1955 Alabama Crimson Tide football team The 1955 Alabama Crimson Tide football team ( variously " Alabama " , " UA " or " Bama " ) represented the University of Alabama in the 1955 college football season . It was the Crimson Tide ' s 61st overall and 22nd season as a member of the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) . The team was led by head coach Jennings B . Whitworth , in his first year , and played their home games at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa , Legion Field in Birmingham and at Ladd Stadium in Mobile , Alabama . They finished with a record of zero wins and ten losses ( 0 – 10 overall , 0 – 7 in the SEC ) . On December 2 , 1954 , Harold Drew resigned as head coach of the Crimson Tide , and Jennings B . Whitworth was introduced as his successor . Whitworth brought a new system that was more oriented towards the running game . As a result , senior quarterback Bart Starr and the other Tide seniors saw little playing time . Whitworth , for his part , was only allowed to hire two assistants and required to retain the rest of Coach Drew ' s staff . Alabama football hit rock bottom in 1955 , going 0 – 10 , the worst season in school history . It was only the third winless season in the history of the Crimson Tide , the others being the 0 - 4 teams in 1893 and 1895 when the program was just starting . For the season , Alabama only averaged 4 . 8 points per game and the opposition averaged 25 . 6 . The Tide was shutout four times , the opposition never scored fewer than 20 points and the smallest margin of defeat was 15 points in a 21 – 6 loss to Vanderbilt . Game notes . Rice . To open the 1955 season , the Crimson Tide traveled to Houston and were shutout 20 – 0 by the Rice Owls of the Southwest Conference . After being held scoreless for the first three quarters , the Owls scored all three of their touchdowns in the fourth quarter . King Hill scored first on a one - yard run , a 45 - yard Page Rogers run and on a two - yard Hill run . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Rice to 0 – 2 . Vanderbilt . At Dudley Field , the Crimson Tide were defeated by the Vanderbilt Commodores 21 – 6 to open conference play . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Vanderbilt to 18 – 15 – 1 . TCU . In their home opener for the 1955 season , the Crimson Tide were shutout by the Texas Christian University ( TCU ) Horned Frogs 21 – 0 at Denny Stadium in what was the first all - time meeting between the schools . After a scoreless first half , Jim Swink scored all three of the Frogs ' touchdowns in the second half . The scores came on runs of 65 and three - yards in the third and on a 10 - yard run in the fourth quarter . Tennessee . In their annual rivalry game against Tennessee , Alabama was shutout for the third time in four weeks , and lost to the Volunteers 20 – 0 at Legion Field . After a scoreless first , the Vols took a 7 – 0 halftime lead after Johnny Majors threw a nine - yard touchdown pass to Roger Urbano on a fourth down play early in the second quarter . A pair of touchdown runs in the fourth by Majors from two - yards out and by Lon Herzbrun from one - yard out made the final score 20 – 0 in favor of the visitors . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Tennessee to 18 – 14 – 5 . Mississippi State . On homecoming in Tuscaloosa , the Crimson Tide were defeated for the second consecutive year by the Mississippi State Maroons 26 – 7 at Denny Stadium . The first State touchdown was setup after the Maroons recovered a fumble at their 37 - yard line . Bill Stanton scored on a one - yard run five plays later to give State a 6 – 0 lead . In the second quarter , William Morgan scored on a nine - yard run for the Maroons , but Alabama answered with a one - yard Clay Walls touchdown run to make the halftime score 13 – 7 . State then pulled away in the second half to win 26 – 7 after 14 - yard Morgan run in the third and on a 27 - yard Stanton pass to Morgan in the fourth . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Mississippi State to 28 – 9 – 3 . Georgia . At Athens , the Crimson Tide lost to the Georgia Bulldogs 35 – 14 on homecoming at Sanford Stadium . The Bulldogs took a 14 – 0 halftime lead after James Harper threw a 25 - yard touchdown pass to Laneair Roberts in the first and on a one - yard Robert Garrard run in the second quarter . The Tide then scored the first touchdown of the second half on a six - yard Donald Kinderknecht run to cut the Georgia lead to 14 – 7 . However , the Bulldogs responded with a three - yard Henry Dukes run to make the score 21 – 7 at the start of the fourth . In the final quarter , Conrad Manisera scored on a four - yard run and on a one - yard John Bell run for Georgia and on a one - yard Bart Starr run for Alabama . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Georgia to 21 – 16 – 4 . Tulane . Playing their annual home game at Ladd Stadium , the Crimson Tide lost 27 – 7 to the Tulane Green Wave in Mobile . The game was tied 7 – 7 at halftime after Tulane scored on a 12 - yard Al Cottrell run in the first and Alabama scored on a short Billy Lumpkin run in the second quarter . After a one - yard Ronald Quillian run in the third to give Tulane a 14 – 7 lead , the Green Wave closed the game with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns o win 27 – 7 . The fourth quarter scored were made by Quillian on a five - yard run and by Cottrell on a 17 - yard interception return . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Tulane to 16 – 8 – 2 . Georgia Tech . Against Georgia Tech , Alabama lost their eleventh consecutive game in this 26 – 2 defeat by the Yellow Jackets at Legion Field . Tech took a 12 – 0 first quarter lead after they scored a pair of touchdowns in a 19 second span . The first came on a five - yard Richard Mattison run and the second on a 28 - yard Kenny Thompson interception return . The Yellow Jackets ' third score was setup early in the second quarter after Thomas Rose blocked an Alabama punt at the Tide ' s 12 - yard line . Two plays later , Tech took a 19 – 0 lead after Paul Rotenberry scored on a five - yard run . After a scoreless third , in the fourth quarter Tech scored their final touchdown on a 34 - yard Ronald Vann pass to Marion Ellis and Alabama got their only points on a safety in the final minute to make the score 26 – 2 . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Georgia Tech to 18 – 16 – 3 . On a Friday evening in Miami for the second consecutive year , Alabama was defeated by the Miami Hurricanes 34 – 12 at Burdine Stadium . The Hurricanes took a 14 – 0 first quarter lead on touchdowns scored by Don Bosseler on a four - yard run and by Whitey Rouviere on a 25 - yard run . The Crimson Tide responded in the second quarter with a Donald Kinderknecht touchdown run to make the halftime score 14 – 6 . Bosseler then gave Miami a 27 – 6 lead in the third quarter with his touchdown runs of two and 14 - yards . In the fourth quarter , Bart Starr threw a seven - yard touchdown pass to Roy Forbus for Alabama and Ed Oliver scored on a four - yard touchdown run for Miami to make the final score 34 – 12 . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Miami to 3 – 2 . Auburn . For the second consecutive year , Alabama was shutout by the rival Auburn Tigers 26 – 0 at Legion Field and finished the season winless . After a scoreless first quarter , the Tigers took a 13 – 0 halftime lead with second quarter passes of 23 and 10 - yards from Howell Tubbs to Jerry Elliott . Auburn then closed the game with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns on pair of short runs by Joe Childress and Tubbs to win 26 – 0 . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Auburn to 9 – 10 – 1 . References . General Specific