The Alabama-Tennessee series has never needed much help producing drama.
It started on Thanksgiving in 1901, when the two teams met for the first time at West End Park in Birmingham. A controversial officiating call set off Alabama fans, who rushed the field.
Physical altercations broke out, and officials ended the game with the score tied 6-6. That earlier flare-up came after an offsides call, not a missed pass interference like the one that had Alabama fans upset near the end of the Georgia game.
The rivalry didn’t take long to settle into something bigger. From 1901 through 1912, Alabama played Tennessee nine times, and eight of those games were in Birmingham.
The Crimson Tide lost only once in that stretch. Then the teams stopped meeting after 1914 until 1928, when Robert Neyland helped revive the series by working Wallace Wade into scheduling Tennessee.
Marvin West described the pitch Neyland made to Wade as a “con job.” According to West, "Neyland told Wade that Tennessee was improving but wasn’t in Alabama’s class. He said the Vols needed the experience and exposure of playing somebody really good if they were ever going to get on the college football map."
Neyland even floated the idea that Alabama could use a second-half running clock to keep the score manageable. Tennessee went on to win 15-13, and the rivalry was on from there.
Bryant’s own history with Tennessee only added more fuel. Back when people still called him Paul more often than Bear, he played the Vols with a fractured leg.
Later, while coaching Kentucky, Bryant faced Neyland seven times and lost every one. Neyland, known as The General, was an actual military general and one of the SEC’s best football coaches.
The cigar tradition followed in 1961, when Alabama’s postgame celebration after beating Tennessee began to take hold. Bryant’s trainer was Smokey Harper, whose approach to helping Alabama players was as basic as “rub some dirt on it.” Harper was part of Bryant’s Amen corner, and he, too, disliked the Vols.
None of that old history will matter to the players on Saturday. Rivalry lore doesn’t decide games, even if it gives fans plenty to hold onto. Still, a victory would be enough reason for one more cigar.
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Sabans Coaching Influence Just Showed Up In An Unlikely Alabama Story
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Burton also drew attention for wearing a backwards baseball cap during the overtime coin toss after helmet equipment issues, a quirky scene that stood out in a tense finish. Afterward, he talked about coach Alex Mortensen and mentioned watching a documentary tied to Mortensens former coach, Nick Saban, a reminder that Sabans coaching tree still shows up in odd, easy-to-miss places around the state. [Read more 🡒]