1937 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

Before the season

After the 1936 season, the first expansion of Denny Stadium was undertaken. The stadium originally opened for the 1929 season, and the concrete stands had a seating capacity of 12,000. The 1937 expansion included the construction of a 6,000 seat eastern addition that was utilized primarily by students. Its construction was financed with a combination of funding from both the university ($140,000) and a grant from the Public Works Administration ($90,000). Designed after the Yale Bowl, at the time of this expansion the school envisioned a build-out of Denny Stadium at a capacity of 66,000.

Schedule

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Game summaries

Howard

Tuscaloosa, AL

• Source: To open the 1937 season, Alabama outgained Howard (now Samford University) in total yards 198 to 6, and defeated the Bulldogs 41–0 at Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide scored a pair of touchdowns in each of the first two quarters to take a 28–0 halftime lead. First-quarter touchdowns were scored on a 21-yard Joe Kilgrow touchdown pass to George Zivich and on a Perron Shoemaker blocked punt returned 15-yards for the score. In the second, touchdowns were scored by Herschel Mosley on a 91-yard punt return and on a 10-yard Mosley to Bud Waites touchdown pass. The Crimson Tide then closed the game with a pair of second half touchdowns for the 41–0 victory. Charlie Holm scored on a four-yard run in the third and Alvin Davis scored on a 19-yard run in the fourth. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Howard to 15–0–1.

Sewanee

Birmingham, AL

• Source: In the conference opener, Alabama defeated the Sewanee Tigers 65–0 at Legion Field in rainy conditions.

South Carolina

Tuscaloosa, AL

• Sources: Against the South Carolina Gamecocks of the Southern Conference Alabama won 20–0 at Denny Stadium in what was the first all-time meeting between the schools. Touchdowns were scored by Joe Kilgrow on a short run in the first, on a 33-yard Kilgrow pass to Silas Beard in the second and on a one-yard Hal Hughes run in the third.

Tennessee

Knoxville, TN

• Source: In Knoxville, Alabama defeated rival Tennessee 14–7 at Shields-Watkins Field one year after their scoreless tie at Legion Field.

George Washington

Washington, DC

• Source: As the entered their game against George Washington, Alabama was ranked No. 2 in the first AP Poll of the 1937 season. In the contest, the Crimson Tide defeated the Colonials 19–0 at Griffith Stadium.

Kentucky

Tuscaloosa, AL

• Source: As Alabama entered their homecoming contest against Kentucky, they dropped one place to No. 3 in the weekly poll. In the game, the Crimson Tide defeated the Wildcats 41–0 before 13,000 at Denny Stadium.

Tulane

New Orleans, LA

• Source: After their victory over Kentucky, the Crimson Tide moved up one position and regained the No. 2 spot in the weekly poll. Tulane was ranked No. 19 in the poll after their victory over Ole Miss. In the contest, the Crimson Tide defeated the Green Wave 9–6 after they converted a game-winning field goal late in the fourth quarter.

Georgia Tech

Birmingham, AL

• Source: After their close victory over Tulane, the Crimson Tide dropped one position to the No. 3 spot in the weekly poll in spite of having more first-place voted than No. 2 California. In their game against Georgia Tech, the game remained scoreless before a fourth-quarter touchdown gave Alabama the 7–0 victory over the Yellow Jackets at Legion Field.

Vanderbilt

Nashville, TN

• Source: After their victory over Georgia Tech, Alabama had a bye week prior to their annual Thanksgiving Day game against Vanderbilt. Prior to their game, Alabama dropped to No. 4 and Vanderbilt moved up to No. 12 in the weekly AP Poll. In the game against the Commodores, Alabama won their second game of the season with a fourth quarter field goal in their 9–7 win at Dudley Field.

California

Pasadena, CA

• Source: On November 30, Alabama accepted an invitation to play in the 1938 Rose Bowl against the California Golden Bears. In the game, the Crimson Tide were defeated in their only game of the season after their 13–0 shutout loss before 87,000 fans at Pasadena. Vic Bottari scored both touchdowns for the Golden Bears on runs of four-yards in the second and five-yards in the third. In the loss, the Crimson Tide turned the ball over eight times, on four fumbles and four interceptions. Alabama had two scoring opportunities end inside the California ten-yard line, one on a fumble at the one-yard line and another at the six-yard line. The loss was also Alabama's first in the Rose Bowl Game.

After the season

Awards

After the season, Leroy Monsky was a consensus selection and both Joe Kilgrow and James Ryba were selected to various 1937 College Football All-America Teams.

NFL draft

Several players that were varsity lettermen from the 1937 squad were drafted into the National Football League (NFL) between the 1938 and 1940 drafts. These players included the following:

Personnel

Varsity letter winners

Coaching staff

References

General

Specific

References

1. (October 8, 1937). "Denny Stadium". The Tuscaloosa News.
2. (September 26, 1937). "Alabama crushes Howard, 41–0". The Birmingham News.
3. (October 3, 1937). "Alabama's powerful Crimson Tide engulfs Sewanee by score of 65 to 0". Chattanooga Daily Times.
4. (October 10, 1937). "Mighty Alabama eleven humbles South Carolina". The Greenville News.
5. (October 17, 1937). "Tide power crushes Vols 14 to 7". The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
6. (October 24, 1937). "Tide wallops Colonials, 19–0, in sea of mud". The Birmingham News.
7. (October 31, 1937). "Alabama's powerhouse smashes out 41 to 0 victory over luckless Kentucky Wildcat eleven". Lexington Herald-Leader.
8. (November 7, 1937). "Sanford's field goal enables Alabama to beat Tulane". The Montgomery Advertiser.
9. (November 14, 1937). "Bama scores late in fourth quarter to nose out Tech, 7–0". The Atlanta Constitution.
10. (November 29, 1937). "Sanford's great field goal brings Tide 9–7 victory". Nashville Banner.
11. (January 2, 1938). "Bears beat Alabama in Bowl, 13–0". The Los Angeles Times.
12. "1937 Alabama football archives". University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
13. Thornton, Jay. (September 26, 1937). "Relentless Crimson Tide inundates Howard, 41–0, in opener". The Tuscaloosa News.
14. 1937 Season Recap
15. DeLassus, David. "Alabama vs Samford". College Football Data Warehouse.
16. Thornton, Jay. (October 3, 1937). "Raging Crimson Tide sweeps over Sewanee in 65 to 0 rout". The Tuscaloosa News.
17. DeLassus, David. "Alabama vs Sewanee". College Football Data Warehouse.
18. Thornton, Jay. (October 10, 1937). "Crimson Tide subdues South Carolina, 20–0, to continue surge". The Tuscaloosa News.
19. (October 10, 1937). "Plucky Gamecocks go down before Tide's power, 20–0". The Spartanburg Herald-Journal.
20. Thornton, Jay. (October 17, 1937). "Alabama's Crimson Tide drowns out Tennessee Vols, 14 to 7". The Tuscaloosa News.
21. Thornton, Jay. (October 24, 1937). "Crimson Tide rides through mud to overwhelm Colonials, 39–0". The Tuscaloosa News.
22. (October 19, 1937). "National poll ranks California Bears as nation's leading football team". Hartford Courant.
23. Thornton, Jay. (October 31, 1937). "Ambitious Tide machine grinds out 41–0 win over Kentucky". The Tuscaloosa News.
24. Gould, Alan. (October 26, 1937). "Rankings place Alabama third". The Tuscaloosa News.
25. Green, Ben. (November 7, 1937). "Last minute field goal saves Tide in Tulane tussle, 9 to 6". The Tuscaloosa News.
26. Middleton, Drew. (November 2, 1937). "California tops and Tide second". The Tuscaloosa News.
27. (November 14, 1937). "Long march in last quarter enables Tide to take Tech, 7–0". The Tuscaloosa News.
28. Gould, Alan. (November 9, 1937). "Pittsburgh forges ahead as No. 1 team in poll of writers". The Tuscaloosa News.
29. (November 26, 1937). "Crimson Tide ends "Season of Victory" by trouncing Vandy 9–7". The Tuscaloosa News.
30. Gould, Alan. (November 23, 1937). "Pitt strengthens No. 1 ranking, Alabama drops to fourth". The Tuscaloosa News.
31. DeLassus, David. "Alabama vs Vanderbilt". College Football Data Warehouse.
32. Green, Ben. (January 2, 1938). "California overpowers 'Bama, 13–0". The Tuscaloosa News.
33. (December 1, 1937). "Rose Bowl Tide begins work Monday". The Tuscaloosa News.
34. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). "Award Winners". NCAA.org.
35. (2011). "2011 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Record Book". University of Alabama Athletics Media Relations Office.
36. "Alabama Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
37. "Draft History by School–Alabama". National Football League.
38. (2011). "2011 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Record Book". University of Alabama Athletics Media Relations Office.
39. (2011). "2011 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Record Book". University of Alabama Athletics Media Relations Office.