The Crimson Ripple vs Havana = domination

quote:

---

in the 1940s the junior varsity team scored a victory against international competition. On November 9, 1946, Alabama's "B" team, which consisted of a mix of freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, played against the University of Havana in Dothan. Known by several nicknames including the "Bees," the "Baby Tide," and the "Crimson Ripple," they made easy work of the Caribes, crushing them by a score of 53-18.

The University of Havana weren't newcomers to the sport. By the mid-1940s they had been playing the game for more than three decades. The first contest between the Caribes and a North American school came in 1907 when LSU traveled to the island. Over the next forty years, the University of Havana football team regularly played other squads in Cuba, such as the Cuban Athletic Club, as well as North American teams, especially teams from Florida.

In the 1940s, the Caribes took a few trips in the Southeast. In 1944, they traveled as far north as South Carolina to play a game against Presbyterian College. On this trip, the University of Havana team played a few games in Georgia before meeting the Alabama "B" team in Dothan.

---

quote:

---

At halftime of the game, the four high school bands performed a patriotic song program that included the "Washington Post March," the "Footlifter’s March," and the "Victory March." At the close of the performance, the bands spelled out "U-S-A" and a "V" for Victory. While there are clear nationalistic overtones to their program, it probably had less to do with the fact there was a foreign team in the game and more likely a continued celebration of the end of Second World War and the upcoming Armistice Day on November 11.

The nearly four thousand at Wiregrass Memorial Stadium witnessed a high-scoring but mostly one-sided game. The Alabama "B" team won 53-18. The Crimson Ripple built a large lead in the first half with big plays, but the Caribes scored a few big plays of their own in the second half, including a third quarter score on a triple-reverse.

---