Daily Dose of Crimson Tide: The 1926 National Champions

In 1925, Alabama was not the first choice of the selection committee to play in the Rose Bowl, but it proved worthy by pulling off a 20-19 upset of Washington while winning its first national championship.

A year later, many wondered if it could possibly do so again, especially after being thrust into the national spotlight by being the first Southern team to play in the high-profile game.

Although standouts Pooley Hubert and Johnny Mack Brown had moved on, Alabama continued to discredit its naysayers and critics with another undefeated regular season that included six shutouts, with the only close game a 2-0 victory against Sewanee decided by a blocked punt that went out of the end zone.

Led by All-Americans Fred Pickhard and Hoyt “Wu” Winslett, along with All-Southern Conference backs Herschel Caldwell and Emile Barnes, and center Gordon “Sherlock” Holmes, the Crimson Tide outscored its regular-season opponents 242-20.

Similar to the previous year, the Southern Conference championship came down to a season-ending showdown with Georgia, and for the third straight year Alabama left with the title in tow – this time thanks to a convincing 33-6 Thanksgiving victory.

This time, Alabama didn’t have to wait for Rose Bowl officials to first ask a host of East Coast powers to make the trip to play on Jan. 1, 1927. It was the clear and obvious choice, and eager for an opportunity to both defend its accomplishments and prove that the previous year was not a fluke.

Again, the hopes of the South rested with the men from Tuscaloosa, who were, not surprisingly, considered underdogs.

On the opposing side was Stanford, coached by the legendary Glenn “Pop” Warner, who had already made quite a name for himself and boasted the West Coast’s finest team that season.

Jack James of the International News Service wrote in reference to Stanford’s 13-12 victory against USC: “Football followers of this vicinity cannot forget the bewildering deception, the concentrated power, the grim determination of the afternoon. And because they remember, they figure that Alabama, or any other ball club, would have to be just short of super-human to deny a repetition of that attack.”

Alabama was outplayed, but Stanford could never put the game away.

In the closing minutes, the Crimson Tide scored a touchdown for a 7-7 standoff and 9-0-1 record. Pickhard was selected MVP of the Rose Bowl, and the game was the first transcontinental radio broadcast of a sporting event on NBC.

Because most services at the time held their final rankings at the conclusion of the regular season, both teams along with Lafayette and Navy had already been declared national champions by at least one organization prior to the game – Alabama’s second title.

Specifically, five teams were tabbed No. 1.

Alabama: Billingsley, Football Research, Helms, National Championship Foundation, Poling

Lafayette: Parke Davis

Michigan: Sagarin.

Navy: Boand, Houlgate

Stanford: Dickinson, Helms, National Championship Foundation, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)

The 1926 Crimson Tide

9-0-1, national champions, Southern Conference champions

Sept. 24 Millsaps, Tuscaloosa, W 54-0

Oct. 2 Vanderbilt, Nashville, W 19-7

Oct. 9 Mississippi State, Meridian, W 26-7

Oct. 16 Georgia Tech, Atlanta, W 21-0

Oct. 23 Sewanee, Birmingham, W 2-0

Oct. 30 LSU, Tuscaloosa, W 24-0

Nov. 6 Kentucky, Birmingham, W 14-0

Nov. 13 Florida, Montgomery, W 49-0

Nov. 25 Georgia, Birmingham, W 33-6

Jan. 1, 1927 Stanford, Rose Bowl, T 7-7

Total points: 249-27

Coach: Wallace Wade

Captain: Emile “Red” Barnes

All-American: First team _ Hoyt “Wu” Winslett, end; Fred Pickhard, tackle.

All-Southern Conference: Emile Barnes, Back; Herschel Caldwell, back; Gordon Holmes, center; Fred Pickhard, tackle; Hoyt Winslett, end.

Some of this post originated from "100 Things Crimson tide Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die," published by Triumph Books