1963 Alabama Crimson Tide football team The 1963 Alabama Crimson Tide football team ( variously " Alabama " , " UA " or " Bama " ) represented the University of Alabama in the 1963 college football season . It was the Crimson Tide ' s 69th overall and 30th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) . The team was led by head coach Bear Bryant , in his sixth year , and played their home games at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa , Legion Field in Birmingham and Ladd Stadium in Mobile , Alabama . They finished season with nine wins and two losses ( 9 – 2 overall , 6 – 2 in the SEC ) and with a victory over in the Sugar Bowl . The Crimson Tide opened the season with wins at Georgia , against Tulane in Mobile and at en route to a 3 – 0 start . However , in their fourth game , Alabama was upset by Florida in what was coach Bryant ' s first loss at Denny Stadium as head coach . They rebounded the week that followed with a shutout victory over Tennessee and then won their next three games against , and . In the annual Iron Bowl against Auburn , the Crimson Tide were defeated for the first time by the Tigers since the 1958 season . Although they lost , immediately after the game Alabama accepted an invitation to play in the Sugar Bowl . Before the bowl , the Crimson Tide defeated in their final game of the regular season . They then closed the season with a victory over Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl . Game notes . Georgia . To open the 1963 season , the Crimson Tide defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 32 – 7 on the road at Athens . The lone Georgia touchdown was setup in the first quarter when Ken Davis recovered a Joe Namath fumble at the Alabama 26 - yard line . Seven plays later , Georgia led 7 – 0 after Fred Barber scored on a three - yard run . The Crimson Tide tied the game later in the quarter on a 47 - yard Namath touchdown pass to Charles Stephens and then took a 10 – 7 halftime lead when Tim Davis connected on a 38 - yard field goal in the second quarter . Mike Fracchia then scored the next pair of Alabama touchdowns on runs of five and one - yard before Preston Ridlehuber was tackled for a safety in the fourth quarter . A 41 - yard Jack Hurlbut touchdown pass to Jimmy Dill late in the fourth made the final score 32 – 7 . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Georgia to 27 – 18 – 4 . Tulane . After their victory over Georgia to open the season , Alabama up one spot in the AP Poll to the No . 2 position . At Mobile , the Crimson Tide shutout the Tulane Green Wave 28 – 0 in their annual Ladd Stadium game of the season . Alabama took a 7 – 0 lead in the first quarter after Joe Namath scored on a one - yard touchdown run . The extended their lead to 21 – 0 at halftime after Benny Nelson scored on a 33 - yard run and by Billy Piper on a 51 - yard interception return . A 20 - yard Hudson Harris touchdown run in the third quarter provided for the final margin in this 28 – 0 Crimson Tide win . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Tulane to 21 – 10 – 3 . Vanderbilt . After their victory over Tulane , Alabama retained its No . 2 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Vanderbilt . At Nashville , the Crimson Tide defeated the Commodores 21 – 6 in a game that saw Benny Nelson score twice on long touchdown runs for Alabama . Midway through the first quarter , Nelson gave the Crimson Tide a 7 – 0 lead with his 50 - yard touchdown run . Vanderbilt responded in the second quarter with a 25 - yard Jon Cleveland touchdown pass to Toby Wilt ; however the extra point was blocked and Alabama retained a 7 – 6 lead . Mike Fracchia then scored on a one - yard touchdown run that made the halftime score 14 – 6 . Nelson then scored the final points of the game with his 97 - yard kickoff return in the third quarter that made the final score 21 – 6 . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Vanderbilt to 22 – 16 – 4 . Florida . After their closer than expected victory over Vanderbilt , Alabama dropped from the No . 2 to the No . 3 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Florida . In what was the first Tuscaloosa game of the season , the 17 - point favorite Crimson Tide were upset by the Gators 10 – 6 in what was also coach Bryant ' s first loss as head coach at Denny Stadium . Bob Lyle gave the Gators an early 3 – 0 lead with his 42 - yard field goal in the first quarter . The Alabama defense then produced a pair of goal line stand s in the first half that resulted in a 3 – 0 Florida lead at halftime . After a scoreless third , Florida took a 10 – 0 lead in the fourth when Dick Kirk scored on a 42 - yard touchdown run . With just over 2 : 00 left in the game , Joe Namath scored on a one - yard run to end the shutout bid , but Alabama still lost 10 – 6 . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Florida to 8 – 5 . Tennessee . Alabama dropped from the No . 3 position back into the No . 9 spot in the week leading into their game at Tennessee after their upset loss against Florida . Against the Volunteers , Alabama shutout Tennessee 35 – 0 in the first Legion Field game of the season . The Crimson Tide took a 7 – 0 lead in the first quarter after Benny Nelson scored on a 36 - yard touchdown run . Joe Namath then was responsible for the remaining four touchdowns scored on the afternoon . He first threw a 26 - yard scoring pass to Jimmy Dill late in the first and then threw a three - yard pass to Charles Stephens in the second that gave Alabama a 21 – 0 halftime lead . In the third , Namath threw his third touchdown pass to Hudson Harris from five - yards out then scored himself on a one - yard run that made the final score 35 – 0 . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Tennessee to 21 – 19 – 6 . Houston . As a result of their shutout win over Tennessee , the Crimson Tide moved into the No . 6 position in the AP poll prior to their game against Houston . Against a winless Cougars squad , Alabama struggled to a 21 – 13 victory at Denny Stadium . After a seven - yard Joe Namath touchdown pass to Benny Nelson gave the Crimson Tide a 7 – 0 lead in the first , a 41 - yard Jack Skrog touchdown pass to Mike Spratt in the second for Houston tied the game 7 – 7 at halftime . The Crimson Tide retook the lead in the third on a 35 - yard Nelson touchdown run and extended it to 21 – 7 on a 12 - yard Namath touchdown pass to Ray Ogden early in the fourth . The Cougars then cut the lead to 21 – 13 after Spratt scored on a 75 - yard touchdown run , but were unable to complete the comeback in the loss . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Houston to 5 – 0 . Mississippi State . Although they did defeat Houston in their previous contest , Alabama dropped into the No . 7 ranking as they prepared to play Mississippi State . On homecoming in Tuscaloosa , the Crimson Tide scored a game - winning touchdown in the final four minutes of the game and defeated the Bulldogs 20 – 19 . After Alabama took an early 3 – 0 lead on a 43 - yard Tim Davis field goal in the first , State responded and took a 12 – 3 lead in the second quarter . The Bulldogs scored touchdowns on a one - yard Dan Bland run and on a 45 - yard Larry Swearengen interception return of a Joe Namath pass . Alabama responded later in the quarter with a 40 - yard Namath touchdown pass to Jimmy Dill and a 31 - yard Davis field goal and took a 13 – 12 halftime lead . After a four - yard Swearengen run gave the Bulldogs a 19 – 13 lead in the third quarter , Namath scored the game tying touchdown in the fourth quarter with just over four minutes left in the game . The Davis extra point that ensued provided for the final margin in Alabama ' s 20 – 19 win . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Mississippi State to 35 – 10 – 3 . Georgia Tech . Coming off their bye week prior to their game against Georgia Tech , the Crimson Tide retained the No . 7 position in the AP poll . Behind strong performances on both sides of the ball , Alabama defeated the Yellow Jackets 27 – 11 at Legion Field . The Crimson Tide scored first on a 44 - yard Ray Ogden touchdown run for a 7 – 0 first quarter lead . In the second , Tech scored on a 41 - yard Billy Lothridge field goal and Alabama scored on a one - yard Benny Nelson touchdown run that made the halftime score 14 – 3 . The Jackets responded with a two - yard Lothridge touchdown run in the third that cut the Crimson Tide lead to 14 – 11 . Alabama then closed the game with fourth quarter touchdowns scored on runs of six - yards by Nelson and one - yard by Joe Namath . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Georgia Tech to 23 – 19 – 3 . Auburn . In the week prior to their game against Auburn , Alabama moved into the No . 6 position in the AP poll and the Tigers were in the No . 9 position . In the annual Iron Bowl game , Alabama was defeated by the Tigers for the first time since the 1958 season in this 10 – 8 loss at Legion Field . Auburn scored first on a 32 - yard Woody Woodall field goal in the first quarter and maintained their 3 – 0 lead through halftime . The Tigers then extended their lead to 10 – 0 in the third quarter when Mailon Kent thew an eight - yard touchdown pass to Tucker Frederickson . Benny Nelson then scored the only Alabama touchdown later in the quarter on an 80 - yard run that made the final score 10 – 8 . Although they lost , after the game the Crimson Tide officially accepted an invitation to play in the Sugar Bowl against . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Auburn to 13 – 14 – 1 . Miami . This game against the Miami was originally scheduled to be played on Friday , October 18 , but was subsequently moved to December 7 in order to be televised on CBS . Due to the assassination of John F . Kennedy , the annual Army – Navy Game was pushed back to December 7 . As such , CBS requested the Miami - Alabama game be postponed to December 14 in order to avoid conflict that would result from televising both games on the same day . The rescheduling of this game also pushed back the start of the annual Orange Blossom Classic from the afternoon to evening of December 14 . After their loss against Auburn , Alabama dropped into the No . 8 position in the final AP poll of the 1963 season . In the week that led to their game at Miami , coach Bryant suspended starting quarterback Joe Namath for both this game and the Sugar Bowl as he violated team rules . On homecoming at the Orange Bowl , Alabama survived a late Miami rally and defeated the Hurricanes 17 – 12 . The Crimson Tide took a 14 – 0 first quarter lead after touchdowns were scored by Gary Martin on a 100 - yard kickoff return and by Benny Nelson on a one - yard Benny Nelson run . A 35 - yard Tim Davis field goal in the second quarter made the halftime score 17 – 0 in favor of the Crimson Tide . The score remained unchanged until Miami rallied with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns that made the final score 17 – 12 . The first came on a nine - yard George Mira pass to Nick Spinelli and the second on a one - yard Pete Banaszak run . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Miami to 5 – 2 . Ole Miss . After their loss in the Iron Bowl on November 30 , Alabama officially accepted an invitation to play the SEC champion Ole Miss Rebels for the first time since the 1944 season in a Sugar Bowl that featured a pair of SEC teams . As each team entered the game , Mississippi finished in the No . 7 position and Alabama in the No . 8 position in the final AP poll of the season . With starting quarterback Joe Namath still suspended , the Crimson Tide offense struggled , but four Tim Davis field goals proved to be enough for Alabama to win 12 – 7 over the Rebels . Davis gave the Crimson Tide a 12 – 0 lead as then entered the fourth quarter after connecting from 31 - yards in the first , 46 and 22 - yards in the second and 48 - yards in the third quarter . Ole Miss responded in the fourth quarter with their only points on a five - yard Perry Lee Dunn touchdown pass to Larry Smith that made the final score 12 – 7 . For his four field goal performance , Davis was named the Sugar Bowl MVP . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Ole Miss 17 – 3 – 2 . NFL / AFL Draft . Several players that were varsity lettermen from the 1962 squad were drafted into the National Football League ( NFL ) and the American Football League ( AFL ) between the 1963 and 1965 drafts . These players included the following : Freshman squad . Prior to the 1972 college football season , NCAA rules prohibited freshmen from participating on the varsity team , and as such many schools fielded freshmen teams . For the 1963 season , the Alabama freshmen squad was coached by Sam Bailey and finished their season with a record of three wins and one loss ( 3 – 1 ) . After a 10 – 6 loss to Mississippi State to open the season , Alabama rebounded with a 3 – 0 victory over Tulane at Denny Stadium . Dudley Kerr scored the Tide ' s only points with his 29 - yard field goal in the second quarter . In their third game , the Baby Tide defeated Auburn 21 – 14 at Cliff Hare Stadium . Alabama took an early 6 – 0 lead when Wayne Trimble threw a 10 - yard touchdown pass to Kent Busbee in the first quarter . They extended it to 21 – 0 with second quarter touchdowns scored by John Mosely on a pair of one - yard runs . Auburn responded with a 21 - yard Tom Bryan touchdown run that made the halftime score 21 – 7 . After a scoreless third , the Tigers made the final score 21 – 14 after Bryan threw a 21 - yard touchdown pass to Scotty Long . Alabama then closed the season with a 17 – 16 victory over a previously undefeated Ole Miss freshmen team in Tuscaloosa . The Rebels ' scored on their opening possession on an 18 - yard Joe Graves touchdown pass to James McCraney for a 7 – 0 lead . After a 41 - yard Jimmy Keys field goal late in the second extended the Ole Miss lead to 10 – 0 , Graves threw a 13 - yard touchdown pass to McCraney with only 0 : 04 remaining in the first half for a 16 – 0 halftime lead . Alabama rallied in the third quarter with a pair of touchdowns that cut the Rebels ' lead to 16 – 14 . The first came when Louis Thompson recovered a Graves fumble in the endzone and the second on a 48 - yard Wayne Trimble pass to Kent Busbee . A game - winning , 36 - yard Dudley Kerr field goal late in the fourth quarter made the final score 17 – 16 . References . General Specific