Daily Dose of Crimson Tide: Dixie Howell

He’s considered one of the greatest players to ever wear crimson for Alabama. Millard Fillmore Howell, who was named after the 13th president of the United States but otherwise known as “Dixie,” also became a national legend after having one of the greatest final games in college football history.

He was a versatile, do-all kind of player. In addition to being on the throwing end of the famous “Howell-to-Hutson” passing combination that was instrumental in Alabama winning the first Southeastern Conference title in 1933, he also had an 80-yard run the previous year against Vanderbilt, and recorded epic punts of 89, 83, 80 yards.

Led by Howell, the 1934 Crimson Tide had no peers nationally. As part of its 9-0 regular season, Alabama closed the campaign with wins of 40-0 against both Clemson and Georgia Tech, and 34-0 to Vanderbilt, to secure an invitation to play Stanford (9-0-1) in the Rose Bowl.

In scoring the Tide’s first touchdown, Howell bolted into the end zone from the 5-yard line, doing a complete somersault and landing on his feet. But he was just getting started that day, later adding a 67-yard touchdown run, and threw a touchdown pass to Hutson.

“Open that page once more in The Book of Football Revelations and under these names - Dorais to Rockne, Wyman to Baston, Friedman to Oosterbaan - add to those HOWELL TO HUTSON,” Los Angeles sportswriter Mark Kelly wrote. “And let the last stay in capital letters because they should top the list.”

Howell completed 9 of 13 passes for 160 yards to go with 111 rushing yards, and handled kick returns and punts.

Needless to say, Howell left Pasadena with the game’s most valuable player honor.

“Dixie Howell, the human howitzer from Hartford, Ala., blasted the Rose Bowl dreams of Stanford today with one of the greatest all-around exhibitions football has ever known,” legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice wrote about the performance.

“No team in the history if football, anywhere, anytime, has passed the ball as Alabama passed it today,” Ralph McGill in the Atlanta Constitution. “And no man ever passed as did Dixie Howell, the swift sword of the Crimson attack.”

Alabama won its fourth national championship, averaging 31.4 points per game while yielding just 4.5. Howell was named Southeastern Conference player of the year in addition to All-American with tackle Bill Lee and Hutson.

For an encore, Howell helped the baseball team post a 14-2 Southeastern Conference record to win the conference title. He went on to play one year with the Washington Redskins, 1937, before becoming a coach. From 1937-41, he guided Arizona State to a 20-9-4 record, and at Idaho went 13-20-1 (1947-50).

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