The Crimson Tide
The Crimson Tide
The Official Illustrated History of Alabama Football, National Championship Edition
Celebrated author and die-hard Bama fan Winston Groom provides a lively illustrated history of the team that has dominated college football and has been ranked consistently among the best in the nation, now with 13 national championships to its credit. Beginning in 1892, when William G. Little first introduced the game at the Capstone, to the stellar 2009 season during which the Crimson Tide went undefeated and won first the SEC Championship against poll-favorite Florida and then the BCS National Championship against Texas, this story includes all the illustrious moments, players, teams and coaches, and fans and stats that collectively make Alabama a proven winner, time after time.
This revised and updated National Championship Edition contains two new chapters to cover the dark days at the beginning of the 21st century (2001–2006) and the dawn of the Nick Saban era (2007–2010); a new foreword by Allen Barra; updated appendixes for all-time lettermen, game records, bowl appearances, national and SEC championships; over 60 fabulous new full-color photographs; and two new sidebars on the historic Heisman Trophy win by Mark Ingram and Jeremiah Castille’s view of Alabama’s championship tradition.
“I was as thrilled as any other fan of the Tide when we won the 2009 National Championship; it brought all the 1992 memories back. I couldn’t have been more proud to see it happen again. Winston Groom’s book is a treasure every Bama fan should have as it celebrates just how glorious a tradition we all have.”
—Gene Stallings, coach of the 1992 national championship team
“Alabama football is a story of heroes, of a team you can never count out, because everyone who puts on a uniform for Alabama knows the tradition he represents, and that he is expected to be prepared to give his best, every time. Winston Groom knows that, and he tells the story so we can all relive the glories of yesterday—and of today.”
—Mal Moore, Director of Athletics, The University of Alabama
'I gain a deeper appreciation for all that is Alabama football every time I come back to the Capstone. Every chapter of this book embodies the Crimson Tide spirit and complements anyone’s collection of Bama memorabilia.”
—Jay Barker, 1991–94 teams
Winston Groom, a graduate of The University of Alabama, is a novelist and historian. He is the author of fifteen books, including the best-selling Forrest Gump. He also wrote the acclaimed Vietnam War novel Better Times Than These, the prize-winning As Summers Die, and the Pulitzer Prize nominee Conversations with the Enemy. He has also written six books of American history. Mr. Groom recently won the 2011 Harper Lee Award for a Distinguished Alabama Writer. He lives with his wife and daughter in Point Clear, Alabama.
Allen Barra has been a columnist and feature writer for the Wall Street Journal since 1995. He is the author of The Last Coach: A Life of Paul “Bear” Bryant.
Sixteen and Counting
The National Championships of Alabama Football
Edited by Kenneth Gaddy; Introduction by Kenneth Gaddy; Foreword by Bill Battle
