game with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns on a 45-yard Hobson pass to Tharp and a four-yard Bob Conway run for the 42–19 win. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi State to 28–7–2.

Georgia

*Sources: At Legion Field, Alabama defeated the

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 ...

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. After Bobby Marlow gave Alabama a 7–0 first quarter lead, the Bulldogs responded with a 12-yard

Zeke Bratkowski Edmund Raymond "Zeke" Bratkowski (October 20, 1931 − November 11, 2019) was an American football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams, and Green Bay Packer ...

touchdown pass to Robert Dellinger in the first and on a one-yard Robert Clemens run for a 12–7 second quarter lead. Clell Hobson then scored on a four-yard run to give the Crimson Tide a 14–12 halftime lead. Alabama then scored on a pair of Thomas Tharp touchdown runs of 13 and 19-yards and a Bob Conway run of one-yard for a 34–12 lead late in the fourth quarter. A nine-yard James Harper run for Georgia late in the fourth provided for the final 34–19 winning margin for the Crimson Tide. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Georgia to 20–15–3.

Chattanooga

*Source: After going down 7–0, Alabama responded with 42 consecutive points and defeated the

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

Moccasins 42–28 at Denny Stadium. Hal Ledyard scored for the Mocs on a three-yard run in the first quarter to give Chattanooga their only lead at 7–0. Alabama responded with touchdown runs of seven-yards by Bobby Marlow and 56 and six-yards by Thomas Tharp in the second for a 21–7 halftime lead. The Crimson Tide then scored another three touchdowns in the third quarter on a 60-yard

Hootie Ingram Cecil W. "Hootie" Ingram (born September 2, 1933) is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played for the University of Alabama from 1952 to 1954 and was selected as an All- SEC defensive back in 1952. ...

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

return, a one-yard Bob Conway run and a two-yard Bobby Luna run for a 42–7 lead at the end of the third quarter. With the game in hand, the Alabama reserves did surrender three fourth-quarter touchdowns to the Mocs in a span of just over four minutes to make the final score 42–28. Chattanooga touchdowns in the quarter were scored on a 15-yard Ledyard pass to Fremo Ross, a 64-yard Ledyard pass to Jack Stanford and on a one-yard Buck Stamps run. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Chattanooga to 6–0.

Georgia Tech

*Source: In what was the ABC televised game of the week, Alabama lost to 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 ...

7–3 at Grant Field in Atlanta. After a 25-yard Bobby Luna

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 ...

gave the Crimson Tide a 3–0 first quarter lead, a nine-yard Dick Pretz touchdown run in the second quarter proved to be the game-winner for Tech. The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Georgia Tech to 17–14–3.

Maryland

*Source: In the first all-time meeting between the schools, Alabama upset the

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Terrapins Terrapins are one of several small species of turtle (order Testudines) living in fresh or brackish water. Terrapins do not form a taxonomic unit and may not be closely related. Many belong to the families Geoemydidae and Emydidae. The name " ...

27–7 at Ladd Stadium in Mobile. The Crimson Tide scored touchdowns in all four quarters. They were scored in the first half on an 11-yard Bobby Luna pass to

in the first quarter and on a one-yard Tommy Lewis run in the second for a 13–0 halftime lead for Alabama. After a 25-yard

Jack Scarbath John Carl Scarbath (August 12, 1930December 6, 2020) was a professional American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fam ...

touchdown pass to Lou Weidensaul early in the third cut the Crimson Tide lead to 13–7, Alabama scored two more touchdowns to put the game away. The first came in the third quarter on a one-yard Bobby Marlow run and the second on a 22-yard

return late in the fourth to make the final score 27–7.

Auburn

*Source: For the fourth time in five years since the revival of the Auburn series, Alabama shutout the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

21–0 at Legion Field. The Crimson Tide took a 14–0 lead in the first quarter on touchdown runs of 13 and eight-yards by Tommy Lewis. Bobby Luna then scored the final touchdown in the second quarter on a four-yard run for the 21–0 victory. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Auburn to 8–8–1.

Syracuse

*Source: In what was the first

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

that the Crimson Tide competed in since the 1948 Sugar Bowl, Alabama dominated the Syracuse Orangemen 61–6, and the 55-point margin of victory remained the largest for a bowl game until the 2008 GMAC Bowl. In the first quarter, Alabama scored on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Clell Hobson to Bobby Luna to take a 7–0 lead. Syracuse responded on the following possession with their lone touchdown of the game on a 15-yard Joe Szombathy touchdown run to make the score 7–6. From this point, the Orangemen did not score again and the Crimson Tide dominated with 54 unanswered points. Alabama extended their lead to 21–6 at halftime on a one-yard Bobby Marlow touchdown run and a 50-yard Thomas Tharp reception from Hobson. In the third quarter, the Crimson Tide scored three more touchdowns on a 38-yard Bobby Luna run and on Tommy Lewis runs of one and 30-yards. With a 41–6 lead at the end of the third, Alabama scored another three touchdowns in the fourth quarter on a 21-yard Joe Cummings reception from

, an 80-yard

punt return and a 60-yard Marvin Hill

return. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Syracuse to 1–1.

Personnel

Varsity letter winners

Coaching staff

References

General * Specific {{Alabama Crimson Tide football navbox

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 Orange Bowl champion 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 ...