Scott Allen
What Exactly Is a Crimson Tide?
by Scott Allen - January 7, 2010 - 2:32 PM

Last month, Scott Allen wrote about the origins of the nicknames of the 10 schools in BCS bowls. In honor of tonight’s championship game between Alabama and Texas, here’s the scoop on where they got “Crimson Tide” and “Longhorns.”

Alabama Crimson Tide

CrimsonTideHugh Roberts, sports editor for the Birmingham Age-Herald, is widely credited as being the first to use “Crimson Tide” to refer to Alabama’s football team. Roberts used the term to describe crimson-and-white-clad Alabama’s surprising performance during a rain-soaked 6-6 tie with heavily favored Auburn in 1907. Henry “Zipp” Newman, who became the sports editor of the Birmingham News at the age of 25, helped popularize the nickname. Sportswriters are also to thank for the elephant that serves as Alabama’s mascot. The elephant reference dates back to the school’s 10-0 season in 1930, when sportswriters began referring to Alabama head coach Wallace Wade’s hulking linemen as the Red Elephants.

Texas Longhorns

longhornsIn the early 1900s, Texas’s athletic teams were known primarily as the Varsity or Steers, and occasionally the Longhorns. In 1913, school benefactor H.J. Lutcher Stark, who had previously served as the football team’s manager, donated warm-up blankets with the word “Longhorn” sewn into them. The student body adopted Longhorns as the school’s official nickname and introduced a live Longhorn as the official mascot in 1916.

Read the full story: “How the 10 Schools in BCS Bowls Got Their Nicknames.“

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Comments (18)

  1. Roll Tide Roll!

    posted by Cheyenne on 1-7-2010 at 2:50 pm

  2. GO HORNS!

    posted by Renis on 1-7-2010 at 3:00 pm

  3. Alabama, Crimson Tide, look at the fools on the other side!

    posted by Sara in AL on 1-7-2010 at 3:01 pm

  4. GET YOUR HORNS UP!

    posted by austin homes on 1-7-2010 at 3:08 pm

  5. HOOK ‘EM HORNS!!!!!

    posted by auburngirl on 1-7-2010 at 3:09 pm

  6. All y’all yelling “roll tide”: don’t you know the game is played on land!!! GO HORNS!!!!!!!

    posted by Jaime on 1-7-2010 at 3:30 pm

  7. Tell ‘em about how Bevo got it’s name…

    posted by Troy H. on 1-7-2010 at 3:30 pm

  8. Hook ‘Em!

    posted by Josh on 1-7-2010 at 3:42 pm

  9. Roll Tide!

    posted by Nathan on 1-7-2010 at 3:48 pm

  10. Hope the T-sips lose.

    posted by Don on 1-7-2010 at 5:32 pm

  11. Bevo got his name because 95 years ago we lost to the Aggies 13-0, someone(supposedly Aggies) snuck in and branded our poor mascot with 13-0 the next year after we beat them 21-7. UT turned the 13 into a B, the dash into an E and crammed a V in front of the 0 making Bevo – the name of a beer at the time.

    It’s not like that’s embarrassing.

    Hook ‘em!!!

    posted by nikki on 1-7-2010 at 6:18 pm

  12. ROFLMAO… Recaptcha is “congress paunches”

    (Go Horns)

    posted by Kristi on 1-7-2010 at 7:20 pm

  13. As an Alabama resident I can safely announce:
    REAL MEN WEAR HOUNDSTOOTH.

    Roll Tide roll <3

    posted by Lauren on 1-7-2010 at 8:47 pm

  14. Hook ‘em Horns!!!

    (reCaptcha: woos suspected)

    posted by tej on 1-7-2010 at 9:17 pm

  15. Headline made me LOL….”What exactly is a Crimson tide?”

    posted by Sarah on 1-7-2010 at 9:20 pm

  16. RTR!

    posted by BamaAlum on 1-7-2010 at 11:22 pm

  17. OK, so how did Georgetown get their nickname, or, whatinthehell is a Hoya??

    -”BB”-

    posted by Bicycle Bill on 1-7-2010 at 11:44 pm

  18. Ramma Jamma. :)

    posted by Connie on 1-8-2010 at 12:10 am

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