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The best of the best in Alabama High
School Football over the past 100 seasons.

The Greatest Games

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          The Tuscaloosa Black Bears came into the season ending game against St. Louis University City riding a 43-game winning streak. St. Louis had also not lost a game in more than two years. Something had to give and for the better part of three quarters it appeared to be the Bears.

          That is before Captain Buck Hughes took the team on his shoulders and carried them to a 18-12 victory over the Missouri team. Tuscaloosa ended its fifth consecutive season without a loss and a perfect 9-0 record.

          The game was played at Denny Stadium which at that time was located behind the University of Alabama President's mansion in Tuscaloosa. An estimated crowd of 5,500 spectators were on hand for the 2 p.m. kickoff between the interstate matchup of powerhouses.

          The Indians from Missouri got on the scoreboard midway through the second quarter when Johnson tossed a 19-yard pass to McMurray. After a failed kick attempt, the Indians led 6-0 as the two teams went to the halftime intermission. The Tuscaloosa defense had allowed only six points in the first eight games of the 1929 season combined. They had not trailed all season long.

          St. Louis added another score in the third on a Vescovo to Schoenthalter pass for a 12-0 lead. The game looked bleak for the Bears as they had not been able to get the offense going all afternoon.

          The game began to take a turn when Buck Hughes started finding running room in the Indians' defense. He scored three second half touchdowns on runs of 45, 2 and 40 yards to lead the Bears to a comeback victory.

          The first touchdown came on a 72-yard drive following the Indians last score. The five-play drive left the Bears trailing 12-6. The game tying score came on a 65-yard march by the Bears. Hughes carried the football every play during the march and scored on a two-yard run.

          Late in the fourth quarter, the Bears got rolling again as Hughes caught a pass for a first down before galloping 40 yards for the game winning touchdown. As with the other four extra points in the game, this one was also missed but Tuscaloosa had their first lead of the game at 18-12.

          The defense took over at this point and the victory was assured when the visitors were penalized fifteen yards on their final drive. The Black Bears outgained the Indians 283-215 during the contest.

          The Black Bears finished another season undefeated and ran their string to 44 consecutive wins. The winning streak did end in 1932 with a season opening loss to Holt. The string of 64 consecutive games without a loss still stands as the longest non-losing streak in Alabama high school football history. The Black Bears of Tuscaloosa had an amazing record of 61-0-3 from 1925-1932.

St. Louis ..................................	0	6	6	0	-12
Tuscaloosa ..............................	0	0	6	12	-18

St. Louis - Johnson to McMurray 19-yard pass (kick missed)
St. Louis - Vescovo to Schoenthalter pass (kick failed)
Tuscaloosa - Buck Hughes 45-yard run (kick failed)
Tuscaloosa - Buck Hughes 2-yard run (kick failed)
Tuscaloosa - Buck Hughes 40-yard run (kick failed)

Tuscaloosa Roster
No.	Player	Pos.	Weight	Years on Team
34	Bagwell	Left End	165	2
39	Lewis	Left Tackle	160	1
22	James	Left Guard	146	1
28	Clements	Center	168	1
36	Joyner	Right Guard	138	1
30	Hundertmark	Right Tackle	200	1
24	R. Schmit	Right End	143	2
42	L.G. Hughes	Quarterback	170	3
31	Comer	Left Halfback	151	2
20	Caffee	Right Halfback	129	2
35	Roberts	Fullback	260	1
Substitutes
43	Echols	End	144	3
45	Neely	End	145	1
37	Phifer	End	161	1
21	Ernest	Tackle	160	2
32	Bridges	Tackle	153	1
33	Pruett	Guard	162	2
23	Day	Guard	150	1
25	Boyd	Guard	178	1
40	Morris	Center	137	1
26	Hoygood	Center	126	1
44	Campbell	Quarterback	156	3
50	Prowell	Quarterback	135	1
29	McCraw	Halfback	142	1
27	George Hughes	Halfback	116	1
21	Fuller	Fullback	145	1


University City Roster
63	Brownstein	Left End	150	4
79	Lamb	Left Tackle	200	2
43	Convey	Left Guard	158	3
77	Joplin	Center	160	4
62	Massa	Right Guard	143	2
55	McElree	Right Tackle	167	1
67	Schoenthaler	Right End	163	2
64	Feldman	Quarterback	147	3
54	Vescovo	Left Halfback	156	2
62	Johnson	Right Halfback	138	1
72	Deckert	Fullback	166	2
Substitutes
59	Lionberger	End	165	2
68	Gruner	Tackle	136	1
5	Medsker	Guard	144	1
73	Campbell	Center	155	2
53	Pergament	Guard	148	1
65	Bickel	Halfback	144	4
47	York	Halfback	122	2

Tuscaloosa
1929

9/27	85	Jones Valley . . . . . .	0
10/4	63	Pickens County . . . . .	0
10/11	28	Tuscaloosa County . . .	0
10/18	14	Anniston . . . . . . . . . .	0
10/18	72	Simpson . . . . . . . . . . .	0
11/1	39	Marion Military Reserves .	0
11/8	40	Deshler . . . . . . . . . . .	0
11/22	20	Bessemer . . . . . . . . . .	6
11/30	18	University City MO . .	12

	379	9-0	18

The Memorable Games, a series on the important and memorable games in high school football history

David Parker
AHSFHS.org
dparker@ahsfhs.org

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