Bear Bryant and Alabama
Posted by John Smith in Uncategorized, tags: AL, Alabama, Alabama Crimson Tide, Bama, Coaches, coaching, College Football, Famous People, Football, general, Legends, Miscellaneous, people, sports, UncategorizedAlabama has had some great winners over the years, and has produced a number of great players that have impacted the NFL greatly, but there is no greater celebrity to come from Bama’s historic past than Bear Bryant.
The Legendary Figure in Alabama Football, Paul “Bear” Bryant
The first person that you most likely think of when you hear something about Alabama football, it is likely you think of Bear Bryant. At one point, Bear Bryant was the winningest coach in college football ever. This legendary coach served the Crimson for 25 years. In this period of time, Brian was phenomenal with six national championships and 13 SEC conference championships.
As as head coach, Bryant went through several university head coaching jobs such as the University of Maryland, University of Kentucky, and Texas A&M University before he at last had the opportunity to go back to his alma mater, Alabama. So stimulated was Bear, that he distinctively was quoted as saying, “Mama called. And when Mama calls, you just have to come runnin’.”
It was the year 1958 that Bryant took over the helm of the Crimson Tide, and began leading it to its past Rose Bowl-style brilliance but accomplished even more. Establishing legendary players like Pat Trammell, Big John Hannah, Snake Stabler, Joe Namath, Lee Roy Jordan, Billy Neighbors, Bob Baumhower, Johnny Musso,, and many others.
No doubt, Bear Bryant was a tremendous motivator and knew how to get his teams to do what he needed them to accomplish. Florida A&M coach, Jake Gaither said of Bear Bryant, “He can take his’n and beat you’n, and he can take your’n and beat his’n.” The motivation wasn’t just on the playing field, the motivation carried into real life as well by the quality he instilled in his players like big John Croyle, who founded the faith-based Christian Big Oak Ranch for unfortunate boys and girls in Springville, Alabama.
The final year that he coached Alabama, 1982, was a down year for Alabama and Bear couldn’t see himself coaching Alabama into mediocrity. He constantly said that if he quit coaching that he “wouldn’t last a week.” In truth, he didn’t last a great deal longer than that, only 37 days. On January 26, 1983, Bryant died of a heart attack at age 69 and many mourned his death. Officials projected that in the range of a half-million to a million individuals were lined all along the 53 mile stretch from Tuscaloosa to the burial ground in Birmingham that was only blocks away from Legion Field.
Bear’s Legacy
Bear’s heritage lives in the players that are now growing older and the fans that recall his championship heart. Not only that… He helped shatter segregation in the South’s football world, and in doing so, turned the state around from intolerance to splendor. Not only that, he changed the world to a better place than he left left.. He ain’t never been nothing but a winner. Roll Tide!
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