December 10, 1968

Quarterback Pat Trammell led the University of Alabama Crimson Tide to a national championship in 1961. Playing for Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, Trammell earned a 26-3-4 record in three years as the starter. He’s remembered as one of Bryant’s favorite players and one of the few who would ever change a play called from the sidelines. Sadly, Trammell died far too young, succumbing to cancer two years after earning his M.D. degree from the Medical College of Alabama (now the University of Alabama School of Medicine). Trammell was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1978.

Read More at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Scottsboro native Pat Trammell was the quarterback of the University of Alabama football program from 1958-60. He led the Crimson Tide to a record of 26 wins, 3 losses and 4 ties under coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, including an 11-0 record and the SEC championship in 1961. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Paul W. Bryant Museum, University of Alabama)

Jackson County native Pat Trammell (1940-1968) was an All-American quarterback for coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s University of Alabama football team from 1958-61, leading the Crimson Tide to a record of 26-3-4 and the 1961 national championship. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Paul W. Bryant Museum, University of Alabama)

U.S. President John F. Kennedy, center, poses with, from left, University of Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, White House Army Signal Agency John J. Cochran, All-American UA quarterback Pat Trammell, UA President Frank Rose, sportscaster Mel Allen, UA sports Hall of Famer Young Boozer Jr., Birmingham News sports writer Benny Marshall, and Alabama businessman Tom Russell at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City in December 1961. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.