Coach Bear Bryant and His Contributions to Alabama and The World
Posted on September 16th, 2009 by Fred Ashland in UncategorizedIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Alabama has had some great winners over the years, and has produced the top football players to ever come out of college football, but the most well know person ever to step foot on the gridiron at Alabama is most definitely “Bear” Bryant.
BEAR BRYANT
Bear Bryant started his career at Alabama as a football player in 1931. He was only 1934 national championship play end. Brian always joked that he was the “other end” that played for “mamma”. The other end was the legendary NFL Hall of Famer, Don Hudson. Even bear Bryant’s college playing days, he showed mental toughness and playing the 1935 game against Tennessee with a broken leg.
As as college head coach, Bear Bryant went through several college jobs such as the University of Maryland, University of Kentucky, and Texas A&M University before he at last had the break to come back to his alma mater, the University of Alabama. So stimulated was Bear, that he famously was quoted as saying, “Mama called. And when Mama calls, you just have to come runnin’.”
It was a change of atmosphere when Bryant came back to Tuscaloosa. In 1958, Bear Bryant took over the helm of Bama, and began leading it to its former Rose Bowl-style glory but accomplished even more. Establishing well-known players like Joe Namath, Pat Trammell, Billy Neighbors, Big John Hannah, snake Stabler,Lee Roy Jordan, Johnny Musso, Bob Baumhower, and many others.
No doubt, Bear Bryant was a impressive motivator and understood how to make his football players to do what he required 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 passed into life as well by the character he instilled in his players like big John Croyle, who started the faith-based Christian Big Oak Ranch for unfortunate boys and girls in Springville, Alabama.
The final year that he coached the Crimson Tide, 1982, was a down year for Alabama and Bear couldn’t see himself coaching Alabama into mediocrity. He always said that if he stop coaching that he “wouldn’t last a week.” In fact, he didn’t last much longer than that, only 37 days. On January 26, 1983, Bryant died of a heart attack at age 69 and many attended his funeral. Officials estimated that between a half-million to a million individuals were lined all along the 53 mile stretch from Tuscaloosa to the cemetery in Birmingham that was mere blocks from Legion Field.
Bear’s Legacy
Bear’s heritage lives in the players that are now growing older and the fans that recollect his championship spirit. Not only that… He helped smash segregation in the South’s football world, and in doing so, helped turn the Alabama around from prejudice 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!
Read more on Bear Bryant at AL Crimson Tide. This and other unique content ‘Football’ articles are available with free reprint rights.
Tags: AL, Alabama, Alabama Crimson Tide, Bama, Coaches, coaching, College Football, Famous People, Football, general, Legends, Miscellaneous, People, Sports, Uncategorized
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