Harold Delbert "Red" Drew (November 9, 1894 – October 20, 1979) was an American football, basketball, and track and field coach for over 40 years.
He also served as an assistant football coach at Alabama from 1931 to 1941, including the undefeated 1934 team that won the national championship and played in the 1935 Rose Bowl.
He spent three years in the United States Navy during World War II and was placed in charge of "fleet recreation" on the island of Saipan.
[3] In November 1917, Drew joined the United States Navy, serving in the Canal Zone as an ensign and a naval aviator during World War I from 1917 to 1918.
[3][6][7] Drew left Trinity to accept a position as the athletic director and head football coach at Birmingham–Southern College.
He was hired at Chattanooga by athletic director and football coach Frank Thomas, with whom Drew would remain associated for most of the following 25 years.
[3][4] The undefeated 1934 Alabama Crimson Tide football team won the national championship with ends Hutson and Bryant as key players.
[11] With the United States entering World War II, Drew enlisted in the Navy in May 1942 and held the rank of lieutenant commander.
[14] On January 14, 1946, the University of Mississippi announced that it had signed Drew to a three-year contract to succeed Harry Mehre as the head football coach for the Ole Miss Rebels.
In January 1947, Drew was hired to succeed Frank Thomas as the head football coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide.
In his first year, he led the 1947 Alabama team to an 8–3 record, a berth in the 1948 Sugar Bowl,[16] and a number eight ranking in the final AP poll.
In November 1948, he led Alabama to a victory over Georgia Tech that The Tuscaloosa News called "the upset of the season.
"[17] The following month, he led the Crimson Tide to a 55–0 victory over Auburn,[18] a score which remains the most lopsided in the history of the Alabama–Auburn football rivalry.
In August 1951, Drew led the East team to a 15–6 victory in the Third Annual All-American High School game in Memphis.