1956 record 2–7–1 (2–5 SEC) Captain Wes Thompson | Captain Jim Cunningham | |
Conference Southeastern Conference Head coach Jennings B. Whitworth (2nd year) Home stadium Denny Stadium
Legion Field
Ladd Stadium | ||
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 Rice, Vanderbilt, TCU and Tennessee. At this point, the all-time school record losing streak ran to 17 consecutive games, and the winless streak reached 20 games back to the 1954 season. Then against Mississippi State, 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 Mississippi Southern between losses to Georgia Tech and Auburn.