Alabama Football History: Wallace Wade

Ldlane · Jan 25, 2015

I thought since it's the off-season I would start a thread about who many consider the "father" of Alabama's Football tradition and actually of "Southern Football".

'Men, I'd like to introduce you to coach Wallace Wade, the man who is most responsible for the great tradition of Alabama football. Coach Wade got the ball rolling around here.'" - Coach Bryant

DzynKingRTR · Jan 25, 2015

my grandmother always thought Coach Wade was better than Coach Bryant.

Ldlane · Jan 25, 2015

If you get a chance, read "Wallace Wade: Championship Years at Alabama and Duke".

bama579 · Jan 25, 2015

Thanks for the reminder - often overlooked by non-Alabama types - that we were a power LONG before Paul Bryant.

Hooks4bama · Jan 25, 2015

He brought home our 1st National Championship.

The 1926 Rose Bowl Game was held on January 1, 1926 in Pasadena, California. The game is commonly referred to as "the game that changed the south."[SUP][1][/SUP] The game featured the Alabama Crimson Tide, making their first bowl appearance, and the Washington Huskies.
Alabama were victorious 20–19, as they scored all twenty points in the third quarter. With the victory, the Crimson Tide were awarded with their first National Championship.
The game made its radio broadcast debut, with Charles Paddock, a sports writer and former Olympian track star, at the microphone.[SUP][2][/SUP] Coach Wade was later inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1990

BamaJama17 · Jan 25, 2015

RTR!!! It's sad that he gets overlooked a lot because of coaching during the same time as Knute Rockne. CKR was great but Wade was definitely on the same level.

crimsonaudio · Jan 25, 2015

Hooks4bama said:
He brought home our 1st National Championship.

First three NCs.

Con · Jan 25, 2015

This could be the worst attempt ever to post a picture, but I have been trying to figure out how and I have no idea so I just decided to paste these is some kind of order on here. If it takes up too much space please delete my post mods. and I am sorry for the trouble.

My wife's grandmother died a few years ago and we received some old books from her and we just had them sitting on a shelf in our living room. We decided to dust real good when we came across this program like thing that was about the 1926 Rose Bowl. Since this thread was started I thought I would try to share this with you guys to see if any of you know exactly what it is. I was unsuccessful on starting a thread about it. We also have some other books from the 1800's of hers that involve the University. This got our minds off the Sugar Bowl very quick when I started reading through the names on the paper.

http://i1302.photobucket.com/albums/ag128/chico14/IMG_0056_zps4682ee34.jpg
http://i1302.photobucket.com/albums/ag128/chico14/IMG_0057_zpsdfb54bcb.jpg
http://i1302.photobucket.com/albums/ag128/chico14/IMG_0058_zps4c7b3053.jpg
http://i1302.photobucket.com/albums/ag128/chico14/IMG_0059_zpsd042609d.jpg

Hooks4bama · Jan 25, 2015

Con said:
This could be the worst attempt ever to post a picture, but I have been trying to figure out how and I have no idea so I just decided to paste these is some kind of order on here. If it takes up too much space please delete my post mods. and I am sorry for the trouble.

My wife's grandmother died a few years ago and we received some old books from her and we just had them sitting on a shelf in our living room. We decided to dust real good when we came across this program like thing that was about the 1926 Rose Bowl. Since this thread was started I thought I would try to share this with you guys to see if any of you know exactly what it is. I was unsuccessful on starting a thread about it. We also have some other books from the 1800's of hers that involve the University. This got our minds off the Sugar Bowl very quick when I started reading through the names on the paper.

You need to upload the pictures to some image hosting site then paste the links into here. I use imgur.com

Con · Jan 25, 2015

Hooks4bama said:
You need to upload the pictures to some image hosting site then paste the links into here. I use imgur.com

Thank you. I just tried it again.

dtgreg · Jan 25, 2015

Con said:
Thank you. I just tried it again.

Thanks for posting these!!

Ldlane · Jan 26, 2015

Great Article from RollTide.com: (Nickname Alert, for those that don't like nicknames!)

Known for his tenacity and nastiness on the field, Wade was the first "Bear" to walk the sidelines at the Capstone; a nickname bestowed upon him by his early players. He was hired by the University of Alabama in 1923, and coached the Crimson Tide for seven seasons, compiling a 61-13-3 record and a .812 winning percentage.

Wade's Innovations, Professionalism Set Him Apart

92tide · Jan 26, 2015

Ldlane said:
Great Article from RollTide.com: (Nickname Alert, for those that don'e like nicknames!)

Wade's Innovations, Professionalism Set Him Apart

i only refer to him as coach wade

Redwood Forrest · Jan 26, 2015

I have read about those years several times. The long train rides across the country. People coming to the whistle stops to wave to them as they passed through. No TV, few radios back in the twenties, so going to the station to see' em was a big deal.

BadgerTidefan · Jan 26, 2015

Redwood Forrest said:
I have read about those years several times. The long train rides across the country. People coming to the whistle stops to wave to them as they passed through. No TV, few radios back in the twenties, so going to the station to see' em was a big deal.

My grandfather who graduated from Alabama used to tell me about putting on his suit and hat and going to one of the hotels in Montgomery to listen to games on a radio in the lobby. He died in 1979

Crimson1967 · Jan 26, 2015

I never knew he was called Bear. Thanks for the link.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Whirleybird · Jan 26, 2015

Thanks to Ldlane and everyone who contributed to this thread. What an interesting off season subject. I learned some things reading this. We enjoy a rich history folks.

crimsonaudio · Jan 26, 2015

I have a friend who is a Florida fan (I'm sorry), and after the 2012 BCSCG he mentioned that CNS might be the best coach Bama has ever had.

I chuckled and replied, "we'll see - he's currently tied for second place..."

bama61 · Jan 26, 2015

Like Coach Bryant nowadays, stories about Coach Wade still lingered on when I was a kid, although he had departed for Duke a quarter of a century before, still though he was alive and still coaching then so I guess it isn't too surprising. A couple of the things I remember people saying about him was that although he left because he felt some, including Dr Denny, didn't appreciate his accomplishments. Still at Dr Denny's request he recommended Frank Thomas as his successor.

Another was that after the Rose Bowl game against Washington (1926) when the coaches met at mid-field Bagshaw, the Washington coach who had at least as thorny a personality as did Wade, commented that "Any other day we'd have beat you". Wade responded "We didn't come out here to play no damn series!".

Another story I loved was that on Coach Thomas signing his contract, Dr Denny told him that he would now give him the benefit of his observations over the years, and then told Coach "In my observation, football is 90 percent material and 10 percent coaching; you will be given the 90 percent and held strictly accountable for the 10 percent". Pretty much the same opinion a portion of our fanbase seems to hold even today.

Crimson57s · Jan 27, 2015

Any coach will have to go a long way to top Wade's last season at Alabama in 1930. That Tide team went 10-0, outscoring their opponents by a total of 271-13, including seven shutouts. Then they went to the Rose Bowl and beat Washington 24-0. Wade was so confident of victory in that game, he started the second team. Who would do that today?

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