Bear Bryant

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Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913–January 26, 1983) was an American college football coach. Best known as the longtime head coach of the University of Alabama football team, he won six national championships and retired as the winningest NCAA Division I college football coach, with a record of 323–85–17.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Playing career 3 Coaching career 3.1 Assistant & North Carolina Pre-Flight 3.2 University of Maryland 3.3 University of Kentucky 3.4 Texas A&M University 3.5 University of Alabama 4 Retirement 5 Legacy 5.1 Professional influence 6 Head coaching record 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Biography

Paul Bryant was born in Moro Bottom, Arkansas on September 11, 1913. He was the 11th of 12 children born to William Monroe and Ida Kilgore Bryant. In 1927, he successfully wrestled a bear for a theater promotion, after which he was given the nickname "Bear." ^[1] The nickname remained with Bryant for the rest of his life. Despite claims that he was not fond of the nickname and acquaintances would never refer to him as such in his presence, Coach Bryant nevertheless saw fit to entitle his autobiography "Bear", suggesting that such claims are unfounded or overstated. While attending the University of Alabama, Bryant was a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity.

[edit] Playing career

Bryant attended Fordyce High School in Fordyce, Arkansas, where he played on the school's 1930 Arkansas high school football state championship. After high school, Bryant played college football at the University of Alabama. At Alabama, Bryant played end and was a participant on the school's 1934 national championship team.

[edit] Coaching career

[edit] Assistant & North Carolina Pre-Flight

After graduating in 1936, Bryant took a coaching job at Union College (now Union University) in Jackson, Tennessee, but left that position when offered an assistant coaching position back at Alabama. Over the next four years, the team compiled a 29-5-3 record. In 1940 he left to become an assistant at Vanderbilt University under Henry Russell Sanders. Following the 1941 season, Bryant was offered the head coaching job at the University of Arkansas; however, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Bryant joined the United States Navy. He served in North Africa, seeing no action, before being granted an honorable discharge to train recruits and coach the football team at North Carolina Pre-Flight. While in the Navy, he attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

[edit] University of Maryland

In 1945 Bryant accepted the job as head coach at the University of Maryland. In his only season with the Terrapins, Bryant led the team to a 6-2-1 record. However, there was a struggle for control of the football program with former Terrapin coach and then University President, Harry C. Byrd. In the most widely publicized example of the power struggle between the two, Bryant suspended a player for violating team rules only to discover that Byrd had the player reinstated while Bryant was away on vacation. Bryant left Maryland to take over the head coaching position at the University of Kentucky.

[edit] University of Kentucky

Bryant coached at the University of Kentucky for eight seasons. Under Bryant, Kentucky made its first bowl appearance (1947) and won its first (and only) Southeastern Conference title (1950). The 1950 Kentucky team concluded its season with a victory over Bud Wilkinson's #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the Sugar Bowl, to which many agree that Kentucky is deserved a share of the National Championship. The living players were honored for their National Championship during halftime of a game during the 2005 season. Bryant also led Kentucky to appearances in the Great Lakes Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Cotton Bowl. Kentucky's final AP poll rankings under Bryant included #11 in 1949, #7 in 1950 (before defeating #1 Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl), #15 in 1951, #20 in 1952 and #16 in 1953. The 1950 season was Kentucky's highest rank until it finished #6 in the final 1977 AP poll.

Bryant left Kentucky in notorious fashion. Following the completion of the 1953 season, the University of Kentucky held their annual athletic banquet for UK sports teams. During this run-of-the-mill banquet, the university did something that was not so ordinary. The university presented bonuses to their coaches as a display of gratitude and good will. For Bryant, he was given a very expensive, merchant-crafted watch. However, when Kentucky men's basketball coach Adolph Rupp received a new car, Bryant felt slighted and outraged. Feeling under-appreciated, Bryant left Kentucky for Texas A&M.

[edit] Texas A&M University

In 1954 Bryant, accepted the head coaching job at Texas A&M University.

The Aggies suffered through a grueling 1-9 initial season which began with the famous training camp in Junction, Texas. The “survivors” were given the name “Junction Boys”. But only two years later, possibly a result of the Junction experience, Bryant led the team to the Southwest Conference championship with a 34-21 victory over the University of Texas at Austin. The following year, 1957, Bryant's star back John David Crow won the Heisman Trophy (the only Bryant player to ever earn that award), and the Aggies were in title contention until they lost to the #20 Rice Owls in Houston, amid rumors that Alabama would be going after Bryant.

At the close of the 1957 season, having compiled an overall 25-14-2 record at Texas A&M, Bryant returned to Tuscaloosa to take the head coaching position at Alabama.

[edit] University of Alabama

Bryant took over the Alabama football team in 1958. After winning a combined four games the previous three years, the Tide went 5-4-1 in Bryant's first season. The next year, in 1959, Alabama beat Auburn and appeared in a bowl game, the first time either had happened in the previous six years. In 1961, Alabama went 11-0 and defeated Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl to claim the national championship.

The next three years (1962-1964) featured Joe Namath at quarterback and were among Bryant's finest. The 1962 season ended with a victory in the Orange Bowl over Bud Wilkinson's University of Oklahoma Sooners. The following year ended with a victory in 1963 Sugar Bowl. In 1964, the Tide won another national championship but lost to the University of Texas in the Orange Bowl in the first nationally televised college game in color. The Crimson Tide would repeat as champions in 1965 after defeating Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Coming off of back-to-back national championship seasons, Bryant's Alabama team went undefeated in 1966 and defeated a strong Nebraska team 34-7 in the Sugar Bowl. However, Alabama finished third in the nation behind Michigan State and Notre Dame.

The 1967 team was billed as another national championship contender with star quarterback Kenny Stabler returning, but the team stumbled out of the gate and tied Florida State 37-37 at Legion Field. The season never took off from there, with the Bryant-led Alabama team finishing 8-2-1, losing in the Cotton Bowl to Texas A&M, coached by former Bryant player and assistant coach Gene Stallings. In 1968, Bryant again could not match his previous successes, as the team went 8-3, losing to Missouri 35-10 in the Gator Bowl. The 1969 and 1970 teams finished 6-5 and 6-5-1 respectively.

In 1971, Bryant installed the wishbone offense. That change helped make the remainder of the decade a successful one for the Crimson Tide. The team won shared national championships in 1973 and 1978 and an outright championship in 1979.

Bryant coached at Alabama for 25 years, winning six national titles (1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979). Bryant's win over in-state rival Auburn University, coached by former Bryant assistant Pat Dye in November 1981 was Bryant's 315th as a head coach, establishing him as the winningest head coach in college football history. When Bryant retired after the 1982 season, his record at Alabama totaled 232-46-9. Bryant's Alabama teams won six national championships, thirteen Southeastern Conference titles, and posted a 19-6 record over its in-state rival, Auburn.

In his career, Bryant participated in a total of 31 post-season bowl games including 24 consecutively at Alabama. Bryant won 15 bowl games (including eight Sugar Bowls), was a 10-time Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year and a four-time National Coach of the Year. The national coach of the year award was subsequently named the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award in his honor.

[edit] Retirement

Bryant announced his retirement as head football coach at Alabama effective with the end of the 1982 season. His last game was a 21-15 victory in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee over the University of Illinois. When asked in a post-game interview what he intended to do while retired, Bryant sarcastically replied that he would "probably croak in a week."

Bryant intended to stay on with Alabama as athletic director, but he died on January 26, 1983 after checking into Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa with chest pains. His death came less than a month after his last game as a coach.

[edit] Legacy

Bryant is buried in Birmingham in Elmwood Cemetery; a crimson line is painted on the road from the entrance of the cemetery that leads directly to his gravesite. To this day, fans still travel to his grave to pay their respects or leave flowers and other Alabama-related material. In February 1983 President Ronald Reagan awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium (which was named for him in 1975, more than seven years before his death), as well as a high school and a major street that runs through the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, are named for him. There is also a museum dedicated to him on Alabama's campus. Bryant was honored with a U.S. postage stamp in 1996. After his death in 1983, the Associated Press named its college football national championship trophy after Bryant. At Legion Field, the site of countless Bryant triumphs, there stands a statue in his honor. Prior to the start of the 2006 season, Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium received a number of upgrades including statues of Bryant and the three other Crimson Tide coaches to take Alabama to national championships (Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, and Gene Stallings).

[edit] Professional influence

Many prominent coaches played or worked as assistant coaches under Bryant. The following is an incomplete list:

• Bill Battle, end (head coach at Tennessee, 1970-1976)
• Jim Blevins, lineman (head coach at Jacksonville State, 1965-1968; line coach at UTEP)
• Danny Ford, Head Coach at Clemson (1979-1991) and Arkansas (1993-97), won 1981 National Championship at Clemson
• Jerry Claiborne, end and back, Hall of Fame coach at Virginia Tech (1961-1970), Maryland (1972-1981) and Kentucky (1982-1989)
• Sylvester Croom, center, head coach at Mississippi State, 2004-present.
• Paul Dietzel, head coach of LSU (1955-1961), Army, and South Carolina, served as an assistant coach to Bear Bryant at Kentucky from 1951-52.^[2]
• Mike DuBose (head coach at Alabama, 1997-2000, head coach at Millsaps College 2006-present)
• Pat Dye, assistant coach (head coach at East Carolina, 1974-79; Wyoming, 1980 and Auburn, 1981-92)
• Charlie McClendon, head coach at LSU, 1962-1979; assistant coach at Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
• Curley Hallman, assistant coach (head coach at Southern Mississippi, 1988-90 and LSU, 1991-94)
• Jim Owens,(head coach, University of Washington, 1957-1974)
• Jack Pardee, player at Texas A&M. Linebacker for Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins from 1957-73, played in Super Bowl VII with Redskins. Later served as head coach for Chicago Bears, 1975-77; Redskins, 1978-80; Houston Gamblers, 1984-85; University of Houston, 1987-89; Houston Oilers, 1990-94
• Charley Pell (head coach at Clemson, 1977-78 and Florida, 1979-1984)
• Ray Perkins, end (Bryant's successor head coach at Alabama, 1983-1986; head coach with the New York Giants, 1979-82 and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1987-90)
• Bum Phillips, assistant coach (head coach of Houston Oilers, 1975-80 and New Orleans Saints, 1981-85)
• Mike Riley, defensive back (head coach for the San Diego Chargers, 1999-2001; head coach at Oregon State University, 1997-1999, 2003-present)
• Howard Schnellenberger, head coach of the Baltimore Colts, University of Miami (national champions, 1983); University of Louisville, University of Oklahoma and Florida Atlantic University, and assistant coach for the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins team
• Jackie Sherrill, fullback (head coach at Washington State, Pittsburgh, Texas A&M and Mississippi State, 1976-2003)
• Steve Sloan, quarterback (head coach at Vanderbilt, Texas Tech, Ole Miss and Duke, 1973-1986)
• Gene Stallings, player at Texas A&M, assistant coach at Alabama (head coach at Texas A&M, 1965-1971; St.Louis/Phoenix Cardinals, 1986-1989; and Alabama, 1990-1996, national champions, 1992)
• Richard Williamson, receiver and assistant coach at Alabama (head coach at Memphis St., 1975-80; Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1990-91)

[edit] Head coaching record

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl Game	Bowl Opponent	Outcome	Rank#
Maryland Terrapins (Southern Conference) (1945 — 1945)
1945	Maryland	6-2-1	3-2	5
At Maryland:		6-2-1	3-2
Kentucky Wildcats (Southeastern Conference) (1946 — 1953)
1946	Kentucky	7-3	2-3	8
1947	Kentucky	8-3	2-3	9	Great Lakes Bowl	Villanova	W 24-14
1948	Kentucky	5-3-2	1-3-1	9
1949	Kentucky	9-3	4-1	2	Orange Bowl	Santa Clara	L 13-21
1950	Kentucky	11-1	5-1	1	Sugar Bowl	Oklahoma	W 13-7	7
1951	Kentucky	8-4	3-3	5	Cotton Bowl	TCU	W 20-7	17
1952	Kentucky	5-4-2	1-3-2	9				19
1953	Kentucky	7-2-1						15
At Kentucky:		60-23-6
Texas A&M Aggies (Southwest Athletic Conference) (1954 — 1957)
1954	Texas A&M	1-9	0-6	7
1955	Texas A&M	7-2-1	4-1-1	2				14
1956	Texas A&M	9-0-1	6-0	1				5
1957	Texas A&M	8-3	4-2	3	Gator Bowl	Tennessee	L 0-3	10
At Texas A&M:		25-14-2
Alabama Crimson Tide (Southeastern Conference) (1958 — 1982)
1958	Alabama	5-4-1	3-4-1	6
1959	Alabama	7-2-2	4-1-2	4	Liberty Bowl	Penn State	L 0-7	13
1960	Alabama	8-1-2	5-1-1	3	Bluebonnet Bowl	Texas	T 3-3	10
1961	Alabama	11-0	7-0	1	Sugar Bowl	Arkansas	W 10-3	1
1962	Alabama	9-2	6-1	2	Orange Bowl	Oklahoma	W 17-0	5
1963	Alabama	9-2	6-1	1	Sugar Bowl	Mississippi	W 12-7	9
1964	Alabama	10-1	8-0	1	Orange Bowl	Texas	L 17-21	1 (*)
1965	Alabama	9-1-1	6-1-1	1	Orange Bowl	Nebraska	W 39-28	4
1966	Alabama	11-0	6-0	1	Sugar Bowl	Nebraska	W 34-7	3
1967	Alabama	8-2-1	5-1	2	Cotton Bowl	Texas A&M	L 16-20	7
1968	Alabama	8-3	4-2	3	Gator Bowl	Missouri	L 10-35	12
1969	Alabama	6-5	5-2	3 - T	Liberty Bowl	Colorado	L 33-47
1970	Alabama	6-5-1	6-2	3	Bluebonnet Bowl	Oklahoma	T 24-24
1971	Alabama	11-1	7-0	1	Orange Bowl	Nebraska	L 6-38	2
1972	Alabama	10-2	7-1	1	Cotton Bowl	Texas	L 13-17	4
1973	Alabama	11-1	8-0	1	Sugar Bowl	Notre Dame	L 23-24	1 (*)
1974	Alabama	11-1	6-0	1	Orange Bowl	Notre Dame	L 11-13	2
1975	Alabama	11-1	6-0	1	Sugar Bowl	Penn State	W 13-6	3
1976	Alabama	9-3	5-2	2	Liberty Bowl	UCLA	W 36-6	9
1977	Alabama	11-1	7-0	1	Sugar Bowl	Ohio State	W 35-6	2
1978	Alabama	11-1	6-0	1	Sugar Bowl	Penn State	W 14-7	2
1979	Alabama	12-0	6-0	1	Sugar Bowl	Arkansas	W 24-9	1
1980	Alabama	10-2	6-1	2	Cotton Bowl	Baylor	W 30-2	6
1981	Alabama	9-2-1	7-0	1	Cotton Bowl	Texas	L 12-14	6
1982	Alabama	8-4	4-2	3 - T	Liberty Bowl	Illinois	W 21-15	17
At Alabama:
Career:
National Championship          Conference Title
†Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final Coaches Poll of the season.

(*) Prior to the 1974, the final coaches poll was released before the bowl games, so a team that lost its bowl game could still claim the national championship.

[edit] See also

• List of presidents of the American Football Coaches Association

Preceded by Clarence Spears	University of Maryland Head Football Coach 1945–1945	Succeeded by Jim Tatum
Preceded by Bernie Shively	University of Kentucky Head Football Coach 1946–1953	Succeeded by Blanton Collier
Preceded by Raymond George	Texas A&M Head Football Coach 1954–1957	Succeeded by Jim Myers
Preceded by J. B. Whitworth	University of Alabama Head Football Coach 1958–1982	Succeeded by Ray Perkins

[edit] References

• Coach Bryant Timeline at the Paul W. Bryant Museum.
• Paul "Bear" Bryant at the College Football Hall of Fame
• Summary of Bryant's record from RollTide.com
• Bear Bryant quotes from Wikiquote

[edit] External links

• Paul W. Bryant Museum
• The University of Alabama Athletics Homepage
• Paul "Bear" Bryant College Football Coaching Awards
• Photograph of Paul Bryant's Gravesite