Daily Dose of Crimson Tide: The War Babies

The University of Alabama didn’t field a football team in 1943 due to World War II, but the following year Coach Frank Thomas had enough players — 20, down from the then-normal 50 — to piece together a team, appropriately nicknamed “The War Babies.”

Most of the Crimson Tide was comprised of 17-year-old boys too young to be drafted, students medically disqualified from military service, and returning veterans — not to mention the Southeastern Conference waiving its rule against freshman participation. The key player was a small all-around player named Harry Gilmer, who had a unique passing style of leaping as he threw.

Thomas went from hoping the ragtag collection wouldn’t “disgrace the university” to becoming the favorite of all the teams he coached.

With a 5-1-2 record, the War Baby Tiders secured the school’s first invitation to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, where Gilmer put on a dazzling performance in front of 72,000 fans. Though much-older, Duke pulled out a 29-26 victory in the final moments, yet Gilmer was named the game’s most valuable player.

It also set up one of the most impressive seasons in Alabama history. With the conclusion of hostilities, the Crimson Tide not only had a full roster again in 1945, including All-American center Vaughn Mancha, but an experienced team.

Even with two military opponents on the schedule (which were like all-star teams made up up of various schools), Alabama destroyed its competition with Georgia coming closest, 28-14.

It outscored opponents 430-80, and among the lopsided games was a 41-0 victory against Kentucky in which Gilmer had 216 rushing yards — the first time in school history the 200-yard mark had been eclipsed — on just six carries thanks to touchdown runs of 95 and 59 yards, in addition to more than 100 yards passing.

The perfect regular season and Southeastern Conference title resulted in the sixth invitation to the Rose Bowl, and, like usual, Alabama was considered the underdog, this time to Southern California, The Trojans had won eight straight in Pasadena.

At halftime, USC had minus-24 yards of offense on 21 plays while Alabama led 20-0. The Trojans didn’t get a first down until the third quarter, when they trailed 27-0, but Thomas held back in the second half. Lowell Tew, who had had a broken jaw that had been taped and wired shut, started, and even Nick Terlizzi hobbled on to the field with broken leg just so he could say he played in a Rose Bowl.

Alabama won convincingly, 34-14.

“’Bama just took off and ran where she pleased _ through tackle, through center or around the ends, it made little difference where the plays were directed,” Braven Dyer of the Los Angeles Times wrote. “The Trojans? Well, let’s be charitable and say they just didn’t have it.”

Despite the perfect 10-0 record, it didn’t result in another national title, and the final poll was really never in doubt. Although the National Championship Foundation, the Cliff Morgan Foundation, and the Ray Byrne Foundation all had Alabama No. 1, it finished second in the rest of the polls to Army, which was still enjoying the benefits of essentially being able to recruit players off other teams.

Thus, 1945 is not one of the national championships the Crimson Tide claims even though it obviously could.