The last time Kentucky Football was 6-0...

Abbigale Harrisonby:Abbigale Harrison10/10/21

Life was a little different in the Bluegrass State the last time the Kentucky football ‘Cats were 6-0.

Last night, after a resounding victory over LSU, Kentucky moved to 6-0 on the season for the first time since 1950. It’s been 71 years since Kentucky last had an undefeated record of 6-0.

Let’s take a walk down memory lane to remind KSR readers what life was like for UK Athletics in those days, considering many of us weren’t even alive.


Bear Bryant, Football head coach

That’s right. The last time Kentucky was 6-0 was when Bear Bryant was at the helm.

Before his time at Alabama, Bryant led Kentucky to an 11-1 record in 1950, an unprecedented achievement for the “basketball school”. UK ranked as high as No. 3 in the country that season.

Bryant also led Kentucky to their first bowl game, the Sugar Bowl, where they defeated the Oklahoma Sooners, a first in school history.

The College Football Hall of Fame inductee went on to a storied career at Alabama post-Kentucky, and is still hailed as one of the best college football coaches of all time.

Adolph Rupp, Basketball head coach

Bear Bryant certainly wasn’t the only legendary coach on campus.

In 1950, Rupp and the ‘Cats were about to embark on their path to a 1951 NCAA Title, the third in school history.

Rupp would lead Kentucky to four national championships during his time at Kentucky before retiring there, long before Rupp Arena would be named after him.

Rupp was also inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame and continues to be hailed as one of the greatest coaches of all time.

Pop culture of the ’50s

Kentucky and the rest of America was a different place in 1950.

Kentucky’s governor was Lawrence Weatherby, and the president was Harry S. Truman.

The top song in the year 1950 was “Goodnight Irene” by Gordon Jenkins and The Weavers. Less than half of Americans had a television in their home. McDonald’s didn’t exist.

John Calipari wouldn’t be born for another nine years, while Mark Stoops wouldn’t be born for another 17.


Maybe history really does repeat itself.

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