Harold Drew Harold D . " Red " Drew ( November 9 , 1894 – October 20 , 1979 ) was an American football , basketball , and track and field coach for over 40 years . He was the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1947 to 1954 , compiling a 54 – 28 – 7 record and leading the team to appearances in the Sugar , Orange and Cotton Bowl s . He also served as an assistant football coach at Alabama from 1931 to 1941 , including the undefeated 1934 team that won the national championship and played in the 1935 Rose Bowl . Drew also served as Alabama ' s track and field coach for 23 seasons continuing into the mid - 1960s . He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1971 . A native of Maine , Drew received degrees from Bates College in Maine and Springfield College in Massachusetts . He played football for both schools . He also played baseball and also competed as a pole vault er at Bates College . His athletic career was interrupted by service as a naval aviator during World War I . Drew began his coaching career as an athletic director , football coach , and basketball coach at Trinity College ( 1920 – 1924 ) , Birmingham – Southern College ( 1924 – 1927 ) and the University of Chattanooga , now known as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga ( 1927 – 1931 ) . In 1931 , he began his long association with the University of Alabama , serving as the head track coach and assistant football coach through the 1930s . He spent three years in the United States Navy during World War II and was placed in charge of " fleet recreation " on the island of Saipan . After the war , he served as the head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels football team in 1946 . Early years . Drew was born in 1894 in Dyer Brook , Maine , and raised in Patten , Maine . He attended Bates College in Lewiston , Maine , where he was played for the school ' s football and baseball teams and competed in the pole vault for the track team . Known as " Spud " Drew during his college years , Drew received his degree from Bates in 1916 . In 1916 , Drew enrolled for graduate studies at Springfield College in Springfield , Massachusetts . While attending Springfield College , he played football and was the captain of the school ' s 1917 football team . In November 1917 , Drew joined the United States Navy , serving in the Canal Zone as an ensign and a naval aviator during World War I from 1917 to 1918 . After the war , Drew returned to Springfield where he played for the school ' s 1919 football team . He received a B . P . E . degree from Springfield in 1920 . Coaching career . Trinity and Birmingham - Southern . Drew began his coaching career as the athletic director and head football and basketball coach at Trinity College in Hartford , Connecticut from 1920 to 1924 . Drew left Trinity to accept a position as the athletic director and head football coach at Birmingham – Southern College . He was the football coach at Birmingham - Southern from 1924 to 1927 . Drew also coached basketball at Trinity ( 1920 – 1924 ) and Birmingham – Southern ( 1924 – 1928 ) . Chattanooga . In 1928 , Drew accepted a position as an assistant football coach at the University of Chattanooga , now known as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga . He was hired at Chattanooga by athletic director and football coach Frank Thomas , with whom Drew would remain associated for most of the following 25 years . When Thomas accepted a coaching position at the University of Georgia in 1929 , Drew took over as Chattanooga ' s athletic director and head coach of the football and basketball teams . Drew coached Chattanooga ' s football team to Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships in 1929 and 1930 . He also coached Chattanooga ' s basketball team from 1928 to 1931 . Assistant at Alabama . In January 1931 , Drew was hired as an assistant coach under the Alabama Crimson Tide ' s newly - appointed head coach Frank Thomas . This began Drew ' s long association with the University of Alabama . He served as an assistant football coach for the Crimson Tide from 1931 to 1945 , with the exceptions of the 1942 , 1943 and 1944 seasons . As an assistant coach at Alabama , Drew was responsible for coaching the ends . He was the position coach for Don Hutson , who went on to become the first star wide receiver in the National Football League . The ends mentored by Drew also included Holt Rast and Bear Bryant . The undefeated 1934 Alabama Crimson Tide football team won the national championship with ends Hutson and Bryant as key players . In addition to his duties as an assistant football coach , Drew also coached Alabama ' s track team . World War II . Drew missed the 1942 , 1943 and 1944 seasons at Alabama while serving in the United States Navy . With the United States entering World War II , Drew enlisted in the Navy in May 1942 and held the rank of lieutenant commander . In the summer of 1942 , he completed a course at the U . S . Naval Academy designed for athletic directors , coaches and physical training experts . He was thereafter assigned as the athletic director at the Naval Air Station in Miami , Florida . He ultimately deployed to the Pacific Ocean theater where he was placed in charge of " fleet recreation " on the island of Saipan . He was discharged from the Navy and returned to Alabama in May 1945 . Ole Miss . On January 14 , 1946 , the University of Mississippi announced that it had signed Drew to a three - year contract to succeed Harry Mehre as the head football coach for the Ole Miss Rebels . Drew led Ole Miss to a 2 - 7 record in his one year as head coach . Alabama . In January 1947 , Drew was hired to succeed Frank Thomas as the head football coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide . In his first year , he led the 1947 Alabama team to an 8 – 3 record , a berth in the 1948 Sugar Bowl , and a number eight ranking in the final AP poll . In November 1948 , he led Alabama to a victory over Georgia Tech that " The Tuscaloosa News " called " the upset of the season . " The following month , he led the Crimson Tide to a 55 - 0 victory over Auburn , a score which remains the most lopsided in the history of the Alabama - Auburn football rivalry . In August 1951 , Drew led the East team to a 15 - 6 victory in the Third Annual All - American High School game in Memphis . He also led the 1952 team to a 10 – 2 record and a 61 – 6 victory over Syracuse in the 1953 Orange Bowl . Alabama ' s 55 - point margin of victory remains the largest in the history of the Orange Bowl ; it was also the highest point total in Orange Bowl history until West Virginia scored 70 points in the 2012 Orange Bowl . When the Orange Bowl bid was announced in November 1952 , former Alabama athletes organized to urge the University to sign Drew to a long - term contract , and " The Tuscaloosa News " reported : " The invitation also is a fine tribute to Coach Harold ( Red ) Drew and his staff . We doubt if there is a coaching staff in the country that has done a better job than the one done by the Crimson Tide staff in getting Alabama ready for the Georgia Tech and Maryland games . " Drew was selected as the SEC Coach of the Year in 1952 , and he was given a two - year contract extension in December 1952 . The following year , he led the 1953 team to a Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) championship and a berth in the 1954 Cotton Bowl Classic . However , the 1954 team finished in sixth place in the SEC with a 4 – 5 – 2 record . With the poor showing of the 1954 team , rumors spread that Drew would not return as the head coach . On December 2 , 1954 , Drew was removed as the head coach and replaced with J . B . Whitworth . Drew was retained as Alabama ' s head track coach and associate professor of physical education . Drew was Alabama ' s track coach for 23 seasons and through at least 1964 . At the end of his tenure as Alabama ' s head football coach , Drew ' s salary was reported to have been $ 12 , 000 per year . In eight years as Alabama ' s head football coach , Drew compiled a 54 – 28 – 7 record . Drew was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1970 . Personal . Drew was married to Marion Darney in 1922 . They had three children : Polly , Harold , Jr . , and Bobbie . Drew remained in Tuscaloosa , Alabama after retiring . He died there in 1979 at age 84 .