1952 Alabama Crimson Tide football team The 1952 Alabama Crimson Tide football team ( variously " Alabama " , " UA " or " Bama " ) represented the University of Alabama in the 1952 college football season . It was the Crimson Tide ' s 58th overall and 19th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) . The team was led by head coach Harold Drew , in his sixth year , and played their home games at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa , Legion Field in Birmingham , Ladd Stadium in Mobile and at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery , Alabama . They finished with a record of ten wins and two losses ( 10 – 2 overall , 4 – 2 in the SEC ) and with a victory over in the Orange Bowl . After a 5 – 6 campaign for the 1951 season , Alabama bounced back in 1952 to have its best season of the decade and finished 10 – 2 . However , losses to Tennessee , for the fifth consecutive year without a victory , and cost Alabama the SEC title . The Crimson Tide ended the season in its first bowl game in five years , against in the Orange Bowl . The 61 – 6 Alabama victory set a school record for most points scored in a bowl game and an Orange Bowl record for points scored until the 2012 Orange Bowl . The 55 - point margin of victory stood as the all - time record for margin of victory in a bowl game through the 2008 GMAC Bowl . Freshman quarterback Bart Starr , playing with the varsity , appeared in seven games as the backup to Clell Hobson . Starr went on to have a legendary Hall of Fame career as quarterback of the Green Bay Packers . Game notes . Mississippi Southern . To open the 1952 season , Alabama defeated the Mississippi Southern Golden Eagles 20 – 6 at the Cramton Bowl in a game where the Crimson Tide set a conference with their 12 fumble s . Clell Hobson scored the first touchdown for Alabama on his eight - yard run in the first quarter for a 7 – 0 lead . Southern responded in the second quarter with their lone points on a 13 - yard Laurin Pepper touchdown run before the Crimson Tide made the halftime score 13 – 6 after a four - yard Bobby Luna run . Alabama then scored the final touchdown of the game in the third on a four - yard Bobby Marlow run . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Mississippi Southern to 6 – 0 . LSU . To open conference play for the 1952 season , Alabama defeated LSU 21 – 20 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge . After the Tigers took a 7 – 0 lead on a 16 - yard Al Doggett touchdown pass to Ron Emberg , Bobby Luna scored on a pair of two - yard touchdown runs and gave the Crimson Tide a 14 – 7 halftime lead . LSU responded to take a 20 – 7 lead late in the fourth quarter after Doggett scored on a 38 - yard run in the third and on a 20 - yard Norman Stevens run early in the fourth quarter . Alabama then scored the game - winning touchdown on a 95 - yard Bob Conway kickoff return for the 21 – 20 win . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against LSU to 14 – 6 – 3 . Miami . On a Friday evening in Miami , Alabama defeated the Miami Hurricanes 21 – 7 at Burdine Stadium . After a scoreless first quarter , Miami scored the first touchdown of the game on a one - yard Don James and Alabama followed with a one - yard Bobby Marlow touchdown run to tie the game at halftime 7 – 7 . In the second half , the Crimson Tide defense shut out the Hurricanes and the offense added a pair of touchdowns to win 21 – 7 . The second - half touchdowns were scored on a second one - yard Marlow run in the third quarter and on a four - yard Thomas Tharp run in the fourth quarter . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Miami to 3 – 0 . VPI . Against the Fighting Gobblers of VPI ( now known as the Virginia Tech Hokies ) , Alabama won 33 – 0 at Denny Field . Four first half touchdowns gave the Crimson Tide a 27 – 0 halftime lead that proved insurmountable for the Gobblers . Touchdown were scored in the first on a 10 - yard Bobby Luna run and a three - yard Tommy Lewis run , and in the second on Thomas Tharp runs of 85 and 20 - yards . With the reserves in place of the second half , the final touchdown of the game came in the fourth quarter when Bobby Duke threw a 14 - yard strike to William Oliver and made the final score 33 – 0 . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against VPI 3 – 0 . Tennessee . Against their long - time rival , the Tennessee Volunteers , Alabama was shut out 20 – 0 at Shields - Watkins Field for their first loss of the season . The first Tennessee points were set up early in the first after Mack Franklin blocked a Bobby Wilson punt . Andy Kozar then gave the Vols a 6 – 0 lead with his two - yard run on the drive that ensued . Tennessee did not score again until the fourth quarter when Pat Shires threw a 10 - yard touchdown pass to Frank Alexander and Jimmy Wade scored on a four - yard run for the 20 – 0 victory . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Tennessee to 17 – 13 – 4 . Mississippi State . On homecoming in Tuscaloosa , the Crimson Tide scored touchdowns in all four quarters and defeated the Mississippi State Maroons 42 – 19 at Denny Stadium . Jackie Parker scored the first touchdown of the game for the Maroons with his one - yard touchdown run and Bobby Marlow responded with a nine - yard run to tie the game 7 – 7 at the end of the first quarter . In the second quarter , Marlow scored touchdowns on a 56 - yard run and on a 14 - yard reception from Clell Hobson and gave Alabama a 21 – 7 halftime lead . In between Parker touchdown runs of two and six - yards for State , Thomas Tharp scored for the Tide on a 23 - yard run and Alabama led 28 – 19 at the end of the third . The Crimson Tide then closed the game with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns on a 45 - yard Hobson pass to Tharp and a four - yard Bob Conway run for the 42 – 19 win . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Mississippi State to 28 – 7 – 2 . Georgia . At Legion Field , Alabama defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 34 – 19 , and with the victory exceeded their win total from the previous season . After Bobby Marlow gave Alabama a 7 – 0 first quarter lead , the Bulldogs responded with a 12 - yard Zeke Bratkowski touchdown pass to Robert Dellinger in the first and on a one - yard Robert Clemens run for a 12 – 7 second quarter lead . Clell Hobson then scored on a four - yard run to give the Crimson Tide a 14 – 12 halftime lead . Alabama then scored on a pair of Thomas Tharp touchdown runs of 13 and 19 - yards and a Bob Conway run of one - yard for a 34 – 12 lead late in the fourth quarter . A nine - yard James Harper run for Georgia late in the fourth provided for the final 34 – 19 winning margin for the Crimson Tide . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Georgia to 20 – 15 – 3 . Chattanooga . After going down 7 – 0 , Alabama responded with 42 consecutive points and defeated the Chattanooga Moccasins 42 – 28 at Denny Stadium . Hal Ledyard scored for the Mocs on a three - yard run in the first quarter to give Chattanooga their only lead at 7 – 0 . Alabama responded with touchdown runs of seven - yards by Bobby Marlow and 56 and six - yards by Thomas Tharp in the second for a 21 – 7 halftime lead . The Crimson Tide then scored another three touchdowns in the third quarter on a 60 - yard Hootie Ingram interception return , a one - yard Bob Conway run and a two - yard Bobby Luna run for a 42 – 7 lead at the end of the third quarter . With the game in hand , the Alabama reserves did surrender three fourth quarter touchdowns to the Mocs in a span of just over four minutes to make the final score 42 – 28 . Chattanooga touchdowns in the quarter were scored on a 15 - yard Ledyard pass to Fremo Ross , a 64 - yard Ledyard pass to Jack Stanford and on a one - yard Buck Stamps run . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Chattanooga to 6 – 0 . Georgia Tech . In what was the ABC televised game of the week , Alabama lost to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 7 – 3 at Grant Field in Atlanta . After a 25 - yard Bobby Luna field goal gave the Crimson Tide a 3 – 0 first quarter lead , a nine - yard Dick Pretz touchdown run in the second quarter proved to be the game - winner for Tech . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Georgia Tech to 17 – 14 – 3 . Maryland . In the first all - time meeting between the schools , Alabama upset the Maryland Terrapins 27 – 7 at Ladd Stadium in Mobile . The Crimson Tide scored touchdowns in all four quarters . They were scored in the first half on an 11 - yard Bobby Luna pass to Bart Starr in the first quarter and on a one - yard Tommy Lewis run in the second for a 13 – 0 halftime lead for Alabama . After a 25 - yard Jack Scarbath touchdown pass to Lou Weidensaul early in the third cut the Crimson Tide lead to 13 – 7 , Alabama scored two more touchdowns to put the game away . The first came in the third quarter on a one - yard Bobby Marlow run and the second on a 22 - yard Hootie Ingram interception return late in the fourth to make the final score 27 – 7 . Auburn . For the fourth time in five years since the revival of the Auburn series , Alabama shutout the Tigers 21 – 0 at Legion Field . The Crimson Tide took a 14 – 0 lead in the first quarter on touchdown runs of 13 and eight - yards by Tommy Lewis . Bobby Luna then scored the final touchdown in the second quarter on a four - yard run for the 21 – 0 victory . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Auburn to 8 – 8 – 1 . Syracuse . In what was the first bowl game that the Crimson Tide competed in since the 1948 Sugar Bowl , Alabama dominated the Syracuse Orangemen 61 – 6 , and the 55 - point margin of victory remained the largest for a bowl game until the 2008 GMAC Bowl . In the first quarter , Alabama scored on a 27 - yard touchdown pass from Clell Hobson to Bobby Luna to take a 7 – 0 lead . Syracuse responded on the following possession with their lone touchdown of the game on a 15 - yard Joe Szombathy touchdown run to make the score 7 – 6 . From this point , the Orangemen did not score again and the Crimson Tide dominated with 54 unanswered points . Alabama extended their lead to 21 – 6 at halftime on a one - yard Bobby Marlow touchdown run and a 50 - yard Thomas Tharp reception from Hobson . In the third quarter , the Crimson Tide scored three more touchdowns on a 38 - yard Bobby Luna run and on Tommy Lewis runs of one and 30 - yards . With a 41 – 6 lead at the end of the third , Alabama scored another three touchdowns in the fourth quarter on a 21 - yard Joe Cummings reception from Bart Starr , an 80 - yard Hootie Ingram punt return and a 60 - yard Marvin Hill interception return . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Syracuse to 1 – 1 . References . General Specific