Alabama Football Sports Four on FWAA 75th Anniversary All-America Team

The Football Writers Association of America announced its 75^th Anniversary All-America Team on Thursday morning. The FWAA, which was founded in 1941, has picked an annual All-America team since 1944 and created this prestigious list celebrating the association’s All-America teams from near the end of World War II through the 2014 season.

Former Crimson Tide lineman John Hannah joined all-time great linebacker Derrick Thomas as first-team selections. Earning spots on the third team are offensive lineman Barrett Jones and linebacker Lee Roy Jordan.

Hannah, a member of the 1972 FWAA All-America team, has been rated by many analysts as the greatest offensive lineman of all time. In that same year, he earned the Jacobs Trophy, given to the best blocker in the Southeastern Conference. Hannah would go on to become a member of both the college and pro football hall of fame.

Thomas was selected to the 1988 FWAA All-America team and also earned the Butkus Award in that same year. During his 1988 campaign, he collected an incredible 27 sacks after shattering the school record in 1987 with 18 total sacks. Thomas still holds the single game, season and career records for sacks, accumulating 52 over his four-year career with the Crimson Tide.

Jones, a versatile offensive lineman during his four years in Tuscaloosa, was twice named to the FWAA All-America team, first as a left tackle in 2011 and then as a center in 2012. A member of three national championship teams, he started all four seasons with the Crimson Tide. Not just a force on the field, Jones became Alabama’s only William V. Campbell Trophy winner for his work in the classroom and earned the Wuerffel Trophy for his efforts in the community.

Jordan, a FWAA All-American in 1962, was MVP of the 1963 Orange Bowl after registering 31 total tackles in Alabama’s 17-0 win over Oklahoma. An all-time great at the Capstone, he was voted Alabama’s Player of the Decade for the 1960s and was also on the Tide’s Team of the Century.

Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,400 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game.