The game of the week is Vanderbilt at Alabama. The Crimson Tide, a perennial college football power, is ranked in the Top 25. But so is undefeated Vanderbilt, the academically prestigious SEC member that historically struggles on the gridiron. The game will be the first time these two squads have clashed as ranked opponents since 1937.
The 1937 Vanderbilt Commodores were coached by Ray Morrison, who had earned All-American honors playing college ball for Vandy. After his playing days, Morrison headed for Texas. He coached at Weatherford High School, before landing the top job at SMU. In 1923, the year Ray Morrison led SMU to its first Southwest Conference title, he was introduced to an Austin College Kangaroo football player named Henry Frnka.
Morrison’s SMU Mustangs won that 1923 SWC title easily, outscoring 8 opponents by a combined 197-6. But SMU barely defeated Henry Frnka and the Kangaroos. The outstanding play of Frnka kept the Mustangs-Kangaroo game tied at 3-3 late in the fourth quarter. Morrison’s squad escaped with a 10-3 win, but he never forgot Frnka when the Roo joined Morrison in the world of coaching.
In 1935, Morrison was lured back to Vanderbilt to coach his alma mater; he convinced Frnka to come along as his offensive coordinator. By 1937, the duo had built a contender for the SEC crown. On Thanksgiving Day, Vanderbilt owned a 4-1 conference record with wins over Tennessee, Kentucky, and preseason #1 LSU. The only team standing between Vandy and the 1937 SEC title was undefeated Alabama.
Alabama was coached by Frank Thomas, a Knute Rockne protégé who would earn two national championships for the Crimson Tide. Thomas was assisted by a young 24-year-old former Bama player who held Morrison and Frnka in awe: Paul “Bear” Bryant. Alabama was favored, but Morrison was optimistic. The Commodores were “ready to go,” he said. “The game will be close,” said Frnka. A pre-game rally in Nashville added to the excitement.
Vanderbilt played inspired ball, taking a 7-6 lead into the fourth quarter. But a late Crimson Tide field goal sealed a 9-7 win and the SEC crown. “My boys played their best of the year and I’m pleased,” said Morrison. Frnka, known was his creative play calling, expressed his admiration for Bear Bryant’s defense. Alabama headed to the Rose Bowl to play for a national title, an honor the school has earned 18 times as of 2025.
Both Morrison and Frnka spent the next 15 years coaching major college football programs in Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. But both eventually grew weary of the demands of big-time college athletics. In 1949, Morrison accepted the head coaching position at little Austin College in Sherman, TX. Morrison lured Henry Frnka back to Sherman as an assistant two years later, just as he had done at Vanderbilt.
The Alabama statues of Frank Thomas & Paul “Bear” Bryant stand tall at Bryant-Denny Stadium alongside former coaches Wallace Wade, Gene Stallings, and Nick Saban. Bryant is arguably the most legendary of all. But Bryant never forgot those who came before him. When Henry Frnka asked Bryant in the 1970s to help with his coaching clinic in Texas, the Alabama great was an enthusiastic yes. “I could never say no to you, Henry.”
You won’t find statues of Morrison or Frnka at Vanderbilt, in part because the private, small (enrollment 7,000), academically oriented school has not had much football success over the past century. But the Commodores are undefeated in 2025. They’ll travel to Bryant-Denny stadium this Saturday in an attempt to pull off what Morrison & Frnka almost did for Vandy back in 1937.
If you look hard enough however, you will find memorials to Morrison & Frnka. Ray Morrison sits in the College Football Hall of Fame and Henry Frnka is a frequent nominee. Both are also inductees into the Austin College Hall of Honor. And Ray Morrison has also been honored by his former home of Weatherford, TX. Because of Morrison’s association with AC, Weatherford adopted the Kangaroo mascot in the name of its beloved coach.
Ol’ Marc will be pulling for ol’ Vandy this Saturday for three reasons. One, Marc loves an underdog. Two, Marc sees a lot of Austin College in Vandy’s football story over the past century. And three, when Marc reads a headline in the national media about Alabama, Vanderbilt, and 1937, his reaction is one of gratitude. “Thank you, national media. You just gave me a Vandy Roo Tale.” Anchor Down!
https://www.weatherfordisd.com/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=423370&type=d&pREC_ID=923739