November 24, 2009

Alabama and Auburn Through The Decades

Alabama-Auburn is arguably the most intense rivalry in all of CFB, and is defintely the most heated intrastate contest. But few realize how close the series is despite Auburn being in Alabama's shadow of national and conference titles for so long. Dubbed the Iron Bowl because of it's long being played in the iron and steel city of Birmingham, the game is now played on a home and home basis, Alabama having removed it's affiliation with Birmingham and Legion Field a while ago.

By Friday night, Auburn will finish the first ten years of the new millenium either 8-2 or 7-3 against it's arch foe and will be able to plant it's orange and blue flag on the decade known as the 'O's, the second decade out of three in the post Paul Bryant era that they've been able to do that. Although there's a real chance of finishing out 0-2, Auburn fans can excuse this by saying that the law of averages merely caught up with them. Alabama fans will say that Saban is in charge now and that this is what Tigers can look forward to for the next ten years. Regardless, a new dawn will approach and it'll again be up for grabs in the Iron Bowl for the new decade 2010-2019.

Most teams tend to analyze their big rivalries by the decade, but it's a bit harder for Auburn and Alabama fans for two reasons: 1) the 41-year stoppage of play between 1907 and 1948, and 2) the long shadow cast over the series by Bear Bryant. The tendency, even for Auburn fans, is to want to break it into three parts: before Bear, during, and after. But there's more to it than just one man's imprint. Even the scarcity of games played before the breakup had their own dynamic, as well as did the three decades following the tenure of arguably the greatest football coach ever. The idea of a 25-year coach is an anachronism today, much like the leather football helmet, and I doubt that we'll ever again compare rivalries in CFB solely by the span of a coach's career.

So for a look back, we're going to have a look ALL the way back. Any Auburn fan can tell you that they helped inaugurate CFB in the deep south with a game in Atlanta against Georgia in 1892. Actually, that game was played in February of that year, but is widely credited as being in the 1891 season. Auburn's real 1892 season began in November that year, as they played three games in three days and another February game in 1893, (against Alabama) comprising a four game season. For Alabama, they first started playing football in the fall of 1892, with two games in November, a third in December, and then the February game with Auburn. That was their first season in 1892--four games. It's probably lost to history how THE University of Alabama got upstaged by the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama in bringing this new game of football to the state, but that extra nine month's preparation time might have been the difference in the beginning for the school that would become Auburn.

1892 - 1907: Auburn, 7-4-1. A little over a decade, but a convenient place to stop before the Dark Years--the stoppage of play for 41 seasons. The only tie in the series came that last year, 1907, and probably helped fuel some of the discontent that led to the cancellation of the series. The fact that two games were played in Tuscaloosa during this time, four in Montgomery and the rest in Birmingham were probably the primary reasons. Little else can be gleaned from this period other than the record. Football was still in it's infacy, but it was being played. Both teams were still members of the SIAA, the first athletic conference in the country, and Auburn even won a conference crown in 1900.

1908-1947: The Dark Years. No games played. During this time, Alabama and Auburn remained in the same conferences, both leaping from the SIAA in 1922 to help found the Southern Conference. Alabama had five Rose Bowl appearances in the 1920s and 30s, putting southern football on the map and becoming a premier team outside the northeast and midwest. Both teams defected again from the Southern conference to start the Southeastern Conference in 1933. During this four-decade long interval, Auburn captured two SIAA conference championships and one Southern crown. Alabama racked up four Southern conference and five SEC crowns

1948-49: Tie, 2-2. Shouldn't really count for much, as the series began again for the 1948 season as a result of state legislature action. That 1948 game is most notable for the 55-0 beating that Auburn took from the Tide, the largest margin of victory of any team in the series. The decade of the 1940s, marred by many teams not fielding squads because of the war, had little of consequence for both teams. Auburn achieved no conference crowns but Alabama had one in 1945, one of coach Frank Thomas' last teams that went 10-0.

1950-1959: Tie, 5-5.Auburn outscored the Tide by an average of 16-12 during this decade, which was marked by the arrival of Paul Bryant for the 1958 season. Shug Jordan, Auburn's legendary coach, assumed head coaching duties on the Plains in 1951. Auburn won it's first SEC title and only national title in 1957. Alabama itself won a conference title in 1953.

1960-1969: Alabama, 8-2. Alabama, under Bryant, used this decade to establish themselves as the dominant programs in CFB. They outscored Auburn by an average 22-10. Auburn won no conference titles in the 1960s, but Alabama won four SEC crowns and three legitimate national titles during this time, the first half of a two-decade long stretch of dominance by the Tide.

1970-1979: Alabama, 8-2. Alabama continued to roll under Bryant, who saw Shug retire after the '75 season. Bama outscored the Tigers 30-13 during the decade, which started out 2-1 for the Tigers, but ended with seven straight losses. Probably the 'dark' years for Auburn during the series, the Tigers won no conference titles. Alabama won or shared eight, along with three more national titles for Bryant. Definitely the most dominating decade by the Tide over their arch rival.

1980-1989: Auburn, 6-4. The decade that saw the final vestiges of the Bear and a new era ushered in for Auburn. After losing the first two games in the 80s to bring the streak to nine, the Tigers finally gave Bryant a retirement gift, a loss in his final Iron Bowl. The series went back and forth with two games apiece before Auburn finally won the last four of the decade under the helm of Pat Dye. The average score was tied, 19-19. Auburn won or shared four SEC titles during this time while Alabama had two.

1990-1999: Alabama, 7-3. Bama rebounded in 1990, under the steady hand of Gene Stallings, who gave the Tide coaching stability for a brief interval. Dye was gone after 1992, and a new conference championship system was brought in with divisional play, ensuring no more split titles. Alabama was dominant in the early part of the 90s, while Auburn had some success under Terry Bowden's brief span. Alabama won two outright SEC crowns and won their 7th legitimate national title in 1992. Alabama outscored Auburn on average 21-16.

2000-2008: Auburn, 7-2. Under Tommy Tuberville, Auburn had success early and often, building a six game streak against Alabama for the first time ever. Alabama suffered it's worst coaching upheaval ever during this period, but felt they righted the ship under Nick Saban. The average score was again dead even, 17-17. In 2004, Auburn won it's first SEC title since conference realignment, but Alabama has yet to win an SEC crown, which could mark the first decade in 80 years that they have failed to do so. They'll get a chance to do that in Atlanta on December 5th.

Comments:

Alabama and Auburn Through The Decades
Alabama-Auburn is arguably the most intense rivalry in all of CFB, and is defintely the most heated intrastate contest. But few realize how close the series is despite Auburn being in Alabama's shadow of national and conference titles for so long. Dubbed the Iron Bowl because of it's long being played in the iron and steel city of Birmingham, the game is now played on a home and home basis, Alabama having removed it's affiliation with Birmingham and Legion Field a while ago. By Friday night, Auburn will finish the first ten years of the new millenium either 8-2 or 7-3 against it's arch foe and will be able to plant it's orange and blue flag on the decade known as the 'O's, the second decade out of three in the post Paul Bryant era that they've been able to do that. Although there's a real chance of finishing out 0-2, Auburn fans can excuse this by saying that the law of averages merely caught up with them. Alabama fans will say that Saban is in charge now and that this is what Tigers can look forward to for the next ten years. Regardless, a new dawn will approach and it'll again be up for grabs in the Iron Bowl for the new decade 2010-2019. Most teams tend to analyze their big rivalries by the decade, but it's a bit harder for Auburn and Alabama fans for two reasons: 1) the 41-year stoppage of play between 1907 and 1948, and 2) the long shadow cast over the series by Bear Bryant. The tendency, even for Auburn fans, is to want to break it into three parts: before Bear, during, and after. But there's more to it than just one man's imprint. Even the scarcity of games played before the breakup had their own dynamic, as well as did the three decades following the tenure of arguably the greatest football coach ever. The idea of a 25-year coach is an anachronism today, much like the leather football helmet, and I doubt that we'll ever again compare rivalries in CFB solely by the span of a coach's career. So for a look back, we're going to have a look ALL the way back. Any Auburn fan can tell you that they helped inaugurate CFB in the deep south with a game in Atlanta against Georgia in 1892. Actually, that game was played in February of that year, but is widely credited as being in the 1891 season. Auburn's real 1892 season began in November that year, as they played three games in three days and another February game in 1893, (against Alabama) comprising a four game season. For Alabama, they first started playing football in the fall of 1892, with two games in November, a third in December, and then the February game with Auburn. That was their first season in 1892--four games. It's probably lost to history how THE University of Alabama got upstaged by the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama in bringing this new game of football to the state, but that extra nine month's preparation time might have been the difference in the beginning for the school that would become Auburn. 1892 - 1907: Auburn, 7-4-1. A little over a decade, but a convenient place to stop before the Dark Years--the stoppage of play for 41 seasons. The only tie in the series came that last year, 1907, and probably helped fuel some of the discontent that led to the cancellation of the series. The fact that two games were played in Tuscaloosa during this time, four in Montgomery and the rest in Birmingham were probably the primary reasons. Little else can be gleaned from this period other than the record. Football was still in it's infacy, but it was being played. Both teams were still members of the SIAA, the first athletic conference in the country, and Auburn even won a conference crown in 1900. 1908-1947: The Dark Years. No games played. During this time, Alabama and Auburn remained in the same conferences, both leaping from the SIAA in 1922 to help found the Southern Conference. Alabama had five Rose Bowl appearances in the 1920s and 30s, putting southern football on the map and becoming a premier team outside the northeast and midwest. Both teams defected again from the Southern conference to start the Southeastern Conference in 1933. During this four-decade long interval, Auburn captured two SIAA conference championships and one Southern crown. Alabama racked up four Southern conference and five SEC crowns 1948-49: Tie, 2-2. Shouldn't really count for much, as the series began again for the 1948 season as a result of state legislature action. That 1948 game is most notable for the 55-0 beating that Auburn took from the Tide, the largest margin of victory of any team in the series. The decade of the 1940s, marred by many teams not fielding squads because of the war, had little of consequence for both teams. Auburn achieved no conference crowns but Alabama had one in 1945, one of coach Frank Thomas' last teams that went 10-0. 1950-1959: Tie, 5-5.Auburn outscored the Tide by an average of 16-12 during this decade, which was marked by the arrival of Paul Bryant for the 1958 season. Shug Jordan, Auburn's legendary coach, assumed head coaching duties on the Plains in 1951. Auburn won it's first SEC title and only national title in 1957. Alabama itself won a conference title in 1953. 1960-1969: Alabama, 8-2. Alabama, under Bryant, used this decade to establish themselves as the dominant programs in CFB. They outscored Auburn by an average 22-10. Auburn won no conference titles in the 1960s, but Alabama won four SEC crowns and three legitimate national titles during this time, the first half of a two-decade long stretch of dominance by the Tide. 1970-1979: Alabama, 8-2. Alabama continued to roll under Bryant, who saw Shug retire after the '75 season. Bama outscored the Tigers 30-13 during the decade, which started out 2-1 for the Tigers, but ended with seven straight losses. Probably the 'dark' years for Auburn during the series, the Tigers won no conference titles. Alabama won or shared eight, along with three more national titles for Bryant. Definitely the most dominating decade by the Tide over their arch rival. 1980-1989: Auburn, 6-4. The decade that saw the final vestiges of the Bear and a new era ushered in for Auburn. After losing the first two games in the 80s to bring the streak to nine, the Tigers finally gave Bryant a retirement gift, a loss in his final Iron Bowl. The series went back and forth with two games apiece before Auburn finally won the last four of the decade under the helm of Pat Dye. The average score was tied, 19-19. Auburn won or shared four SEC titles during this time while Alabama had two. 1990-1999: Alabama, 7-3. Bama rebounded in 1990, under the steady hand of Gene Stallings, who gave the Tide coaching stability for a brief interval. Dye was gone after 1992, and a new conference championship system was brought in with divisional play, ensuring no more split titles. Alabama was dominant in the early part of the 90s, while Auburn had some success under Terry Bowden's brief span. Alabama won two outright SEC crowns and won their 7th legitimate national title in 1992. Alabama outscored Auburn on average 21-16. 2000-2008: Auburn, 7-2. Under Tommy Tuberville, Auburn had success early and often, building a six game streak against Alabama for the first time ever. Alabama suffered it's worst coaching upheaval ever during this period, but felt they righted the ship under Nick Saban. The average score was again dead even, 17-17. In 2004, Auburn won it's first SEC title since conference realignment, but Alabama has yet to win an SEC crown, which could mark the first decade in 80 years that they have failed to do so. They'll get a chance to do that in Atlanta on December 5th.