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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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