Daily Dose of Crimson Tide: Hal Self

When most Alabama fans think of the “War Baby Tiders,” who played during World War II, the first thing that often comes to mind is Harry Gilmer. However, Hal Self was also a major force on those Frank Thomas teams.

He helped pass, run and throw the 1945 team to an undefeated season, and scored two touchdowns against Southern California in the Rose Bowl.

Self is one of the few people in college football history to play in the Cotton, Orange, Rose and Sugar bowls, and in 1946 won the Southeastern Conference’s Jacobs Trophy as the league’s best blocker.

Self was selected by the Brooklyn Tigers in the 1945 NFL Draft but opted to stay in college, which was a possibility at the time. He was a 14th-round selection and one of 10 Alabama players drafted, a program record that stood until the Nick Saban era (three players were taken after the 30th round, and two more after the 20th as the draft was very different at the time).

In 1949, after two years at Athens High School, the product of Decatur High School began restoring the football program at Florence State, now known as the University of North Alabama.

He ended up coaching there for 21 years, compiling a record of 110-81, including 13 winning season, despite usually playing bigger schools and with a one-person coaching staff of assistant George Weeks. From 1952-63, Self led the Lions to a combined 31-0-2 record against state rivals Livingston, Troy State and Jacksonville State.

Self retired from coaching in 1969 to become the school’s athletic director. The UNA Athletic Offices, formerly the Flowers Hall Annex, was renamed in his honor as the Self Field House.

He died in 2008.