Clell Hobson Sr., football and baseball star for the University of Alabama, dies at 93

Clell Hobson Sr., who starred in football and baseball for the University of Alabama in the 1950s, died Thursday at the age of 93.

Hobson was born Nov. 28, 1930, in Tuscaloosa, attended local schools and earned football and baseball scholarships to UA.

During the Crimson Tide’s second appearance in the Orange Bowl in 1953, he led the football team to a victory over Syracuse University. The final score of 61–6 set an NCAA record for largest margin of victory in a bowl game, which stood until 2008. The 55-points still stands as the largest margin of victory for an Alabama football team in a bowl game.

His backup in the Orange Bowl was Bart Starr, who went on to have a legendary NFL career as quarterback of the Green Bay Packers.

After college, Hobson pursued a professional baseball career, spending five years with the Cleveland Indians' organization. He then returned to the Tuscaloosa area, where he was a teacher and a football coach in Bibb County, Pickens County and Bessemer high schools.

He later served as principal at Davis-Emerson Middle School in Tuscaloosa County and served on the Tuscaloosa City Council for one term, from 1997-2001.

In 2022, Hobson was chosen as one of the grand marshals for the West Alabama Christmas Parade.

He's the father of Butch Hobson, who also played football at UA before launching a Major League Baseball career. The younger Hobson played for the Boston Red Sox, the California Angels and the New York Yankees. He also was the manager of the Red Sox from 1992 until 1994.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Clell Hobson Sr., football and baseball star at UA, dies at 93