Conference Southern Conference Offensive scheme Single wing | 1923 record 7–2–1 (4–1–1 SoCon) Captain Al Clemens | |
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Head coach Wallace Wade (1st year) Home stadium Denny Field
Rickwood Field
Cramton Bowl | ||
The 1923 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the University of Alabama in the 1923 Southern Conference football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 30th overall and 2nd season as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). The team was led by head coach Wallace Wade, in his first year, and played their home games at Denny Field in Tuscaloosa, at Rickwood Field in Birmingham and at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of seven wins, two losses and one tie (7–2–1 overall, 4–1–1 in the SoCon).
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1923 marked the first season for new head coach Wallace Wade, a former assistant at Vanderbilt. One year after Alabama's triumphal trip to Penn, the Tide went on another northeast roadtrip with a different outcome, losing to Syracuse 23–0. Against Georgia Tech, Alabama was very lucky to escape with a 0–0 tie. After defeating Georgia, the Tide was the favorite for a Southern title. A season-ending, 16–6 upset loss to coach James Van Fleet's Florida Gators cost coach Wade and the Tide the Southern Conference championship.
Before the season
On November 6, 1922, Alabama head coach Xen C. Scott announced his resignation as head coach of the Crimson Tide as a result of his deteriorating health. On December 16, 1922, the University Athletic Council announced that Vanderbilt athletic director and assistant football coach Wallace Wade had been hired to serve as both head football coach and athletic director at Alabama. On the hiring, the Athletic Council stated:
Mr. Wade's experience as a football coach has been brilliant and successful. He comes to us with the highest recommendation not only from Vanderbilt and Brown authorities, but also from many of the leading football experts of the South and indeed the entire country. If we rely on expert testimony, the University is fortunate securing a man of Mr. Wade's character, experience, and achievements."
Prior to his being hired at Alabama, Kentucky also bid for his services as head coach of the Wildcats. After Kentucky kept Wade too long at a meeting, Alabama hired him, and Wade then vowed he would never lose a game to Kentucky.
Schedule
Postseason
After much controversy over who to give the Champ Pickens Trophy, it was awarded to Vanderbilt over Florida.
Depth chart
The following chart provides a visual depiction of Alabama's lineup during the 1923 season with games started at the position reflected in parenthesis. The chart mimics a single wing on offense.