| Bear's Boys: 36 Men Whose Lives were Forever Changed by Coach Bear Bryant |
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Bear’s Boys: 36 Men Whose Lives Were Changed by Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant
(Thomas Nelson, 2007)
With 12 national championships, 21 SEC titles, 19 College Football Hall
of Famers, and a nation’s best 54 bowl appearances, the University of
Alabama football program is one of college football’s greatest. Most
fans remember legendary Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant as the man who brought
home many of these championships and molded the careers of those
hall-of-famers. The players, however, remember a man who instilled
confidence, inspired courage, taught lasting principles—such as the
importance of teamwork, hard work, having a dream and a plan—and being
dedicated to victory in all aspects of life.
Eli Gold, the voice of the Crimson Tide (and co-author, M.B. Roberts),
breathe new life into Bryant’s legend as a mentor, leader and father
figure to those around him. Gold tells the stories of thirty-six
players and coaches whose lives were touched by Bryant including:
Joe Namath, Gene Stallings, Sylvester Croom, John Hannah, Lee Roy
Jordan and Ray Perkins, to name a few.
Some went on to NFL careers. Some became entrepreneurs. Many became
coaches. But every single one of them had one thing in
common. Each learned by Bryant’s example valuable lessons that took
them far in football and have taken them far in the game of life.
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From pg. 15
No Alabama player ever forgot his first conversation with Coach Bryant.
That gravely voice and the choice words he spoke never failed to leave
a lasting impression.
Jim Bunch vividly remembers his first exchange with the legendary
coach. It was two o’clock in the morning. Bunch was a senior at Fork
Union Military Academy in Virginia. He was asleep in the barracks when
the messenger from the gate woke him and said, “Coach Bryant called and
wants you to call him back right away.”
Bunch could hardly believe it. He was hoping to sign with Virginia Tech
or N.C. State. Although he’d had some contact with Alabama, he had been
given no promises. Playing football for the Crimson Tide was a dream,
and he’d just woken up to find out Coach Bryant had called him in the
middle of the night.
“I looked at the 205 area code and figured the number was legit,” Bunch
said. “Still, I wasn’t sure what to do at that time in the morning. But
I figured if he was calling that late, it must be important.”
Because there were no phones in the barracks, Bunch walked almost a
mile in the dark to a pay phone down the road.
“All the lights were out, so I had to scramble,” Bunch said. “I called
the number—collect. I’ll never forget hearing that voice when he came
to the phone. I knew I woke him up.
I said, “Sir, this is Jim Bunch at
Fork Union Military School, and I’m returning your call.”
The coach paused for a moment and said,” I didn’t call anyone.”
Then he said, “Someone’s playing a joke on us, son. I’ll have one of
the coaches here contact you tomorrow.”
Bunch was mortified. But he was impressed that even being rousted from
a deep sleep, Coach Bryant knew what was going on. To this day, Bunch
thinks the culprit was someone from Virginia Tech. (By the way, he’d
love to know whodunnit.)
The joke, (or the intended sabotage), backfired because Coach Bryant
wasn’t fooled, and he was a man of his word. One of his coaches did
call Bunch the next day to invite him to Tuscaloosa…
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From pg.164
(During his senior year of high school) Joe Namath had more than fifty
schools recruiting him to play football. Eventually, Namath decided to
attend the University of Maryland, but when he failed to meet their
required minimum score on the college boards, he was up for grabs.
Maryland’s head coach didn’t want Namath playing for a school on his
team’s schedule, so he tipped off Coach Bryant that the talented
Pennsylvanian was available.
Coach Bryant dispatched assistant coach Howard Schnellenberger to
Beaver Falls to bring Namath to Tuscaloosa. Schnellenberger had several
things going for him. For one, he played football with Namath’s brother
Frank at the University of Kentucky. Coach Bryant had actually
recruited Frank for the Wildcats when he was head coach there, so Frank
knew he would be a good influence on his rebellious brother. Also,
Namath’s mother liked Schnellenberger. He knew the deal was sealed when
after a week in Beaver Falls, Namath’s mom came into the room with a
small suitcase and said, “Take him, coach.”
Schnellenberger breathed a sigh of relief when he finally delivered his
charge to Tuscaloosa. Still, he couldn’t help worrying about Namath’s
appearance.
“He looked like a street hustler, “Schnellenberger remembered, “with a
checkered sport coat and his pocket watch and chain.”
Coach Bryant’s longtime secretary Linda Knowles remembers the day
Namath came to town. “I thought he looked like a hoodlum! Compared to
the guys with butch haircuts, he really did! He had long hair, blue
jeans, z-ring zipper boots, and a men’s undershirt with the sleeves
rolled up. I thought, My goodness. We are scraping the bottom of the
barrel…”
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What the Critics Say about Bear’s Boys:
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “Just in time, an uplifting diversion
arrives in the form of a new book, Bear’s Boys, with the reflections of
36 former players of Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant on the coach who inspired them.”
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