Rutgers v. Alabama Game Program

[Knight Shift]

Found this. Was anybody there?

Found this too. This was the infamous "What's a Rutgers" that we won:

 

[LC-88]

At Bama game with my Dad and brother. Not at TN. Thanks for posting the pics.

 

[zappaa]

At Bama game with my Dad and brother. Not at TN. Thanks for posting the pics.

I sat in the upper deck at Giants stadium on that rainy day.
I saw an Alabama fan at half time and very nicely said, "a tougher game than you expected" he told me to go F myself.

 

[zappaa]

Changing the topic.
Did anyone my age realize Alabama and LSU and the SEC did not have black players?

It never dawned on me as a kid in NJ.

 

[Knight Shift]

I sat in the upper deck at Giants stadium on that rainy day.
I saw an Alabama fan at half time and very nicely said, "a tougher game than you expected" he told me to go F myself.

Southern hospitality, eh? He was no @Southern Gentleman .

Back in the 1990's, I worked with a Tennessee fan years ago in North Carolina. He had a bumper sticker along the lines of "A bad day in Tennessee is better than a good day in Alabama."

Alabama has a lot fewer bad days than Tennessee these days.

Was surprised that we competed so well with the big boys back in 1979 and 1980. Dick Anderson had a few games like that, but his tenure and the next two coaches started a pretty long slide down for RU.

 

[shields]

ZAP, there was a book about USC and Sam Bam Cunningham playing Bama. Cunningham had like 4 touchdowns versus Bama and Bear decided he needed to recruit black players. Do not remember the name of the book.

 

[RU206]

Changing the topic.
Did anyone my age realize Alabama and LSU and the SEC did not have black players?

It never dawned on me as a kid in NJ.

Yup. Anytime I get into a discussion about race in the US I bring this up. Everyone says football comes first in Alabama but in my life time discrimination against blacks was first football was 2nd. There were plenty of black players in Alabama that could help them win games but it wasn’t until that USC game mentioned above did Bear Bryant realize he needed to recruit black players. ESPN did a 30 for 30 on it. Just think about how poorly black people were treated that in 1970 Bear Bryant chose racism over winning football games.

 

[RUBigFrank]

Worse yet is with the subtle racism that still exist in the region - black athletes from the north are still willing to play at such institutions.

 

[zappaa]

ZAP, there was a book about USC and Sam Bam Cunningham playing Bama. Cunningham had like 4 touchdowns versus Bama and Bear decided he needed to recruit black players. Do not remember the name of the book.

Fully aware of that great documentary.
My only point was when I was 12 years old, seemingly watching Notre Dame, USC, Michigan St (Bubba Smith team) Syracuse and Penn St every weekend, I had no clue black kids were not playing in the SEC...none.

 

[DHajekRC84]

Found this. Was anybody there?

Yes. nice find.
No to your ? on Black players. Did not know that there were none at this time. Thought that was the deal much earlier. Watch the movie "The Express" (Ernie Davis) and you can add WVU and Texas to that list. (although that was the 60's)

 

[jmg75]

I remember that game well as it was the last Rutgers game I ever went to with my father. He started taking me and my brother to games when we were very young. I was probably five the first time. We went to several games a year, and always the Rutgers-Princeton game. After I graduated, I turned it around and started to take him to games. Rutgers Alabama was the last game before he died. I think of him often at the tailgates when I see young kids running around tossing footballs. My love of college football is rooted in those tailgates we had outside our stadium and Palmer Stadium over fifty years ago.

 

[RUMBA-JK]

Yup. Anytime I get into a discussion about race in the US I bring this up. Everyone says football comes first in Alabama but in my life time discrimination against blacks was first football was 2nd. There were plenty of black players in Alabama that could help them win games but it wasn’t until that USC game mentioned above did Bear Bryant realize he needed to recruit black players. ESPN did a 30 for 30 on it. Just think about how poorly black people were treated that in 1970 Bear Bryant chose racism over winning football games.

Don't know if it was creative story telling - or a thread of truth - but as I recall the 30 for 30 presented it as though Bryant really wanted the game - that he knew the likely outcome and that he would then have the way paved with the Alabama booster base to put who ever he needed on the field. It was 1970 - and Bryant was smart enough to realize that an all-white team was not going to be viable in major college sports.

He may have possessed a more enlightened social view - or he may simply have been brutally pragmatic.
Maybe this is just a fable-like spin to make the man in the hounds-tooth hat look better in the eyes of history

 

[RU206]

I thought it was creative story telling to put Bryant in a positive light. I always thought Bryant was powerful enough to bring in black players if he wanted. But maybe racism is Alabama was more powerful than Bear Bryant

 

[Shelby65]

Racism is ingrained in southern culture. It's how folks are still raised. Similar to religion across the country in that you can't blame an individual for his/her core beliefs.

Further, 'integrating' football had nothing to do with morality and equal opportunity and only had to do winning football games.

Even today there are segregated hs proms in the south.

 

[LETSGORU91_]

Worse yet is with the subtle racism that still exist in the region - black athletes from the north are still willing to play at such institutions.

Great point..yet those very same families want to knock the statues down of historical slave owners and take a knee during the country's national anthem in protest..

 

[cicero grimes]

Thanks for posting. Was there with my dad. My first RU game. Sadly we got screwed on officiating that game which seems to be a tradition for RU.

 

[RUMBA-JK]

I thought it was creative story telling to put Bryant in a positive light. I always thought Bryant was powerful enough to bring in black players if he wanted. But maybe racism is Alabama was more powerful than Bear Bryant

I do not know where the ultimate truth lies - but according to the following article - the institutional forces opposing integration of the team were intense - it is said that Gov. George Wallace had repeatedly made it clear to Bryant that funding would be cut if Bryant tried to make such a move.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1616387-how-bear-bryant-became-the-branch-rickey-of-alabama

Kind of stunning to see how all pervasive segregation still was - "In September of 1967, Kentucky’s Nat Northington suited up for the Wildcats in a game against Ole Miss, becoming the first African-American to see action in an SEC game"

 

[Shelby65]

The article shows what I stated above. Integration was only about winning games. Morality had nothing to with it, and it's not different today in many areas in the south.

 

[RUBigFrank]

The article shows what I stated above. Integration was only about winning games. Morality had nothing to with it, and it's not different today in many areas in the south.

So a more effective protest is to not play at SEC schools?

 

[oliverm_rivals]

Changing the topic.
Did anyone my age realize Alabama and LSU and the SEC did not have black players?

It never dawned on me as a kid in NJ.

How else would Forrest Gump been the PR for Bama?

 

[Tango Two]

More memories here:

https://rutgers.forums.rivals.com/t...-the-rutgers-alabama-game-back-in-1980.108986

 

[REDRICH65]

Yes, I was there. Greatest game of Frank Burn's career. Remember driving up the NJ Turnpike behind a caravan of RVs plastered with "Roll Tide" on them. Thought to myself " This is what Big Time football is like."

 

[rutger80]

I was at the game. It was a great defensive performance. We stuffed their wishbone offense and forced them to pass to win, which they almost never did in those days. They ended up 10-2. The problem was, even though we played the #1 team to the wire, we dropped the next two games, including a loss to William & Mary.

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/rutgers/1980-schedule.html

Not that I could have ever imagined it at the time, but my older son ended up graduating from Alabama.
That is a fun game day experience.

 

[cohwx]

I was at the game. It was a great defensive performance. We stuffed their wishbone offense and forced them to pass to win, which they almost never did in those days. They ended up 10-2. The problem was, even though we played the #1 team to the wire, we dropped the next two games, including a loss to William & Mary.

Yep...was at the game and remember what followed. After "almost" beating Alabama, people thought (or assumed) we'd "arrived" and were now a big time football school. William & Mary took care of that.

 

[RU31trap]

ZAP, there was a book about USC and Sam Bam Cunningham playing Bama. Cunningham had like 4 touchdowns versus Bama and Bear decided he needed to recruit black players. Do not remember the name of the book.

This is true. I believe this was on or around 1970

 

[Knight Shift]

Yep...was at the game and remember what followed. After "almost" beating Alabama, people thought (or assumed) we'd "arrived" and were now a big time football school. William & Mary took care of that.

So Rutgers pulled a Rutgers even back then?

Always thought that Dick Anderson started the slow decline of RU football that continued under Shea and Graber, but as noted above, Anderson beat a couple/few big boys. Or maybe RU was just meandering in the 1980's and then in free fall until Schiano and Mulcahy arrived?

 

[RU31trap]

1980 Alabama vs. Rutgers
Afterward, an Alabama cheerleader posed outside her team's dressing room with a red sign with the number 301 in white numerals on it. That is the number of wins Bryant now has. He needs just 14 more to pass Pop Warner and Amos Alonzo Stagg to become the winningest collegiate coach of all time. But inside the locker room Bear didn't feel much like a winner last Saturday.

 

[cicero grimes]

Bama travelled really well. I remember all the RV's outside Giants stadium from down there. Another memory was the college guys sitting in front of my dad and I. They started out rooting for Bama. Then they produced some Mary Jane and proceeded to get so high they started rooting for RU. They were asleep by the 3rd quarter.

 

[rutger80]

So Rutgers pulled a Rutgers even back then?

Always thought that Dick Anderson started the slow decline of RU football that continued under Shea and Graber, but as noted above, Anderson beat a couple/few big boys. Or maybe RU was just meandering in the 1980's and then in free fall until Schiano and Mulcahy arrived?

I'm going to have to say the first time Rutgers pulled a 'Rutgers' was 1979. We had beaten Tennessee and then Army at Giants Stadium and with 2 games left, were 7-2 with bowl scouts (other than the Garden State Bowl) watching, came home to lose to freakin Villanova. Rebounded to win at Louisville, but the damage had been done.

 

[Bob Chaewsky_rivals]

Found this. Was anybody there?

Found this too. This was the infamous "What's a Rutgers" that we won:

How much you want for it?

 

[Knight Shift]

How much you want for it?

I found the images of these things. Someone posted them on the RU Football Facebook page. Figured it would be worthwhile to share them here.

 

[G- RUnit]

Anderson was a good coach... just was too in awe of PSU.

 

[knightfan7]

I purchased 40 tickets for our employee association and organized a tailgate for anyone who wanted to join in. Really thought RU was going to pull it out.

 

[GSBowl]

Zappaa, to clear up your statement about TN and AL not having black players, that was true prior to either of these two games. When we played TN in 1979, they had many black players on the field that day.

 

[Armor and Sword]

I was at that game, still remember Bear trotting out of the tunnel with the houndstooth hat and all. Also the first time I ever saw cheerleaders (Bama) with a portable PA system.

I wonder how that RU team that played Bama that year would do against our current team.

Kentucky was the first school in the SEC to have black players. College Gameday did a piece on one of the players for the Clemson-Louisville game.

http://www.courier-journal.com/stor...entary-hopes-shed-light-uk-pioneers/84225560/

 

[chrisfromnyc]

Found this. Was anybody there?

Found this too. This was the infamous "What's a Rutgers" that we won:

I was there - great game - my brother kicked two field goals. RU really put it on Bama physically. Lots of talent on that squad. Pissed it away the next week at home against William & Mary - classic Rutgers.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

I was there

 

[e5fdny]

If I was a casting director and I needed a guy that looked like a coach I'd call Frank Burns.

 

[RUsince52]

Made it to both. Playing the #1 team in the country was unimaginable as a RU fan. We almost pulled it off, but more importantly found out we could play with them. Didn't play as well in the return trip to Bama.
The UT game was so much different because it was HC and the circumstances leading up to the game. Don't think the Tenn fans still believe we won and held them to a TD. It was a great game and a celebration thereafter back in Nashville with family and relatives.

 

[BigRnj]

I had an end zone seat... IT WAS A SACK FUMBLE AND WE RECOVERED IT INSIDE THE 5 ... I wish we had instant replay back then, if so it is very likely we win.

I also recall a sorority house had a banner the next day saying "We sure gave the bear a hellava scare" and Bear Bryant said two things I still remember one was essentially "we won but we didn't beat Rutgers" and the other was something like "ain't nobody ever shut down our wishbone like that."

It was a bit of a moral victory for us (even though I hate the term). Bryant had just won his 301st game and I think they were on a 30 + game winning streak. This was supposed to be a treat for his players ... bring them to the big city and cruise to a simple victory.