Alabama Football: A Tie Is Like Kissing Your Sister – 10 Crimson Tide Tie Games
By Ronald Evans
Alabama Football – New Orleans, LA Sept. 24, 1960
Alabama 7 – Tulane 7
Paul Bryant’s 1959 Alabama football team compiled a 7-2-1 record, including a defeat of Auburn and a Liberty Bowl loss of 7-0 against Penn State in Philadelphia. After the pain of the Ears Whitworth years, Bryant was clearly building a winning football program.
Alabama opened the 1960 season with a 21-6 win over Georgia in Birmingham.
The second game was Tulane in New Orleans. The Green Wave had some historical success in football. Tulane was the Southern Conference Champion in 1929 and 1931 and Co-Champion in 1930. The Green Wave also achieved SEC Co-Championships in 1934 and 1939. But in the decade preceding the 1960 season, Tulane had winning seasons only three times.
Under coach Andy Pilney Tulane only won eight games 1957-1959. Alabama was favored by seven and a half points, but to many fans, the teams were at least two touchdowns apart.
Alabama trailed until the last minute of the game. Quarterback Pat Trammell marshaled a 58-yard drive and scored on a four-yard run. All that was needed for the win was a made extra point. A bad snap denied the Tide a point and left the score tied.
Alabama successfully recovered an onside kick. A Trammell pass took the Tide to the Tulane 12-yard-line as time expired.