1953 Alabama Crimson Tide football team The 1953 Alabama Crimson Tide football team ( variously " Alabama " , " UA " or " Bama " ) represented the University of Alabama in the 1953 college football season . It was the Crimson Tide ' s 59th overall and 20th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) . The team was led by head coach Harold Drew , in his seventh 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 six wins , three losses and three ties ( 6 – 3 – 3 overall , 4 – 0 – 3 in the SEC ) , as SEC Champions and with a loss against in the Cotton Bowl Classic . 1953 was one of the more unusual seasons in Alabama history . After they opened the season as the preseason No . 5 team , the Crimson Tide lost to and tied LSU before they had their first win of the season against in week three . Alabama won only six games all year , and only four of seven conference games . However , the other three conference games were ties , and a 4 – 0 – 3 record was good enough to win Alabama the SEC title . It was Bama ' s first conference championship since 1945 and last until 1961 . For their championship , Alabama accepted an invitation to play in the Cotton Bowl Classic . In their matchup against one of the strangest plays in the history of college football occurred . In the second quarter , the Owls had the ball on its own five - yard line up 7 – 6 after they recovered an Alabama fumble . On their first play of the drive , Rice running back Dicky Moegle swept around the right side , broke free , and appeared to be on his way to a 95 - yard touchdown run — until Tommy Lewis of Alabama , who was on the sideline , ran into the field of play and tackled Moegle at the Alabama 40 . Officials awarded Moegle a 95 - yard touchdown run , and Rice won the game 28 – 6 . Game notes . Mississippi Southern . To open the 1953 season , Alabama was upset by the Mississippi Southern Golden Eagles 25 – 19 at the Cramton Bowl on a Friday night . The first touchdown of the game was setup after Jim David recovered a Laurin Pepper fumble at the Southern 43 - yards line . Five plays later , Tommy Lewis scored on a short run for a 7 – 0 Alabama lead . The Eagles responded on their next possession with a three - yard Billy Jarrell touchdown pass to Bucky McElroy and made the score 7 – 6 . In the second quarter each team traded touchdowns with Alabama scoring on a five - yard William Oliver , Southern on a 45 - yard Jarrell pass to Pepper and Alabama again on a five - yard Bart Starr pass to Curtis Lynch for a 19 – 12 Crimson Tide lead at halftime . After a scoreless third , Southern scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns , first on a 66 - yard Pepper run and then on 23 - yard Jarrell pass to Leonard Williams , and won the game 25 – 19 . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Mississippi Southern to 6 – 1 . LSU . To open conference play for the 1953 season , Alabama played LSU to a 7 – 7 tie at Ladd Stadium in Mobile . Both of the touchdowns scored in the game were made in the first quarter . The first was scored by Alabama on a two - yard Tommy Lewis run and LSU responded on the drive that ensued with a one - yard George Brancato run for what turned out to be the final points of the game . The tie brought Alabama ' s all - time record against LSU to 14 – 6 – 4 . Vanderbilt . In their first road game of the season , the Crimson Tide defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores by a final score of 21 – 12 in Nashville for their first win of the season and their first over Vandy since the 1946 season . The Crimson Tide took a 14 – 0 first quarter lead with a pair of touchdowns scored in just under two minutes . Bobby Luna scored first on a four - yard run and then Bart Starr threw a 43 - yard touchdown pass to Bud Willis . Vanderbilt then cut the lead to 14 – 6 at halftime after they scored on a five - yard Floyd Teas touchdown run late in the second quarter . In the second half , the Crimson Tide scored in the third on a 30 - yard Starr pass to Joe Cummings and the Commodores scored in the fourth on a three - yard Daniel Byers run and made the final score 21 – 12 . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Vanderbilt to 17 – 14 – 1 . Tulsa . In the first all - time meeting between the schools , Alabama defeated the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 41 – 13 in the first Denny Stadium game of the season . After a scoreless first quarter , Alabama touchdowns on an 11 - yard William Oliver run , a 63 - yard Thomas Tharp run and a 56 - yard Bobby Luna interception return for a 20 – 0 Crimson Tide lead at halftime . Alabama extended their lead further to 34 – 0 after third quarter touchdowns on a 31 - yard Bart Starr pass to Bud Willis and on a two - yard William Stone run . Tulsa scored both of the their touchdowns in the fourth quarter , first on an eight - yard Bob Bohn pass to Bob Holladay and on an 11 - yard Bill Waller run . The Crimson Tide then made the final score 41 – 13 when Hootie Ingram scored on a one - yard run with just under a minute left in the game . Tennessee . In their annual rivalry game against the Tennessee Volunteers , Alabama had a chance to defeat the Vols for the first time since 1947 , but settled for a scoreless tie after a fumble at the Tennessee five and missed a 43 - yard field goal . The tie brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Tennessee to 17 – 13 – 5 . Mississippi State . On homecoming in Tuscaloosa , the Crimson Tide battled the Mississippi State Maroons to a 7 – 7 tie at Denny Stadium after a 26 - yard Bobby Luna field goal was blocked as time expired . After a three - yard Jackie Parker run gave the Maroons a 7 – 0 lead in the second , Alabama tied the game on a two - yard Thomas Tharp run in the third quarter . The tie brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Mississippi State to 28 – 7 – 3 . Georgia . At Sanford Stadium , Alabama defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 33 – 12 to end a two game winless streak on homecoming in Athens . The first Crimson Tide touchdown was setup after Thomas Tharp returned a punt 86 - yards to the Bulldogs ' two - yard line . On the next play , Bart Starr threw a two - yard touchdown pass to Joe Cummings for a 7 – 0 lead . In the second quarter , Georgia scored all of their points on two - yard Robert Clemens touchdown run and a 28 - yard James Harper touchdown pass to James Williams . However , the Crimson Tide scored their second touchdown on a 31 - yard Starr pass to Bobby Luna for a 13 – 12 halftime lead . Alabama then scored three second half touchdowns on a 38 - yard Vincent Delaurentis interception return , a 63 - yard Tharp run and on a five - yard Starr pass to William Oliver for the 33 – 12 victory . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Georgia to 21 – 15 – 3 . Chattanooga . In the final Denny Stadium game of the season , Alabama defeated the Chattanooga Moccasins 21 – 14 . The Crimson Tide took a 7 – 0 first quarter lead when Bobby Luna scored on a five - yard touchdown run . The teams then traded second quarter touchdowns for a 14 – 14 halftime tie . The Moccasins scored first on a 36 - yard Dick Durham pass to Bill Wilkerson , then Alabama on a 54 - yard Albert Elmore run and finally on a two - yard Billy Carter run . Bart Starr then threw the game - winning touchdown pass to Thomas Tharp in the third quarter for the 21 – 14 victory . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Chattanooga to 7 – 0 . Georgia Tech . Against Georgia Tech , Alabama upset the No . 5 ranked Yellow Jackets 13 – 6 at Legion Field in Birmingham . The Crimson Tide scored first and took a 7 – 0 lead on a William Oliver run in the first quarter . After a scoreless second quarter , the Jackets scored their only touchdown on a two - yard Glenn Turner run in the third to cut the Alabama lead to 7 – 6 . Albert Elmore then scored the game - winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter on his short run . The loss for the first for Georgia Tech in conference play since their 54 – 19 loss to the Crimson Tide in 1950 , and the victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Georgia Tech to 18 – 14 – 3 . Maryland . On the road against the No . 2 ranked Maryland Terrapins , Alabama was shutout 21 – 0 at Byrd Stadium . On the second play of the game , the Terps took a 7 – 0 lean on an 81 - yard Chet Hanulak touchdown run . Later in the first , Bernie Faloney threw a 51 - yard touchdown pass to Bill Walker for a 14 – 0 lead at the end of the quarter . After Faloney was pulled from the game in the second quarter due to an injury , Charles Boxold threw a 25 - yard touchdown pass to Walker to make the final score 21 – 0 . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Maryland to 2 – 0 . Auburn . For the fifth time in six years since the revival of the Auburn series , Alabama defeated the Tigers 10 – 7 at Legion Field and clinched both the SEC Championship and a birth in the Cotton Bowl Classic . Auburn scored their only touchdown on a two - yard run in the first quarter by Charles Hataway to cap a drive that saw long runs made by both Vince Dooley and Fob James . William Stone then tied the game 7 – 7 for Alabama in the third quarter with his 15 - yard touchdown run . A fourth quarter field goal from 28 - yards by Bobby Luna provided for the final 10 – 7 margin of victory for the Crimson Tide . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Auburn to 9 – 8 – 1 . Rice . In their first all - time game against Rice , the Crimson Tide were defeated 28 – 6 by the Owls in the Cotton Bowl Classic . Alabama took a 6 – 0 lead after its only touchdown was cored by Tommy Lewis on a two - yard touchdown run in the first quarter . Rice responded with a series of three , of long touchdown runs by Dicky Moegle to take a 21 – 6 lead into the fourth quarter . His first touchdown came on a 79 - yard run on the first play of the second quarter , the second on a 95 - yard run and the third on a 37 - yard run . The 95 - yard touchdown was awarded by the referee after Tommy Lewis left the Alabama sideline , entered the field of play and tackled Moegle at the Alabama 42 - yard line . Rice then scored their final touchdown in the fourth quarter on a seven - yard Buddy Grantham run for the 28 – 6 victory . References . General Specific