I'm gonna confess right up front that my recall does't even come close to matching that of Selma's, but my first Bama game experience was in 1952. I was 15 years old then and attending high school in Mobile, Alabama. That year Alabama had a game with Maryland at Ladd Stadium in Mobile and I decided to go, no tickets and not much cash, but I was going to go.... We lived outside Mobile back then in a bedroom community called Forest Hills, I walked up to Old Shell Road and hitch-hiked in town and walked from Government Street to the stadium. To make a long story short, through sheer good luck I got into the stadium about the middle of the first quarter without a ticket and found an unoccupied seat, we won't dwell on how I got in....
Maryland was a loaded team that was the darling of the eastern media although they had ventured south the previous week and had been upset by Ole Miss. Despite this, the media remained adamnment that Bama would pay for the previous week's lapse since after all, Maryland had Jack Scarbath at QB, and the Modzelewski brothers, all future pros. Nonetheless, their visit to Ladd Stadium in Mobile ended up in a 27 - 7 loss to Bama and a final season record of 7 - 2 for the Terrapins. It may have been that the Maryland team felt better about this game after Alabama destroyed Syracuse by a score of 61 - 6 in the Orange Bowl a couple of months later. As a point of interest, a first year assistant coach on the Alabama staff was a gentleman named Johnny Dee who was also the first year basketball head coach. His 1955-56 basketball squad was the first ever to hit 100 points against Kentucky which is another interesting story, and they did it the hard way, beating Kentucky in Lexington. Adolph Rupp actually tried to slow the game down to prevent Bama from getting to 100.
Ooops, guess I should answer all the questions...
What was the first Bama game you attended? (Date, opponent, location, outcome)- Nov 22, 1952 at Ladd Stadium, Mobile, Alabama, against Maryland
What were the circumstances of your attendance?- I was 15 and decided to go to the game.
Where did you get the ticket?- ticket??? Actually I slipped in, my first attempt at gate crashing.
Where did you sit?- West stands
Who took you (or with whom did you attend )?- went on my own, no ticket and little funds but a lot of optimism.
What was the outcome and any particular meaningful plays or players or events you remember about the game?- Bama 27 Maryland 7 - odd play, Bart Starr scored the first td on a pass from Bobby Luna
Do you still have the ticket?- Nope, never had one
How much was the ticket (face value and/or what you paid)?-$5.00 I think...
Any other observations about the game you want to share - Bama scored each quarter to gradually put the game away. Maryland had won their first seven games and then came south and played Ole Miss who beat them by a touchdown. Alabama was supposed to pay the price for that affront, but it didn't turn out that way. Anyway, it was my first Bama game and if I wasn't already hooked this completed the job.
