Chinese Bandits: Sugar Bowl Program, 1959 GV 958 .L65 L66 LLMVC
Scott Purdy: Can you tell me who the Chinese Bandits were and how that name came about?
Merle Schexnaildre: Well, an exacting explanation can probably be gotten from Pete Finney [author of The Fighting Tigers 1893 - 1993], you know, in his book. You know, but in essence, I think it was born at the Alabama game when we were able to stop Alabama in the third and fourth quarter and hold on to win. "Terry and the Pirates" was a famous comic strip in which [Paul] Dietzel liked to read and in there were description of the most fierce warriors of the time: the Chinese Bandits. And he made the comment, you know, in post-game interviews that, “The third team played like Chinese Bandits”. And I think the press picked it up and started going with it and gave us that energy.
-- Merle Schexnaildre, interviewed by Scott Purdy, 1993