Daily Dose of Crimson Tide: Scott Hunter vs. Pat Sullivan

Need your fix of Alabama sports? BamaCentral has you covered with the Scott Hunter record-setting game many Crimson Tide fans aren't quick to celebrate

Christopher Walsh | May 31, 2020

Packers.com

One of the most famous games in SEC history was the 1969 matchup between Alabama and Ole Miss, the first prime-time game broadcasted by ABC on Oct. 4, 1969.

It's also known as Scott Hunter vs. Archie Manning, with the quarterbacks combining for 842 yards of total offense (unheard of back then).

Hunter had another showdown that season, one that's not quite as well remembered by Crimson Tide fans since Alabama lost.

The team it got beat by contributes to that as well, Auburn.

Alabama had a five-game winning streak in the Iron Bowl, but limped into Legion Field with three losses on the season. The Tigers, meanwhile, were No. 12 in the Associated Press Poll and led by future Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan.

Hunter passed for a school-record 484 yards, which still stands, by completing 30 of 55 attempts (another longstanding Alabama record).

However, Auburn won the game going-away, 49-26, scoring 35 points in the second half.

Alabama quarterback Scott Hunter — Special to BamaCentral

It included one of the most famous touchdowns in Auburn history, when punter Connie Frederick, who was also a wide receiver, took off and ran 84 yards for a touchdown with 42 seconds left in the game.

"Coach [Shug] Jordan was looking for the ball," teammate Alvin Bresler told AuburnTigers.com. "He was looking up in the air saying "Where's the ball? Where's the ball?'"

It was the worst defeat, point-wise, during Paul W. "Bear" Bryant’s coaching career, although he did say at one point about Sullivan: “He does more things to beat you than any quarterback I’ve ever seen.”

Hunter finished the season completing 157 of 266 passes for 2,188 yards. He was drafted by the Green Packers in the sixth round and in 1972 led the team to its last divisional title until the Brett Favre era.

He played eight seasons in the NFL, with the Packers (1971-73), Bills (1974), Falcons (1976-78) and Lions (1979), and threw for nearly 5,000 yards.

Published May 31, 2020

CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of BamaCentral, which first published in 2018. He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004, and is the author of 26 books including Decade of Dominance, 100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Nick Saban vs. College Football, and Bama Dynasty: The Crimson Tide's Road to College Football Immortality. He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.