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OPEN DAILY
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
5/18/1979
Coach Paul Bryant goes back to Texas for a reunion with his 1954 Texas A&M team, the famed squad taken to Junction, Tex., for what was termed a "football boot camp." Only 27 players returned from the Junction to play for Texas A&M and 23 of those were at the reunion. While Bryant is out of town, the Birmingham News reports the league coaches are picking Alabama to repeat as SEC Champions but only two Bama players receive "best awards." Dwight Stephenson is listed as the "best offensive lineman" and Major Ogilvie the "best blocker in the SEC." |
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Coach: Frank Thomas (Notre Dame) Record: 10-0
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Captain(s): Picked game-by-game
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A 34-14 romp over Southern California in the Rose Bowl capped a perfect season for the Crimson Tide, but Bama could finish only second best in the final polls to Army. Alabama did win the national championship according to the National Championship Foundation, the Cliff Morgan Foundation and the Ray Byrne Foundation.
Twenty years earlier Alabama had become the first Southern team to earn a Rose Bowl invitation and the Tide became the last one as well with its bid for the New Year's Day 1946 game. After UA's easy win over the Trojans, the Pasadena moguls opted for an annual BigTen-Pac 8 matchup.
Averaging outscoring its opponents 43-8 per game, the Tide's second War Baby edition included sophomore All-Americans Harry Gilmer and Vaughn Mancha. Gilmer forever etched his name in Crimson folklore with his stunning performance vs. Kentucky. In a 60-19 romp, Gilmer rushed six times for 216 yards and completed two of two passes for 50 more yards. It was the first time an Alabama player had ever rushed for more than 200 yards in one game and his 36 yard per carry average is one record that will be hard to equal.
Georgia came the closest of any foe to upsetting Frank Thomas' marvelous 11 when the Bulldogs fought to within two touchdowns of the Tide. The Dawgs went back into their house yelping as 28-14 losers. It would be Thomas' last championship team and, with the war over in Europe and Japan, there were plenty of other reasons to be celebrating in Alabama. |
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Notes: Harry Gilmer is MVP in the Tide's last appearance in the Rose Bowl. Hugh Morrow wins the NCAA title for scoring by a kicker. Gilmer is the SEC Player of the Year. |
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