1956 Alabama Crimson Tide football team The 1956 Alabama Crimson Tide football team ( variously " Alabama " , " UA " or " Bama " ) represented the University of Alabama in the 1956 college football season . It was the Crimson Tide ' s 62nd overall and 23rd season as a member of the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) . The team was led by head coach Jennings B . Whitworth , in his second 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 two wins , seven losses and one tie ( 2 – 7 – 1 overall , 2 – 5 in the SEC ) . In 1956 the Crimson Tide improved somewhat from the year before — but not much . Alabama opened the season with four straight losses by a combined score of 99 – 26 to , , and Tennessee . At this point , the all - time school record losing streak ran to seventeen consecutive games , and the winless streak reached 20 games back to the 1954 season . Then against , Alabama won a game for the first time since October 16 , 1954 . The Tide scored with 2½ minutes to go and kicked the extra point to beat Maroons 13 – 12 . After a loss to Georgia Alabama managed a 13 – 7 victory over Tulane . They then closed the season with a 13 – 13 tie with between losses to and Auburn . Game notes . Rice . The Crimson Tide opened the 1956 season with their 14th consecutive loss , while their opponent , the Rice Owls , ended their own seven game losing streak with their 20 – 13 victory at Houston . The Owls scored the first touchdown of the game on their opening drive when Frank Ryan threw a 12 - yard pass to Buddy Dial . Alabama responded in the final minute of the quarter with a one - yard Clay Walls touchdown run to tie the game at 7 – 7 . Rice then took a 14 – 7 halftime lead after King Hill threw a 30 - yard touchdown pass to Bobby Williams in the second quarter . After a 17 - yard Donald Comstock touchdown run brought the Crimson Tide within a point of the Owls lead , Rice closed the game with an 18 - yard Ryan touchdown pass to Dial in the fourth to win 20 – 13 . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Rice to 0 – 3 . Vanderbilt . In their annual home game at Ladd Stadium , the Crimson Tide were defeated by the Vanderbilt Commodores 32 – 7 to open conference play . After a scoreless first quarter , the Commodores took a 13 – 0 halftime lead with second quarter touchdowns scored on a short pass from Donald Orr to Gerald Hudson and later on a three - yard Danny McCall run . Hudson extended the Vandy lead to 19 – 0 with his three - yard touchdown run before the Crimson Tide scored their only points of the game on a one - yard Donald Comstock touchdown run that made the score 19 – 7 . Vanderbilt then closed the game with a pair of touchdowns on runs of 25 - yards by Phil King and three - yards by William Smith to win 32 – 7 . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Vanderbilt to 18 – 16 – 1 . TCU . For the second consecutive season , Alabama played host to the Texas Christian University ( TCU ) Horned Frogs of the Southwest Conference , and for the second time in as many years lost 23 – 6 . TCU took a 7 – 0 first quarter lead on a 46 - yard Ken Wineburg touchdown run that capped an 81 - yard drive . In the second quarter , the Frogs scored on an 11 - yard Buddy Dike touchdown run and on a 21 - yard Vernon Hallbeck field goal and took a 16 – 0 halftime lead . After a 41 - yard Wineburg run in the third gave TCU a 23 – 0 lead , Alabama scored their lone points in the fourth on a 10 - yard James Loftin touchdown run that made the final score 23 – 6 . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against TCU to 0 – 2 . Tennessee . In their annual rivalry game against Tennessee , Alabama was shutout for the second consecutive year by the Volunteers in this 24 – 0 loss in Knoxville . In the game , Tennessee scored a touchdown in all four quarters . The Vols took a 12 – 0 halftime lead after Tommy Bronson scored on a three - yard run in the first and Al Carter scored on a 44 - yard run in the second . After Johnny Majors scored on a short run to open the third quarter , Carter scored the final touchdown of the game in the fourth on a one - yard run that made the final score 24 – 0 . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Tennessee to 18 – 15 – 5 . Mississippi State . On homecoming in Tuscaloosa , the Crimson Tide upset the Mississippi State Maroons 13 – 12 at Denny Stadium that ended both a 17 - game losing streak that stretched back to the 1954 season and gave Whitworth his first victory as Crimson Tide head coach . The Maroons took a 12 – 0 first quarter lead on touchdown runs of two - yards by Frank Sabbatini and 22 - yards by Billy Stacy . The Crimson Tide responded in the second quarter on a 46 - yard Clay Walls touchdown pass to Jimmy Bowdoin that made the halftime score 12 – 6 . After a scoreless third quarter , Walls tied the game 12 – 12 with his one - yard touchdown run in the fourth . The Pete Reeves extra point that followed gave Alabama the 13 – 12 victory and ended their 17 game losing streak . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Mississippi State to 29 – 9 – 3 . Georgia . One week after they won their fist game in nearly two years , the Crimson Tide lost to the Georgia Bulldogs 16 – 13 at Legion Field . Alabama took a 7 – 0 lead into halftime after Charles Nelson scored on a one - yard touchdown run in the first quarter . After Georgia tied the game 7 – 7 in the third quarter on an 80 - yard J . B . Davis punt return , they took a 10 – 7 lead early in the fourth quarter after Clenton Cooper kicked a 29 - yard field goal . They extended their lead further to 16 – 7 after a short William Hearn touchdown run , before Alabama scored their final points on a 24 - yard Marshall Brown touchdown run that made the final score 16 – 13 . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Georgia to 21 – 17 – 4 . Tulane . On the road in New Orleans , the Crimson Tide won their second game of the season with this 13 – 7 victory over the Tulane Green Wave . After a scoreless first quarter , Alabama scored both of their touchdowns in the second quarter . Both were scored on one - yard runs , first from Donald Comstock and second from George Salem . After a scoreless third , Tulane made the final score 13 – 7 on a 29 - yard Fred Wilcox touchdown pass to T . Eugene Newton . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Tulane to 17 – 8 – 2 . Georgia Tech . Against Georgia Tech , Alabama was shutout 27 – 0 by the Yellow Jackets at Grant Field . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Georgia Tech to 18 – 17 – 3 . Mississippi Southern . In their final non - conference game of the season , Alabama tied the Mississippi Southern Golden Eagles 13 – 13 at Denny Stadium . After a scoreless first quarter , Bo Dickinson scored on a 38 - yard touchdown run for Southern and then Bobby Smith threw a 52 - yard touchdown pass to Donald Comstock for Alabama to tie the game 7 – 7 at halftime . In the third quarter , Smith threw a 15 - yard touchdown pass to Comstock for the Crimson Tide and the Dickinson scored on a 37 - yard touchdown run to again tie the game 13 – 13 , which stood as the final score after a scoreless fourth quarter . The tie brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Mississippi Southern to 6 – 2 – 1 . Auburn . Against the rival Auburn Tigers , Alabama lost 34 – 7 at Legion Field in the season finale . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Auburn to 9 – 11 – 1 . References . 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