Third Saturday in October: The Game-By-Game Story of the South's Most Intense Football Rivalry by Al Browning (Paperback Edition): Bookhills.com

In "Third Saturday In October", Browning goes from the dismal extreme to a very good book. Again, due to Amazon's rating system that does not allow for decimals, the five star rating is a little high but this book is definitely above four stars.

Although Mr. Browning is an Alabama football fan (to my knowledge) this book will be appreciated by fans of both programs. He provides a very balanced reflection on the many games of this glorious series. He reflects the glory days of General Bob Neyland, Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Bear Bryant, Johnny Majors, etc as well as the not so glorious days of both programs.

To me, as a long time Alabama football fan, I consider this rivalry as the biggest for the Crimson Tide. I realize many Bama fans, especially those who live in Alabama, would probably point to Auburn as the biggest rivalry, but I consider Tennessee as the historical rival unmatched by others. Alabama has had more success against the War Eagles and as I started following Alabama football religiously since 1966, I remember the hated Volunteers as being the first team to beat Alabama in October 1967. I have hated Tennessee ever since. Alabama established its prominence in the mid-1920s with trips to the Rose Bowl and Tennessee, under General Bob Neyland (and that is an earned rank from the Army and not just a nickname as Coach Neyland served this country honorably as well as being a very successful football coach), established itself as the first and most consistent challenger to the Tide. Although there had been previous games between the two schools, there had been a lull period before the series picked up again in 1928 (and the book picks up the series with this game) when Tennessee made a name for itself by bumping off the Tide, a feat repeated in 1929. Since then, the two programs have been going after each other full blast every year (except for 1943 when would-be football players were battling a bigger foe for bigger stakes). There have been streaks for both programs and as for the more recent past (e.g., the last five years) Volunteer fans may see Florida as their number one rival. But over the course of more than seven decades, their number one rival hailed from Tuscaloosa.

1. The original book was written in 1987 with it updated in 2001 covering through the 2000 season. I think Mr. Browning should have gone back to update some of the previous chapters. For example, he may refer to Johnny Majors as the "current" coach at Tennessee (as was the case when the book was first written) or Alabama quarterback Robert Fraley as a mere lawyer in Orlando, Florida. Johnny Majors was ousted during the 1992 season and Robert Fraley went on to become a successful sports agent before dying tragically in a plane crash.

3. The book did not include the 2001 season (a seventh straight win for Tennessee - ouch!). The current record is 42-35-7 in favor of the Crimson Tide. I wish Al Browning could have rewritten the results of 42 of the games to reflect an 84-0-0 record for Alabama -- as it should be! ROLL TIDE!

Considering the juvenile embarrassment called "Crimson Coronation", I think Mr. Browning should stay away from fiction. This book is definitely a better reflection of his true ability.

Summary of Third Saturday in October: The Game-By-Game Story of the South's Most Intense Football Rivalry

On November 18, 1901, the University of Alabama and the University of Tennessee first locked horns on a football field. At the contest's end, the score was tied, nothing had been resolved, and about two thousand fans were on the field at Tuscaloosa, fighting.

Since that day the Tennessee-Alabama game has developed into one of the premier football rivalries in the nation. To many of the faithful, it is much more than a game -- it is a crusade. The intensity with which these games have been waged makes victory as satisfying as the warm crimson and orange leaves that dance in Knoxville's cool Smoky Mountain breezes. Defeat, however, is more bitter than the choking smoke of Birmingham's steel mills.

Beginning in 1928, the annual game has been played on the third Saturday in October, and the contest has produced enough heroes to fill several books. Third Saturday in October tells the story of each game. From Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Red" Drew, Paul "Bear" Bryant, Ray Perkins, Bill Curry, Gene Stallings, and Mike Dubose of Alabama, to Robert Neyland, Bowden Wyatt, Doug Dickey, Bill Battle, Johnny Majors, and Phil Fulmer of Tennessee, the game has been directed by legendary coaches and played by heroic young men who have risen to greatness on the third Saturday in October.

Third Saturday in October is filled with memories and reflections of players, coaches, reporters, sportscasters, and fans. The people who were there, who made or failed to make the key plays, tell what happened in their own words. More than two hundred historic photographs illustrate the lively text. This second edition contains reports of the games from 1987 through 2000.

Third Saturday in October: The Game-By-Game Story of the South's Most Intense Football Rivalry