Daily Dose of Crimson Tide: Dr. George Hutcheson Denny

At no other school does football transcend the boundaries of a field or stadium like the Crimson Tide. According to the ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, “Perhaps no program has meant as much to the identity, even the self-esteem, of its home state at Alabama.”

That was, in part, by design.

Dr. George Hutcheson Denny was born in the Hanover, Virginia, courthouse in 1870, the son of a Presbyterian minister. He earned his bachelor and master’s degree at Hampden-Sydney, his PhD from Virginia, and was president at both Hampden-Sydney and Washington & Lee universities before arriving on the Capstone.

His published works included, “The Subjunctive Sequence after Adjective and Substantive Predicates and Phrases,” and a collegiate edition of “Cicero’s Letters.”

Football at Washington & Lee, a liberal arts school in Lexington, Virginia, dated back to 1873, when the Generals played Virginia Military Institute in the first game ever played in the South. But the program has some of its greatest success when Denny was president, and it peaked shortly after his departure.

From 1912-15, Washington & Lee went 32-3-1, and the 1914 team coached by Jogger Elcock went undefeated (9-0), while outscoring opponents 324-12.

It would be another 20 years before the Generals won another Southern Conference title, and Washington & Lee currently plays in Division III.

When Denny was hired as Alabama’s president in 1912, he was a visionary in that he saw football as a tool to build enrollment and gain notoriety. At the time, the campus had just 652 students and nine principal buildings.

Denny, a massive football fan, was personally involved in the hiring of coaches, including Thomas Kelly, Xen Scott, Wallace Wade, and Frank Thomas. During his reign, the roots of the program’s success were firmly entrenched, including the building of a 12,000-seat football stadium on campus.

George Hutcheson Denny Stadium (now known at Bryant-Denny Stadium) opened in 1929.

Alabama won four national championships, made four trips to the Rose Bowl (without a loss), captured four Southern Conference championships, and was a founding member of the Southeastern Conference, winning its first title in 1933.

Today, one can’t go anywhere on campus without seeing Denny’s influence, or at least something named in his honor.

In the heart of the Capstone is Denny Chimes, which serves as Alabama’s key landmark and was dedicated in 1929. Starting in 1948, team captains would have the honor of their names, handprints and footprints set in concrete around the bell tower on the “Walk of Fame.”

However, Denny’s success also helped bring about his departure from his post as disputes with both the state legislature and student faculty helped lead to his resignation after a quarter century of growth.

When he retired in 1936, Alabama boasted more than 5,000 students and 23 major buildings, which still form the central core of the modern campus. Considered one of the most distinguished educators of the South, Denny died in 1955.

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