1897 Alabama Crimson White football team

{{Infobox college sports team season

| year = 1897

| team = Alabama Crimson White

| sport = football

| image =

| image_size =

| conference = Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association

| short_conf = SIAA

| record = 1–0

| conf_record = 0–0

| head_coach = Allen McCants

| hc_year = 1st

| captain = Frank S. White

| stadium = The Quad

| next_year = 1899

}}

{{1897 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings}}

The 1897 Alabama Crimson White football team{{#tag:ref|Alabama football teams were not referred to as the "Crimson Tide" until the 1907 season. Prior to 1907, the team was called the "Crimson White" from 1893 to 1906 and the "Cadets" in 1892.{{cite web |url=http://bryantmuseum.ua.edu/direction.cfm?dir=traditions1 |title=How the Crimson Tide got its name |website=bryantmuseum.ua.edu |publisher=Paul W. Bryant Museum |access-date=June 30, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130630200054/http://bryantmuseum.ua.edu/direction.cfm?dir=traditions1 |archive-date=June 30, 2013 }}{{cite news |first=Scott |last=Kennedy |title=Tide football tradition began with 1892 team |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ljQdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kKUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6703%2C2372481 |via=Google News Archives |newspaper=The Tuscaloosa News |date=April 8, 1992 |page=2F |access-date=June 30, 2013}}|group="A"}} (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the University of Alabama in the 1897 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. The team was led by head coach Allen McCants, in his first season, and played their home games at The Quad in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. In what was the sixth season of Alabama football, the team finished with a record of one win and zero losses (1–0, 0–0 SIAA).

In the spring of 1895, the University Board of Trustees passed a rule that prohibited athletic teams from competing off-campus for athletic events, and as such only one game was scheduled for the season.{{cite book |last=Griffin |first=John Chandler |title=Alabama vs. Auburn: Gridiron Grudge Since 1893 |year=2001 |publisher=Hill Street Press |location=Athens, Georgia |isbn= 1-58818-044-1 |page=13 |chapter=1896: Trustees Thwart Alabama}} In their only game, the Crimson White shutout the Tuscaloosa Athletic Club on The Quad.

Schedule

{{CFB schedule

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = November 13

| w/l = w

| nonconf = y

| opponent = Tuscaloosa Athletic Club

| site_stadium = The Quad

| site_cityst = Tuscaloosa, AL

| score = 6–0

| source = {{cite news |title=Football game: The University defeated the Tuscaloosa Athletics yesterday on the college campus |publisher=NewsBank: America's Historical Newspapers |newspaper=The Age-Herald |location=Birmingham, Alabama |date=November 19, 1897 |page=3}}

}}

{{cite web|url=https://rolltide.com/sports/2016/6/10/sports-m-footbl-archive-m-footbl-archive-1897-html.aspx?id=278 |title=1897 Alabama football schedule |work=RollTide.com |publisher=University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics |accessdate=February 17, 2021}}{{#tag:ref|For the 1897 season, point values were different from those used in contemporary games. In 1893 a touchdown was worth four points, a field goal was worth five points and an extra point was worth two points.{{cite web|url=http://www.rolltide.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/m-footbl-results-archive.html |title=Scoring values |work=RollTide.com |publisher=University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics |access-date=August 22, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125000700/http://www.rolltide.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/m-footbl-results-archive.html |archive-date=November 25, 2011 }}|group="A"}}

Game summaries

=Tuscaloosa Athletic Club=

In what was the only game played as part of the 1897 season due to prohibition against playing away games, Alabama defeated the Tuscaloosa Athletic Club 6–0 at The Quad in Tuscaloosa.{{cite web |url=http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/alab/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/1897-season.pdf |title=1897 Season Recap |work=RollTide.com |publisher=University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics |access-date=November 2, 2011 |format=PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708212116/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/alab/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/1897-season.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-08 |url-status=dead }} Immediately after their victory, Alabama disbanded their team for the remainder of the season due to an inability to secure any additional home games.

Players

class="toccolours" style="text-align: left;"
colspan="9" style="background:#A32638; color:white; text-align:center;"\|Alabama Crimson White 1897 roster
\| style="font-size:95%; vertical-align:top;"\| Guards E. L. McIntosh D. D. Patton Tackles J. W. Blair W. E. Matthews \| style="width: 25px;" \| \| style="font-size:95%; vertical-align:top;"\|Center S. A. Cowan Ends J. G. Hillman E. P. Windham \| style="width: 25px;" \| \| style="font-size:95%; vertical-align:top;"\|Backs C. Marriott Ed Tutwiler Frank S. White W. T. White \| style="width: 25px;" \| \| style="font-size:95%; vertical-align:top;"\|Substitutes T. Burke William Hester Frank Milhouse A. P. Tyson

class="toccolours" style="text-align: left;"

colspan="9" style="background:#A32638; color:white; text-align:center;"|Alabama Crimson White 1897 roster

| style="font-size:95%; vertical-align:top;"|

Guards