1919 record 8–1 (6–1 SIAA) | Captain Ike Rogers | |
Conference Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association Head coach Xen C. Scott (1st year) Home stadium University Field
Rickwood Field | ||
The 1919 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the University of Alabama in the 1919 college football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 26th overall and 23rd season as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA). The team was led by head coach Xen C. Scott, in his first year, and played their home games at University Field in Tuscaloosa and at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of eight wins and one loss (8–1 overall, 6–1 in the SIAA).
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After not fielding a team for the 1918 season due to the effects of World War I, in May 1919 Xen C. Scott was hired to serve as head coach of the Crimson Tide. Alabama then opened the season with four consecutive shutout victories at University Field in Tuscaloosa. After Scott defeated Birmingham–Southern in his debut as Crimson Tide head coach, the next week he defeated Ole Miss for his first SIAA victory. After a pair of blowout victories over both Howard and the Marion Military Institute, Alabama defeated Sewanee 40–0 in what was the most anticipated game of the season at Rickwood Field.
After the Sewanee win, Alabama traveled to Nashville where they lost their only game of the season against Vanderbilt 16–12. After the loss, the Crimson Tide rebounded with wins at LSU and Georgia and at Birmingham over Mississippi A&M on Thanksgiving to close the season.
Before the season
After the departure of Thomas Kelley as head coach of the Crimson Tide following their 1917 season, then athletic director B. L. Noojin was chosen as his successor. However Noojin never led the team as head coach since the 1918 season was canceled due to the effects of World War I. When football was reinstated for the next season, Xen C. Scott was hired to serve as head coach in May 1919. Scott had previously served as head coach of the Cleveland Naval Reserve team that upset the national champion Pittsburgh Panthers to close their 1918 season. Scott had also previously served as head coach for both Western Reserve University (1910) and the Case Institute of Technology (1911–1913) in Cleveland.
Scott opened his first fall practice on September 1. At that time, ten players from previous Alabama squads returned and included T. L. Brown, Jack Hovater, Walter E. Hovater, Ralph Lee Jones, Mullie Lenoir, Emmet Noland, J. T. O'Connor, Ike Rogers, Tram Sessions and Riggs Stephenson. After two weeks of practice, Scott divided the players into four teams in order to determine starting line-ups. At his time Scott also did not utilize a quarterback, but instead would simply snap the ball directly to the runner. Before game preparation began for their game against Birmingham–Southern, Ike Rogers was selected as team captain for the season by the returning lettermen on September 25. Rogers was previously elected to serve as team captain for the 1918 season that was cancelled.
Schedule
Postseason
Alabama won eight games in a season for the first time, and was awarded by some organizations a share of the SIAA title. Fuzzy Woodruff recalls "Auburn claimed it. "We defeated Tech" said Auburn. "Yes, but we defeated you" said Vanderbilt. "Yes", said Alabama, "but Tech, Tulane ,and Tennessee took your measure. We defeated Gergia Tech, who tied Tulane, so we are champions...The newspapers, however, more or less generally supported the claim of Auburn..."