Daily Dose of Crimson Tide: JFK's Reverse in 1961

We try and stay away from politics here on BamaCentral, but this was a relevant moment in Alabama sports history.

On Dec. 6, 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy attended the Hall of Fame dinner in New York City to honor Alabama’s national championship team, as the Crimson Tide had already been voted No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll before it would beat No. 9 Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl, 10-3.

Kennedy was made an honorary Crimson Tide letterman, and he’s still on the school’s all-time list.

In the photo above, Kennedy is posing with, from left, Paul W. "Bear" Bryant, White House Army Signal Agency John J. Cochran, quarterback Pat Trammell, University of Alabama president Frank Rose, sportscaster Mel Allen, Alabama Sports Hall of Fame inductee Young Boozer Jr., Birmingham News writer Benny Marshall, and Alabama businessman Tom Russell at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

However, a year later after Alabama defeated Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, 17-0, Kennedy visited Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson, who was on his physical fitness council, but not the Crimson Tide locker room.

Many saw it as a snub due to of the increasingly hot issue of racial integration.

Alabama was a state Kennedy won against Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election. It may be a coincidence, but since then the only Democrat since to carry it was Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Nevertheless, the first four visits by the Crimson Tide to the White House after winning a national championship were all teams coached by Nick Saban when Barack Obama was President.

... and of course last year President Donald Trump attended the LSU at Alabama game, a story that BamaCentral broke:

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