With just under four minutes to play in the fourth quarter, as the clock approaches midnight, Alabama trails 32-27. Facing fourth-and-goal on the Ole Miss 14-yard line, Hunter calls timeout. He jogs to the sideline, where Bear Bryant is puffing furiously on a Chesterfield cigarette, its red-orange ember glowing in the night. "What do you want to do?" Hunter asks his coach.
There is confusion on the Alabama sideline. The coaches in the press box are still trying to determine the play call when the referee yells to Bryant, "The commercial is over. It's time to play ball."
Bryant, his Chesterfield dangling from his mouth, pushes Hunter onto the field. Then he yells to his quarterback, "Run the best you got!"
In the huddle Hunter shouted to his teammates, "Fire Red Right, Max Protect, 56 Comeback In." Hunter expected a blitz and so the play call instructed halfback Johnny Musso to stay in the backfield as a blocker. "56 Comeback In" meant Hunter would try to hit wide receiver George Ranager on a comeback pattern in the middle of the field.
It worked beautifully: The Rebels blitzed a linebacker, who was stopped in his tracks by Musso. Hunter threw a strike to Ranager for the winning touchdown. He finished 22-of-29 for 300 yards and one touchdown. It was Hunter's finest hour as Alabama's starting quarterback.
Click here for linkMusso wasn't a star yet at Alabama. He played on the freshman team the previous year (freshmen didn't play varsity back then), and he grew up during the Ole Miss game. It was only the 3rd game!
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