1939 Alabama Crimson Tide football team The 1939 Alabama Crimson Tide football team ( variously " Alabama " , " UA " or " Bama " ) represented the University of Alabama in the 1939 college football season . It was the Crimson Tide ' s 46th overall and 7th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) . The team was led by head coach Frank Thomas , in his ninth year , and played their home games at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham , Alabama . They finished the season with a record of five wins , three losses and one tie ( 5 – 3 – 1 overall , 2 – 3 – 1 in the SEC ) . The Crimson Tide opened the season with a victory over before they upset 7 – 6 in an intersectional contest at the Polo Grounds in week two . After their victory over , Alabama was shut out 21 – 0 by Tennessee , their second consecutive shutout loss against the Volunteers . The Crimson Tide then rebounded with a homecoming victory over . However , Alabama would then go winless over their next three conference games with a tie against followed by shutout losses to both Tulane and . The Crimson Tide rebounded in their final game of the season to defeat . Game notes . Howard . To open the 1939 season , Alabama defeated Howard ( now Samford University ) 21 – 0 at Denny Stadium . After a scoreless first half , the Crimson Tide scored their first touchdown on a one - yard Paul Spencer run in the third quarter . Alabama then closed the game with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns for the 21 – 0 win . The first came on a five - yard Herschel Mosley pass to Holt Rast and the second on a second , one - yard run by Spencer . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Howard to 17 – 0 – 1 . Fordham . On the road against a favored Fordham squad , the Crimson Tide defeated the Rams 7 – 6 at the Polo Grounds in an intersectional matchup . The Crimson Tide scored their only points of the game in the first quarter . Jimmy Nelson scored Alabama ' s only touchdown on an 18 - yard run to cap a 40 - yard drive , and then Hayward Sanford connected on the extra point to give the Crimson Tide a 7 – 0 lead . Sanford later missed a 33 - yard field goal in the first , and the Rams turned the ball over on downs at the Alabama 19 - yard line to keep the score 7 – 0 at the end of the quarter . Fordham then scored their only points of the game late in the fourth after Dom Principe scored on a short touchdown run ; however , Alex Yudikaitis missed the extra point which proved to be the margin in their loss . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Fordham to 1 – 1 . This game is also noted as being the second televised college football game after the 1939 Waynesburg vs . Fordham football game played one week earlier . The game was televised exclusively in New York City as its was broadcast over W2XBS and only a few hundred televisions were thought to be in existence at the time . Mercer . A week after the road win at Fordham , Alabama defeated the Mercer Bears 20 – 0 at Denny Stadium in the first all - time meeting between the schools . The Crimson Tide took a 7 – 0 first quarter lead after Paul Spencer scored on a one - yard touchdown run to cap a 42 - yard drive . After a scoreless second quarter , Alabama scored a pair of third quarter touchdowns for the 20 – 0 victory . Gene Blackwell scored first on an eight - yard run and Herschel Mosley scored on a four - yard run . Tennessee . On the Monday prior to their annual game against the Volunteers , Alabama was selected to the No . 8 and Tennessee was selected to the No . 5 position in the first AP Poll of the 1939 season . In the game , Alabama was shutout by rival Tennessee 21 – 0 before an overflow crowd of 40 , 000 at Shields - Watkins Field . After a scoreless first quarter , Tennessee took a 7 – 0 lead in the second after Johnny Butler scored on a 56 - yard run . Up by a touchdown at the end of the third , a pair of fourth quarter touchdown runs gave the Volunteers the 21 – 0 win . The first was made by Bob Foxx on an 11 - yard run and the second by Buss Warren om a 12 - yard run . Although Alabama was shutout and lost by three touchdowns , Tennessee head coach Robert Neyland said of the Crimson Tide ' s performance that " I don ' t think the score indicates the difference between the teams . It should have been about 7 to 0 . " The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Tennessee to 13 – 7 – 2 . Mississippi State . After their loss to Tennessee , Alabama dropped from No . 8 to No . 20 in the AP Poll as they entered their annual homecoming game . Against Mississippi State the Crimson Tide defeated the Maroons 7 – 0 before 15 , 000 fans at Denny Stadium . The only points of the game came in the first quarter when Charley Boswell threw a four - yard touchdown pass to Holt Rast . Alabama outgained the Maroons in rushing yardage 173 to 65 in the victory . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Mississippi State to 19 – 5 – 2 . Kentucky . As Alabama entered their contest against Kentucky , they gained one position the rankings to No . 19 and the Wildcats entered the rankings at No . 15 in the weekly AP Poll . In the game , the Crimson Tide battled the Wildcats to a 7 – 7 tie in the first game played at Legion Field of the season . After a scoreless first , Holt Rast blocked a Kentucky punt that was recovered by Alabama at the Wildcats ' two - yard line . Two plays later , Paul Spencer scored on a short run and Bud Waites converted the extra point to give the Crimson Tide a 7 – 0 lead . Still down by a touchdown at the end of the third , Kentucky tied the game in the fourth on a short Noah Mullins run and Jim Hardin extra point . The tie brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Kentucky 17 – 1 – 1 . Tulane . After their tie with Kentucky , the Crimson Tide dropped out of the weekly AP Poll , and Tulane took the No . 7 position after their victory over . In New Orleans , the Crimson Tide was shutout by the Green Wave 13 – 0 before a crowd of 52 , 000 at Tulane Stadium . After a scoreless first , Tulane took a 6 – 0 halftime lead when Harry Hays scored a touchdown on a 69 - yard reverse . Robert Kellogg then scored the Green Wave ' s other touchdown in the third with his three - yard run . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Tulane to 12 – 4 – 1 . Georgia Tech . In their final home game of the season game against Georgia Tech Alabama lost their second consecutive game by a shutout , 6 – 0 against the Yellow Jackets at Legion Field . The only score of the game was setup after R . W . Murphy recovered a John Hanson fumble at the Alabama 38 - yard line . Three plays later the Yellow Jackets scored on a 24 - yard E . M . Wheby touchdown reception from Johnny Bosch , and after Holt Rast blocked the extra point attempt , Georgia Tech led 6 – 0 . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Georgia Tech to 11 – 11 – 3 . Vanderbilt . In their season finale against the Vanderbilt Commodores , Alabama won 39 – 0 at Dudley Field on Thanksgiving Day to end a two game losing streak . In the first half touchdowns were scored on a Jimmy Nelson touchdown reception in the first and by a 77 - yard Herschel Mosley run and a 67 - yard Paul Spencer run in the second . Up by three touchdowns at halftime , the Crimson Tide scored three second half touchdowns in the 39 – 0 victory . Second half touchdowns were scored on a 20 - yard Jimmy Nelson reception and by Spencer on an eight - yard run and by Hal Newman on an 18 - yard reception from Billy Harrell as time expired . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Vanderbilt to 12 – 9 . After the season . NFL Draft . Several players that were varsity lettermen from the 1939 squad were drafted into the National Football League ( NFL ) between the 1940 and 1942 drafts . These players included the following : References . General Specific