1946 record 7–4 (4–3 SEC) | ||
Conference Southeastern Conference Head coach Frank Thomas (16th year) Home stadium Denny Stadium
Legion Field
Cramton Bowl | ||
The 1946 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the University of Alabama in the 1946 college football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 52nd overall and 13th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Frank Thomas, in his 15th year, and played their home games at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Legion Field in Birmingham and at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery. They finished with a record of seven wins and four losses (7–4 overall, 4–3 in the SEC).
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After the Crimson Tide opened the season with four consecutive victories over Furman, Tulane, South Carolina and Southwestern Louisiana, Alabama's 14-game winning streak was snapped when they lost to Tennessee 12–0. One week later, the Crimson Tide faced off against Kentucky and their young new coach, Bear Bryant, and won by a score of 21–7, before they lost consecutive games to Georgia and LSU. Alabama then closed the season with a victory over Vanderbilt, a loss to Boston College in their first game ever played in New England, and an upset victory over Mississippi State on homecoming in the season finale.
Over the course of the season, Frank Thomas was riddled with health issues that ultimately led to his resignation as head coach. In January 1947, Harold Drew was named as the 17th head coach of the Crimson Tide.
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Thomas resignation
The struggles of the 1946 team might have been caused in part by the deteriorating health of coach Frank Thomas. High blood pressure left him bedridden for most of the 1946 season, unable to stand for long periods, and forced to ride in a trailer to conduct many Alabama practices. After the 1946 season his ill health forced his resignation when he was only 48 years old, and Thomas later died in Tuscaloosa on May 10, 1954. During his fifteen seasons as head coach at Alabama, Thomas won four SEC championships and compiled an overall record of 115 wins, 24 losses and seven ties (115–24–7) record, for an .812 winning percentage.
Prior to the conclusion of the season, speculation began as to who would succeed Thomas as the head coach of the Crimson Tide. In early November, sources indicated that former Thomas player, and then head coach at Kentucky, Bear Bryant was to become the next head coach of the Crimson Tide. On November 11, Bryant stated that he had not been in contact about the Alabama job and indicated his focus was on the Wildcats. After an exhaustive search, on January 14, 1947, former Thomas assistant and then head coach at Ole Miss, Harold Drew was introduced as the new head coach of the Crimson Tide.