1949 Alabama Crimson Tide football team The 1949 Alabama Crimson Tide football team ( variously " Alabama " , " UA " or " Bama " ) represented the University of Alabama in the 1949 college football season . It was the Crimson Tide ' s 55th overall and 16th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) . The team was led by head coach Harold Drew , in his third year , and played their home games at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa , Legion Field in Birmingham and Ladd Stadium in Mobile , Alabama . They finished with a record of six wins , three losses and one tie ( 6 – 3 – 1 overall , 4 – 3 – 1 in the SEC ) . Alabama opened the season with losses against Tulane and at Vanderbilt before they notched their first win of the season against at Denny Stadium . A week later , the Crimson Tide played Tennessee to a tie before they won five consecutive games over , Georgia , , and Florida . Alabama then closed their season with a 14 – 13 loss to in the Iron Bowl after Ed Salem missed an extra point that would have tied the game with less than two minutes left in the game . Game notes . Tulane . To open the 1949 season , Alabama traveled to Mobile and were defeated 28 – 14 by the Tulane Green Wave to open the second consecutive season with a loss . After a scoreless first quarter , Tulane took a 7 – 0 halftime lead after George Kinek scored on a four - yard touchdown run . The Greenies extended their lead further in the third quarter to 14 – 0 when Eddie Price scored on an 11 - yard run . In the fourth quarter , Bill Svoboda scored a pair of touchdowns on a one - yard run and on an 85 - yard kickoff return for Tulane . Alabama scored both of their touchdowns on a pair of passes ; the first on a 78 - yard pass from Ed Salem to Bill Abston and the second on a 23 - yard Butch Avinger pass to Tom Calvin to make the final score 28 – 14 . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Tulane to 15 – 7 – 1 . Vanderbilt . The Crimson Tide lost for the second consecutive week against the Vanderbilt Commodores by a final score of 14 – 7 at Dudley Field . After a scoreless first quarter , both teams scored second quarter touchdowns in a span of just one minute to make the halftime score 7 – 7 . The Commodores scored first on a 29 - yard Dean Davidson run and the Crimson Tide responded with a nine - yard Ed Salem pass to Tom Calvin . Joe Hicks then scored the game - winning touchdown in the fourth quarter on a one - yard run . Alabama then drove to the Vandy 12 - yard line late in the fourth when a fourth down pass went incomplete to preserve the Commodores victory . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Vanderbilt to 16 – 12 – 1 . Duquesne . In their first Tuscaloosa game of the season , Alabama defeated the Duquesne Dukes , for the third consecutive season , by a final score of 48 – 8 on a Friday evening . The Crimson Tide opened the scoring with three first quarter touchdowns on a 36 - yard Tom Calvin run , a 61 - yard James Melton run and on a 20 - yard Butch Avinger pass to Al Lary for a 20 – 0 lead . In the second quarter , Alabama scored first on a one - yard Ralph Cochran run , and then the Dukes responded with their only touchdown of the game on a three - yard Chuck Rapp run to make the score 27 – 6 . The Crimson Tide then scored on the kickoff that ensued when a 101 - yard Jim Burkett return made the halftime score 34 – 6 . Alabama then closed the scoring for the evening with a pair of third quarter touchdowns . The first came on a 76 - yard J . D . Roddam run and the second on a 22 - yard Lary run to make the score 48 – 6 . The Dukes then scored the final points of the game in the fourth quarter when Frank Yacina tackled George McCain for a safety to make the final score 48 – 8 . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Duquesne to 3 – 0 . Tennessee . Alabama played the rival Tennessee Volunteers to a 7 – 7 tie at Legion Field in a driving rainstorm . The only points of the game came on a pair of one - yard touchdown runs in the first half . Bernie Sizemore scored for the Volunteers in the first quarter and James Melton scored for the Crimson Tide in the second quarter . The tie brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Tennessee to 17 – 10 – 4 . Mississippi State . On homecoming in Tuscaloosa , the Crimson Tide scored touchdowns in all four quarters and defeated the Mississippi State Maroons 35 – 6 at Denny Stadium . Lionel W . Noonan scored the initial Alabama touchdown on a two - yard run in the first . In the second , Ed Salem scored on a three - yard run and later threw a 20 - yard touchdown pass to Al Lary for a 21 – 0 halftime lead . The Crimson Tide further extended their lead with touchdown runs of three - yards by J . D . Roddam in the third and of two - yards by Jim Burkett in the fourth to make the score 35 – 0 . The Maroons then ended the shutout attempt with just 0 : 02 remaining in the game when Max Stainbrook returned an interception 60 - yards for a touchdown as time expired to make the final score 35 – 6 . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Mississippi State to 25 – 7 – 2 . Georgia . One year after Georgia gave the Crimson Tide their worst defeat since the 1910 season , Alabama upset the Bulldogs 14 – 7 on homecoming in Athens . In the second quarter , Alabama scored on a one - yard Butch Avinger run and Georgia on a five - yard Floyd Reid run for a halftime score of 7 – 7 . After a scorless third , the Crimson Tide scored the game - winning touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 25 - yard Ed Salem pass to James Melton . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Georgia to 17 – 15 – 3 . Georgia Tech . Before 43 , 000 fans at Legion Field , Alabama defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 20 – 7 for their third conference victory of the season . After a scoreless first quarter , the Yellow Jackets took a 7 – 0 halftime lead when George Humphreys threw a 32 - yard touchdown pass to Charles Harvin late in the second . Alabama then took the lead with a pair of third quarter touchdowns scored by Ed Salem on a five - yard run and on a 25 - yard Butch Avinger pass to Al Lary . Salem then made the final score 20 – 7 late in the fourth with his three - yard touchdown run for the Crimson Tide . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Georgia Tech to 16 – 12 – 3 . Mississippi Southern . Although the Golden Eagles scored 26 fourth quarter points , Alabama defeated Mississippi Southern at Denny Stadium 34 – 26 . The Crimson Tide opened the scoring with a pair of first quarter touchdown passes from Ed Salem to Ed White for a 14 – 0 lead . In the second quarter , Butch Avinger scored touchdowns on a quarterback sneak and on his five - yard pass to Al Lary for a 27 – 0 halftime lead . Before Southern scored their 26 fourth quarter points , Bob Cochran threw a 12 - yard touchdown pass to Charley Davis to give Alabama a 34 – 0 lead as they entered the fourth . In the fourth quarter Southern touchdowns were scored by Morris Brown on a four - yard run , a 95 - yard Bobby Holmes punt return , a 43 - yard Brown run and then on a second Holmes punt return for 85 - yards . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Mississippi Southern to 3 – 0 . Florida . In their final road game of the season , Alabama defeated the Florida Gators 35 – 13 for their fifth consecutive win on the season . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Florida to 7 – 3 . Auburn . In the second meeting since the renewal of the series , Alabama was upset by Auburn 14 – 13 at Legion Field . After a scoreless first , Auburn took a 7 – 0 lead in the second quarter when Johnny Wallis intercepted an Ed Salem pass and returned it 19 - yards for the touchdown . Alabama responded with just seconds remaining in the half with a 13 - yard Salem touchdown run to tie the game 7 – 7 at halftime . The Tigers retook the lead early in the fourth on a ten - yard George Davis run . The Crimson Tide responded with a three - yard Tom Calvin touchdown run with just under two minutes left in the game . However , Salem missed the extra point to give Auburn the 14 – 13 victory . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Auburn to 5 – 8 – 1 . References . 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