Rosenfeld, David : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum

Rosenfeld, David

Rosenfeld was a key member of Alabama's National Championship teams in 1925 and 1926. He followed his older brother Max (who lettered as a quarterback from 1920-1922), to Alabama.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. August 3, 1903 - d. June 1969

Career Highlights:
Rosenfeld was a small, fast, and elusive runner for Alabama in the mid-1920s. In 1924, he helped lead the Tide to the Southern Conference championship with a record of 8-1-0 as they outscored their opponents, 294-24. They began the season with seven straight wins and did not give up a point until that seventh game against Kentucky (42-7). In the eighth game, they lost to Centre College, 17-0, but rebounded in the final game of the year to beat Georgia 33-0. Rosenfeld had a great season as he scored on touchdown runs against Mississippi (65 yards), Kentucky (75 yards), and Sewanee (65 and 55 yards).

In 1925, Alabama put together an even more dominant team. They repeated as Southern Conference champs with a regular season record of 9-0-0. They allowed only one opponent to score all year (Birmingham Southern) and outscored their opponents 277-7. In what is considered the most important game in the history of Southern football, Alabama was invited to play in the Rose Bowl that year. It was the only bowl game that existed then, and the first time that a Southern school was headed to Pasadena, so the entire South rallied around their team.

Telegrams poured into Pasadena urging the Tide to fight for the honor of Dixie. Although they were expected to lose to a mighty Washington team, the Tide surprised everyone by defeating the Huskies, 20-19, and finished the season undefeated. They were proclaimed National Champions and helped turn Southern football into an obsession. Southern historian Andrew Doyle said of the victory, "The 1926 Rose Bowl was the significant event in Southern football history...and it was a sublime tonic for Southerners who were buffeted by a legacy of defeat."

The following year, Alabama won their third consecutive Southern Conference championship and had a record of 9-0-0 in the regular season. They again dominated their opponents, outscoring them 249-27 with six shutouts (no team scored more than seven points on them all year). Alabama returned to the Rose Bowl, this time tying Stanford 7-7, and were again proclaimed National Champions.

Origin:
Riverside, Alabama

Career Dates:
Rosenfeld played halfback at the University of Alabama from 1924-1926.



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References:
encyclopedia of JEWS in sports by Bernard Postal, Jesse Silver, and Roy Silver (New York: Bloch Publishing Co., 1965)