The storied history of Alabama football includes many Tide players on All-American teams. 134 Crimson Tide players have earned first-team honors.
The Alabama football history of All-Americans does not go back to the early All-American teams. Walter Camp and Casper Whitney combined the media (it was not called media then) and football worlds in 1889 with the first All-American team.
In their minds football meant the schools in the east. Alabama football would not exist until four seasons later. The Alabama Crimson Tide had to wait until 1915 for its first All-American, William T. ‘Bully’ VandeGraff. The second Crimson Tide selection did not occur until 1925, with the Tide National Championship team quarterback, ‘Pooley’ Hubert.
Then the pace of recognition quickened somewhat. When Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant returned to the Capstone in 1958, there had been 27, first-team All-Americans. Bryant was not one of them.
In Bryant’s 25 seasons as the Tide’s head man, his teams included 37 first-team All-Americans. One reason for the number not being higher is Bryant, once the rules allowed, rotated his players frequently. The result was many player’s stats did not match national counterparts who played most of every game. Another reason was Bryant appreciated lesser skilled players, like himself, who would not quit in any situation. His genius was having enough talent and an abundance of ‘never quit’ guys to build championship teams.
In the 24 seasons between Bryant and Nick Saban, Alabama football produced 23, first-team All-Americans. In more than a few of those too many, tough seasons, the Crimson Tide was not deep with talent.
In just 12 Alabama football seasons, Nick Saban’s teams have included 45, first-team All-Americans. Reviewed from another perspective, the numbers under Nick Saban are even more staggering. From 1915-2006, Alabama football produced 87 first-team All-Americans, eight of whom were unanimous selections. From 2007-2018, Alabama football produced 45 first-team, All-Americans, 17 of whom were unanimous selections. There is no indication the pace of more first-team All-Americans will lessen after the 2018 season, or anytime soon.
There are many ways to measure success in a college football program. First-team All-Americans is one of many valid measurements. Whatever has been the combination of recruiting and development, it is easy to see Nick Saban has mastered it.
Some lesser-known Alabama football All-American facts
Two-Time, First-Team All-Americans
- Fred Sington; Offensive Line; 1930 and 1931
- Johnny Cain; Fullback; 1931 and 1932
- Bobby Johns; Defensive Back; 1966 and 1967
- Johnny Musso; Running back; 1970 and 1971
- John Hannah; Offensive Line; 1970 and 1971
- Leroy Cook; Defensive End; 1974 and 1975
- Thomas Boyd; Linebacker; 1980 and 1981
- Tommy Wilcox; Defensive Back; 1981 and 1982
- Bobby Humphrey; Running Back; 1986 and 1987
- Antonio Langham; Cornerback; 1992 and 1993
- Michael Proctor; Kicker; 1993 and 1994
- Barrett Jones; Offensive Line; 2011 and 2012
- C. J. Mosley; Linebacker; 2012 and 2013
- J. K. Scott; Punter; 2014 and 2017
- Minkah Fitzpatrick; Defensive Back; 2016 and 2017
Three-Time, First-Team All-Americans
- Woodrow Lowe; Linebacker; 1973, 1974 and 1975
- Cornelius Bennett; Linebacker; 1984, 1985 and 1986
How many more 2019 first-team All-American selections? Depending on who stays healthy it could be three, maybe even four or more.