60 years ago, Alabama fans witnessed the beginning of an incredible run.
Bear Bryant was hired in 1958 and steadily improved the Tide in each of his first three seasons. Alabama went from 2-7 the year before he was hired to 5-4-1 then to 7-2-2 and then to 8-1-2 in 1960, with a third place finish in the SEC, the Tide’s best since winning the conference in 1953.
The 1961 season really got the party rolling, however. Here’s how Bryant described histeam (I’m pulling this from quoting from C.J. Schexnayder’s excellent piece from the 50th anniversary, which I highly recommend everyone reading for a more in-depth look at the 1961 season):
“In 1961 we had the best team in college football.