On the 1966 Alabama squad, when asked how it felt to have the world's greatest football team for the season after his Packers won Super Bowl 1, Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi stated: "I don't know, we haven't played Alabama yet".
like the song says "in theirs hearts they know were no 1. in their hearts they know the tide is second place to none, it an all time mystery how they named us no 3. when they know we're really no 1"
LA Tech was quarterbacked by Phil Robertson of Duck Commander fame. Told a young Terry Bradshaw he’d rather be sitting in a duck blind instead of playing football. The rest, as they say, is history w/Bradshaw becoming a No. 1 pick
The 1966 Alabama team is definitely the greatest ever team not to win the National Title. After what happened in '66,Bama shouldn't feel uneasy about claiming those 1941 and 1973 titles. Yes,the Tide should have been playing black players by this time,but this was one heck of a team any way you slice it! I was born in 1966,so this Bama team and its story holds an even stronger place in my mind. Excellent,excellent narration by Katie Winslett. Is she kin to Wu Winslett who starred on Alabama's first Championship team in 1925? I hope she is and ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!! Richard Rhoden
I was in the Army getting ready for Vietnam. It made me feel good that I was from Alabama and a Alabama fan. It felt good every Saturday that Alabama that we had won.
White helmets were a form of "helmet sticker" that Bear used for a couple of years...other schools did the same over time...California had players wearing Purple and Gold helmets in the same game (gold was the reward).
They weren't cheated. They were punished for deliberately playing a segregated schedule. Michigan State, SC, ND, and Ohio State were all integrated teams that would have smashed the Tide. Neither Wallace nor Bryant wanted any of that smoke so they played white only teams and became segregated national champion for '66. Big whoop!
The Associated Press poll was decided by sports journalist in favor of Nore Dame in protest against the all white southern school who's Governor Wallace literally used the University of Alabama ss a prop and politized the University right on the TV news and newspapers as the inferior and the uneducated. Which is political pressure from the rest of the nation and the use of Academia and Athletics teams in the poor and violent segregated south and University of Alabama President at the time having the best coach and the best college championship team's in' 61 ,64 ,65 and the Missing Championship of ,1966. I have seen his national championship rings from 65 and 66. I remember how much respect my HS coach had much respect for Bryant. Especially, the toughness and never quitting.
I'd like to amend one thing I said 5 months ago. Alabama should claim the 1945 NC and discard the 1941 NC. We would still have 17. Glad Katie is kin to Wu Winslett. God bless you all and Roll Tide!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (17 Exclamation marks) Richard Rhoden
I myself have always wondered why they claim 1941 instead of 1945. The '45 team was one of the best pre-Bear teams they had, and they finished #2 in both polls to Army that year. But I think they DID get a lesser poll title or something in 1945.
@@michaelnewton1332 Michael,the only thing I can think of is that Alabama graciously yielded the stage to Army,a military team. We won WW II in 1945,and I guess everyone felt obliged to a military school winning the Championship. Nevertheless,Bama should now find a way to share the Title with Army. God bless our military as long as it continues to serve WE THE PEOPLE!!!!!!! Richard
@@joerhoden4919 Actually, Army was forbidden to play in bowl games until 1984, due to Department of the Army policy. Regardless, it would have been interesting to see how Army and Alabama would have matched up against each other in 1945. Of 41 national championships polls, 37 chose Army, three chose Alabama, and one chose Oklahoma State. So technically, Alabama could claim 1945.
There were several major weaknesses in Alabama's national championship argument for 1966. First, not only did Bama have no black players, none of their regular season opponents did, either. Both Notre Dame and Michigan State were integrated, as were all of ND's opponents and all but one of MSU's (NC State was a year away). Second, Alabama's schedule was not nearly as strong as Notre Dame's or Michigan State's. None of Alabama's regular season opponents finished the season ranked, and one of them (Louisiana Tech) was a lower-level ("College Division") school at the time. Notre Dame and Michigan State, in addition to playing (and tying) each other, both played and dominated Purdue, which won all its other games and won the Rose Bowl, finishing at No. 7. Neither ND nor MSU played any lower-level opponents. Third, Alabama barely had to travel at all. They played 8 of 10 regular season games in Alabama, traveling only to Jackson, MS and Knoxville, TN. MSU didn't have to travel much, either (4 Big Ten road trips, the longest one being to Illinois), but ND sure did, with far-off road games at Oklahoma, Navy (in Philadelphia), and Southern Cal. ND won those games by scores of 38-0, 31-7, and 51-0. Fourth, Alabama needed luck to beat Tennessee; the Vols missed a chip-shot field goal on the final play, which was not blocked. Besides tying each other, neither ND nor MSU had calls that close. All of ND's wins were by 12 points or more, and MSU's narrowest margin was 11-8 at Ohio State; MSU scored the winning TD with over 7 minutes left. Alabama offers two main arguments on its behalf. One is that their record was perfect, and ND and MSU had one tie. But that tie came when they played each other. ND, MSU, and Alabama were ranked 1, 2, and 3 going into the ND-MSU showdown, and kept those rankings thereafter. To hold the tie against ND and MSU would penalize them for playing each other, which makes no sense. The other is that Alabama played in a bowl, and ND and MSU did not. This argument is crucial for Alabama's case, because Nebraska was the only ranked team Bama played. However, MSU was ineligible for a bowl game due to an arcane Big Ten rule. The conference did not permit teams to play in consecutive Rose Bowls until 1972, and did not allow teams to play in other bowls until 1975. Because MSU played in the 1966 Rose Bowl, it could not go to the 1967 bowl. ND had a no-bowl policy until the 1969 season. Also, in those years, bowl games were still regarded as exhibitions and not necessarily relevant to determining national champions. In fact, neither the AP nor the coaches even had polls after the bowl games; the AP had one post-bowl poll in 1965 (which Alabama won), but didn't do it regularly until 1968, and the coaches didn't do so until 1974 (which is the only reason Alabama can claim a 1973 national championship, given that ND beat them in the Sugar Bowl and won the AP vote). Even with the bowl game, both ND and MSU played tougher schedules than Alabama. And while Bama's 34-7 win over Nebraska was impressive, it bears noting that Nebraska lost its regular season finale 10-9 to Oklahoma -- the same OU team that ND annihilated 38-0 in Norman. OU had been No. 10 going into that game, just as Southern Cal was No. 10 when it hosted ND, which easily could've been flat after its "Game of the Century" at MSU. Instead, ND massacred USC, 51-0, which remains the Trojans' worst defeat in school history. Sorry, but ND earned the 1966 national championship, and MSU was a very close second.
Ara played for the tie when he had a real chance for the win. If he had little choice but to set up a FG try, that'd be one thing but he had quite a bit of time. That hurts him with me, though he was truly great coach and man and I was saddened by his passing this year. I always loved his commentary.
Bammie has actually claimed 11 bogus titles......these hillbillies are the biggest frauds in college football....1973 and 1978 are laughers, they lost straight-up to Notre Dame in 1973-74 and USC in 1978 (at home no less) plus 9 others ''claimed or shared''' by multiple teams...it's hilarious...
Well, first of all, Michigan State and Notre Dame did not make a "choice", not to play in bowl games. Notre Dame, for a number of reasons had not played in a bowl game since 1925, believing that for all these years, the national "polls" were conducted right after the season, and long before New Year's Day. Bowl games were not worth much money at that time. Michigan State got hoodwinked out of the Rose Bowl, even as conference champ, because they had been out there the year before, and by rule, the Big Ten conference sent the second-place team ( Purdue) out to Pasedena. You did not have this cardshuffling back then to send qualified teams to the few bowl games they had back then. If Alabama played a price because any team with black players would be breaking the law for playing against them,then MAYBE that is why Coach Bryant took the action he did when they got the extra scheduled game in 1970,and played USC.
And maybe the AP voters of the time should have refrained from bringing political considerations to bear on what should have been a judgement about athletic performance (and that only). A footnote: Alabama’s # 3 finish is especially mystifying given that they started the 1966 season ranked # 1.
'''let's claim yet another bogus and fraudulent natty, maybe no one will notice''' ......-Bear Byrant, after Notre Dame and Michigan State were voted co-national champs for 1966
Sir,I hate to tell you this,but Alabama was chomping at the bit to put OUR title on the line on UCF's home field on January 20. Ya'll turned us down when you learned that Tua would be the QB instead of Hurts! Congrats on beating us in hoops. Beating Alabama in football? NO WAY IN ALL ETERNITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (17 EXCLAMATION MARKS AND NO FOUL LANGUAGE) Richard Rhoden
I remember that season well. I was a big Alabama fan then, living in NC. Coach Bryant was my hero.
On the 1966 Alabama squad, when asked how it felt to have the world's greatest football team for the season after his Packers won Super Bowl 1, Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi stated: "I don't know, we haven't played Alabama yet".
like the song says "in theirs hearts they know were no 1. in their hearts they know the tide is second place to none, it an all time mystery how they named us no 3. when they know we're really no 1"
The Missing Ring
UT and Bama both wearing home jerseys. Cool.
I really wish they would return to that. I also wish Birmingham could have a nice new stadium and Bama could schedule a game there.
LA Tech was quarterbacked by Phil Robertson of Duck Commander fame. Told a young Terry Bradshaw he’d rather be sitting in a duck blind instead of playing football. The rest, as they say, is history w/Bradshaw becoming a No. 1 pick
Without a dought Bama is The GREATEST Football program of all time and can only be defeated by bureaucrats.
The 1966 Alabama team is definitely the greatest ever team not to win the National Title. After what happened in '66,Bama shouldn't feel uneasy about claiming those 1941 and 1973 titles. Yes,the Tide should have been playing black players by this time,but this was one heck of a team any way you slice it! I was born in 1966,so this Bama team and its story holds an even stronger place in my mind. Excellent,excellent narration by Katie Winslett. Is she kin to Wu Winslett who starred on Alabama's first Championship team in 1925? I hope she is and ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!! Richard Rhoden
Thank you so much for watching. Yes she is kin to Wu Winslett. Thanks again for watching. Roll Tide!!!!
I was in the Army getting ready for Vietnam. It made me feel good that I was from Alabama and a Alabama fan. It felt good every Saturday that Alabama that we had won.
The 1945 Alabama team has entered the chat.
What's with the MS State game with some players with red helmets and others with white?
White helmets were a form of "helmet sticker" that Bear used for a couple of years...other schools did the same over time...California had players wearing Purple and Gold helmets in the same game (gold was the reward).
Bama was cheated many times, but the cream has rose to the top ! Since 1936 (modern day football) Bama has claim to 17 titles.
They weren't cheated. They were punished for deliberately playing a segregated schedule. Michigan State, SC, ND, and Ohio State were all integrated teams that would have smashed the Tide. Neither Wallace nor Bryant wanted any of that smoke so they played white only teams and became segregated national champion for '66.
Big whoop!
@@superluminal89 Nebraska was integrated, didn't matter 34-7
@@superluminal89 they played a integrated Nebraska team and completely destroyed them
@@josephbennett728 OK
@@superluminal89 False. You're a liar. Read The Missing Ring, chump.
Eli Gold should have narrated this .
The Associated Press poll was decided by sports journalist in favor of Nore Dame in protest against the all white southern school who's Governor Wallace literally used the University of Alabama ss a prop and politized the University right on the TV news and newspapers as the inferior and the uneducated. Which is political pressure from the rest of the nation and the use of Academia and Athletics teams in the poor and violent segregated south and University of Alabama President at the time having the best coach and the best college championship team's in' 61 ,64 ,65 and the Missing Championship of ,1966. I have seen his national championship rings from 65 and 66. I remember how much respect my HS coach had much respect for Bryant. Especially, the toughness and never quitting.
This is the first of two 3peats by Bama. The other was N.Dames $ stealing it in 1977
Wow, a lot of white guys on that team....thankfully the Tide saw the light later on.
That was the way of the world then....sad to say.
I'd like to amend one thing I said 5 months ago. Alabama should claim the 1945 NC and discard the 1941 NC. We would still have 17. Glad Katie is kin to Wu Winslett. God bless you all and Roll Tide!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (17 Exclamation marks) Richard Rhoden
I myself have always wondered why they claim 1941 instead of 1945. The '45 team was one of the best pre-Bear teams they had, and they finished #2 in both polls to Army that year. But I think they DID get a lesser poll title or something in 1945.
@@michaelnewton1332 Michael,the only thing I can think of is that Alabama graciously yielded the stage to Army,a military team. We won WW II in 1945,and I guess everyone felt obliged to a military school winning the Championship. Nevertheless,Bama should now find a way to share the Title with Army. God bless our military as long as it continues to serve WE THE PEOPLE!!!!!!! Richard
@@joerhoden4919 Actually, Army was forbidden to play in bowl games until 1984, due to Department of the Army policy. Regardless, it would have been interesting to see how Army and Alabama would have matched up against each other in 1945.
Of 41 national championships polls, 37 chose Army, three chose Alabama, and one chose Oklahoma State. So technically, Alabama could claim 1945.
There were several major weaknesses in Alabama's national championship argument for 1966. First, not only did Bama have no black players, none of their regular season opponents did, either. Both Notre Dame and Michigan State were integrated, as were all of ND's opponents and all but one of MSU's (NC State was a year away). Second, Alabama's schedule was not nearly as strong as Notre Dame's or Michigan State's. None of Alabama's regular season opponents finished the season ranked, and one of them (Louisiana Tech) was a lower-level ("College Division") school at the time. Notre Dame and Michigan State, in addition to playing (and tying) each other, both played and dominated Purdue, which won all its other games and won the Rose Bowl, finishing at No. 7. Neither ND nor MSU played any lower-level opponents. Third, Alabama barely had to travel at all. They played 8 of 10 regular season games in Alabama, traveling only to Jackson, MS and Knoxville, TN. MSU didn't have to travel much, either (4 Big Ten road trips, the longest one being to Illinois), but ND sure did, with far-off road games at Oklahoma, Navy (in Philadelphia), and Southern Cal. ND won those games by scores of 38-0, 31-7, and 51-0. Fourth, Alabama needed luck to beat Tennessee; the Vols missed a chip-shot field goal on the final play, which was not blocked. Besides tying each other, neither ND nor MSU had calls that close. All of ND's wins were by 12 points or more, and MSU's narrowest margin was 11-8 at Ohio State; MSU scored the winning TD with over 7 minutes left.
Alabama offers two main arguments on its behalf. One is that their record was perfect, and ND and MSU had one tie. But that tie came when they played each other. ND, MSU, and Alabama were ranked 1, 2, and 3 going into the ND-MSU showdown, and kept those rankings thereafter. To hold the tie against ND and MSU would penalize them for playing each other, which makes no sense. The other is that Alabama played in a bowl, and ND and MSU did not. This argument is crucial for Alabama's case, because Nebraska was the only ranked team Bama played. However, MSU was ineligible for a bowl game due to an arcane Big Ten rule. The conference did not permit teams to play in consecutive Rose Bowls until 1972, and did not allow teams to play in other bowls until 1975. Because MSU played in the 1966 Rose Bowl, it could not go to the 1967 bowl. ND had a no-bowl policy until the 1969 season. Also, in those years, bowl games were still regarded as exhibitions and not necessarily relevant to determining national champions. In fact, neither the AP nor the coaches even had polls after the bowl games; the AP had one post-bowl poll in 1965 (which Alabama won), but didn't do it regularly until 1968, and the coaches didn't do so until 1974 (which is the only reason Alabama can claim a 1973 national championship, given that ND beat them in the Sugar Bowl and won the AP vote).
Even with the bowl game, both ND and MSU played tougher schedules than Alabama. And while Bama's 34-7 win over Nebraska was impressive, it bears noting that Nebraska lost its regular season finale 10-9 to Oklahoma -- the same OU team that ND annihilated 38-0 in Norman. OU had been No. 10 going into that game, just as Southern Cal was No. 10 when it hosted ND, which easily could've been flat after its "Game of the Century" at MSU. Instead, ND massacred USC, 51-0, which remains the Trojans' worst defeat in school history.
Sorry, but ND earned the 1966 national championship, and MSU was a very close second.
Maine sounds like a OSU fan lol. Shouldn't be penalized for a tie lol, really? Only 1 perfect record that year with an additional game......
John Manier
dumbass
Ara played for the tie when he had a real chance for the win. If he had little choice but to set up a FG try, that'd be one thing but he had quite a bit of time. That hurts him with me, though he was truly great coach and man and I was saddened by his passing this year. I always loved his commentary.
Bammie has actually claimed 11 bogus titles......these hillbillies are the biggest frauds in college football....1973 and 1978 are laughers, they lost straight-up to Notre Dame in 1973-74 and USC in 1978 (at home no less) plus 9 others ''claimed or shared''' by multiple teams...it's hilarious...
UCF 2017 UNDISPUTED NATTY CHAMPS 13-0-0 a lot of teams claim titles after losing a game dumbass.
Well, first of all, Michigan State and Notre Dame did not make a "choice", not to play in bowl games. Notre Dame, for a number of reasons had not played in a bowl game since 1925, believing that for all these years, the national "polls" were conducted right after the season, and long before New Year's Day. Bowl games were not worth much money at that time.
Michigan State got hoodwinked out of the Rose Bowl, even as conference champ, because they had been out there the year before, and by rule, the Big Ten conference sent the second-place team ( Purdue) out to Pasedena. You did not have this cardshuffling back then to send qualified teams to the few bowl games they had back then.
If Alabama played a price because any team with black players would be breaking the law for playing against them,then MAYBE that is why Coach Bryant took the action he did when they got the extra scheduled game in 1970,and played USC.
False. Read The Missing Ring, moron. Your mouth is spewing falsehoods.
And maybe the AP voters of the time should have refrained from bringing political considerations to bear on what should have been a judgement about athletic performance (and that only). A footnote: Alabama’s # 3 finish is especially mystifying given that they started the 1966 season ranked # 1.
Notre Dame would've squished 'Bama - with ease.
Nannn
'''let's claim yet another bogus and fraudulent natty, maybe no one will notice'''
......-Bear Byrant, after Notre Dame and Michigan State were voted co-national champs for 1966
Sir,I hate to tell you this,but Alabama was chomping at the bit to put OUR title on the line on UCF's home field on January 20. Ya'll turned us down when you learned that Tua would be the QB instead of Hurts! Congrats on beating us in hoops. Beating Alabama in football? NO WAY IN ALL ETERNITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (17 EXCLAMATION MARKS AND NO FOUL LANGUAGE) Richard Rhoden
Liar.
Peevish rump.