1941
COTTON BOWL CHAMPS Alabama received a share of the 1941 title by being named to the honor roll of the Houlgate System. The Crimson Tide team finished the year 9-2 with conference losses to Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. The 1941 team was gifted with brilliant end Holt Rast earning unanimous All-America accolades and plaudits of being one of the best 11 players in the first 50 years of Alabama football. Along with a 29-21 victory over SWC champion Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl, significant wins for the Tide came against Georgia, featuring future Heisman Trophy winner Frank Sinkwich, along with Tennessee, Georgia Tech and Miami. In the Cotton Bowl win, halfback Jimmy Nelson returned a punt 72 yards for one touchdown and scored on a 21-yard run for another. Rast, concluding his career, returned an interception for a touchdown and Russ Craft scored twice. After the game, Nelson, Rast and Don Whitmire shared MVP honors.
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