1983 Press Photo Alabama-Woman and child mourn the death of Coach "Bear" Bryant. Paul started reading a devotional in the final two years of his life that said, in part, "When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving something in its place I have traded for it.". XFL Week 3 preview: Can AJ McCarron, Battlehawks continue their fourth-quarter heroics? Here's everything we know, The paths of KD and Kyrie: How one month changed three franchises and two superstar legacies, From bubble struggles to NCAA seed improvement, why these final weekend games matter, Foden's return to form helps mask De Bruyne's troubles, Nelson sends Arsenal into euphoria with last-gasp winner over Bournemouth. [2], In 2005, Bryant founded the Bryant Bank. Regularly, he refuses to believe that his old boss isn't at home waiting for a ride. You had more fun on that job. He puts a finger over his lips and says, "Shhh." Behind the casket is present Alabama coach Ray Perkins, his wife Carolyn and son Mike. Today his memories seem to orbit around the idea of protecting Bryant from some unseen enemy. They reached the end together, sitting in a 14th-floor suite of the Memphis Holiday Inn. It was the university football team.". Tobacco industry -- Kentucky -- Lexington. No, no. (AP Photo/Joe Holloway Jr.), Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant's widow, Mary Harmon Bryant is helped out of the car at graveside in Birmingham, Ala., Jan. 28, 1983. But I got it. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. "I wish I'd read this 30 years ago," he told a friend, "I wouldn't have wasted so much valuable time." The Leader was a Republican, society-based evening edition, and the Herald a more political, heavily Democratic morning edition. "Yes, sir, we've got Paul and Bryant covered right there in one house.". When Alabama football is winning, it's just better. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Often, Coach read the paper aloud. Some wore Alabama caps and others were . Bryant's inner circle, those who knew the man, is surrounded by reminders of this. He saw him cry. "This is Alabama football. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. A 1966 UA graduate who earned a degree in commerce, Bryant started People's Bank while still in his 20's. Most afternoons, Bryant would slip into the bar and play cards with friends. Varner never felt comfortable enough to strike up conversations with Bryant, but he could poke at the Legend of The Bear. Bryant did play high school basketball in Tuscaloosa, but in interviews he has said he was part of a great team and played only sparingly. To shoot him, they had to get me first.". Knowles and Varner cleaned out the real version of this office after Coach died. "I ended up playing football.". He took a month off, trying to figure out how Coach Bryant would tell him to deal with his grief. Not yet anyway. The database includes around 700 names, and the museum manages to track most of their whereabouts via both old-school correspondence and newfangled social media. They know you've been vetted pretty well.. We can't just have anybody who is named Paul or William or even Bryant showing up and trying to sneak into the group. This urge to protect, probably born from seeing the Saturday Evening Post erroneously accuse the coach of fixing a game, is also erasing something. Trump avoided . Billy told her not to worry about Coach. It's the only time we've put our name on anything. Bushwood Country Club. kehittksemme ja parantaaksemme palveluitamme sek tuotteitamme. Bryant announced last week that he was retiring after this game, which marks his 323rd victory. A man looks up and he's 76 years old, with memories he can't touch and not much else. He co-authored two books about American football in 2013. "So little coming out of it. He forms his right hand into a pistol and Susie laughs, but then he starts to get lost again. ear Bryant surrounded himself with people he could trust, and he trusted nobody more than Billy Varner, a tough, barrel-chested African-American. It is the most extensive, single collection of still photographic images documenting Lexington's 20th Century history in existence. Persistent Link for this Record:https://lhlphotoarchive.org/ark:/16417/th71m0q2fr6vl, University of Kentucky LibrariesSpecial Collections Research Center. To his left, surrounded by the small frames, is a large photograph of Bear Bryant at the 1982 Liberty Bowl, sicker than anyone but Billy and a few others knew, bundled tight against the cold. And he did! They put him on night traffic, and that first winter, he caught pneumonia. Wilson's father added his own nod of approval, replying loudly, though muffled by a bite of hot dog, "Rollf Tfide! Given that fact, it was not a surprise that phone calls to his office were not returned. ", "You didn't play no football," she says. Paul William "Bear" Bryant would have turned 100 on Wednesday, and the grandson made famous by photos of him walking off the field with the man he calls "Papa" is now 50. He is chairman emeritus of the Civil War Preservation Trust, a Washington, D.C. - based organization which works to preserve historic battlefields. There's the framed photograph of Bryant on a football field for the final time, with a "Thanks for the Memories" sign in the background. After an hour and a half, Bryant, looking tired and old, walked into his bedroom. "Uh, uh. According to the state Department of Insurance, Alabama Re had $240 million in admitted assets, a five person board headed by Bryant, and just two full-time employees. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. I'd drive him. "Because my wife's favorite movie is 'Sweet Home Alabama' and what's-his-name [Josh Lucas], his hound dog was named Bryant for Coach Bryant and our dog looked just like the dog from the movie. Reach Tommy Deas at tommy@tidesports.com or at 205-722-0224. Billy was worried, and maybe that's why he offered a rare piece of insight to a local reporter. 'And not just the leader of Alabama football players, but of the whole nation.'. View the profiles of people named Paul Bryant Jr. Join Facebook to connect with Paul Bryant Jr. and others you may know. You get a job out there you would have made $50 more a month. Neither man spent much time with his family. When Paul took his grandson fishing, Billy came along. [1] It was perhaps the most oddly attired gathering of mourners the cemetery had ever seen. "It's my daddy's middle name!" They have three daughters: Stella Gray Bryant Sykes, Mae Martin Bryant Murray, and Anna Laurie Bryant McKibbens, all graduates of The University of Alabama, and three grandchildren. Its descendant, the Morning Herald, was first published January 1, 1895 and became known as the Lexington Herald in 1905. During an extensive interview a year ago with the Tuscaloosa News and executive sports editor Tommy Deas, Bryant talked about what Bama football meant to the university. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). He was with him almost 24 hours a day.". He poured a drink and chatted with guests. Simply stated, Paul Bryant cares deeply for the university.. Kun kytt sivustojamme ja sovelluksiamme, kytmme, tarjotaksemme sivustomme ja sovelluksemme sinulle, todentaaksemme kyttjt, estksemme roskapostia ja vrinkytksi sek toteuttaaksemme tietoturvatoimia. Associations, institutions, etc. Bryant's first high-profile public venture, joining the UA board of trustees, was controversial. He's been on the board for 13 years or so. On the wall, there's a candid shot of Paul and Billy in what looks like a living room. He was working for Charlie Finley, who was a Birmingham native who had made a gazillion dollars in pharmaceuticals and became quite a character in baseball, said Kirk McNair, who was a sports writer in Birmingham at the time, and who became a longtime Bryant family friend. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. The scope of the collection highlights the day to day activities of Kentuckians. The argument clearly did not convince Watts or trustees. Jos haluat muokata valintojasi, napsauta Hallitse tietosuoja-asetuksia. 'I think Coach Bryant was the greatest leader this country ever had,' said his former All-America and Dallas Cowboy linebacker Lee Roy Jordan. Bryant, at the time less well-known, lived in the historic Redmont home shortly after he married Mary Harmon in June 1935. John C. Wyatt Lexington Herald-Leader photographs, https://lhlphotoarchive.org/ark:/16417/th71m0q2fr6vl, This item is 1 of 3716 items in the series ". She answers for him when he seems lost. While Bryant won't talk about it, it is believed he has given millions more to UA for non-athletic needs. By 1977, he established GreeneTrack, dog racing track located in Greene County, Alabama,[1] with A. Wayne May, a veterinarian, and Sam Phelps, a lawyer. Perhaps more interesting, calls, emails and text messages to other trustees, senior UA system officials, and business associates seeking conversations about Bryant also went unanswered. Having football competitive and doing well, and so much more than that is (when) we're maintaining at a championship level every year, it makes it easier on businesses around the state, I promise you. Sometimes his mind is clear as a crystal. Some images' dates are unknown and cannot be searched by date. Miss Mae Martin Bryant, daughter of Couch and Mrs. Paul Bryant, gives holiday tea. TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- There is a scene in the 1985 comedy "Spies Like Us" in which Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd, posing as doctors, enter a tent full of actual doctors. Tietosuojakytnnstmme ja evstekytnnstmme voit lukea lis siit, miten kytmme henkiltietojasi. Acknowledged by the National Park Service and leading conservationists as the foremost American heritage land preservation organization, the Civil War Trust is known to be the largest and most effective non-profit devoted to the preservation of Americas battlegrounds. Bryant's son, Paul Bryant Jr., remembers his father's birthday more than the anniversary of his death, but for most Alabama fans, everything changed "the day Bear Bryant died." 1983 Press Photo Alabama-Fans climb tree to watch "Bear" Bryant's funeral. [2] By 2011, he sold it to Cemex, a Mexican construction corporation, for US$350 million. Health facilities -- Kentucky -- Lexington. He'd get out. Some wore Alabama caps and others were seen in houndstoothcheck hats, which Bryant always wore on the sidelines on game day. Buy what you want, he told her, not what you need. "[1] In 1995, Bryant acquired Reynolds Ready Mix, a cement company later renamed Ready Mix USA. He laughs and claps his hands. He's following me. I'm probably better evaluating them than running them, I'll say that, he said. Mr. Bryant was Chairman of the Crimson Tide Tradition Fund, the organization that preceded the Crimson Tide Foundation. Somebody comes up to do something to Coach Bryant, they're gonna have to get me first. One of Bryant's companies, Alabama Reassurance or "Alabama Re", was implicated in at least nine counts of the Stewart indictment, relating to a "wire fraud scheme to deceive state insurance regulators involving reinsurance." Sometimes it cloud up and rain.". Your account has an invalid email address. Collectively, it saved 41,000 acres of battlefield land in over 120 states during Bryants board tenure. ", These are the stories she can tell. The Birmingham News. I think he wanted to be his own man, McNair said. The 68-year-old son of late football coaching legend Bear Bryant has had successful business ventures in everything from catfish farming to concrete, from dog tracks to casinos and from banks to reinsurance. Photo by Dave Dieter HVT, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. "It's really important to the state that we have a successful football program. (AP Photo). "It's crazy. We know Lombardi from David Maraniss' biography, "When Pride Still Mattered," and he comes across as smaller and therefore larger in the retelling, because his humanity is on every page. The pictures seem to anchor him. I think that's one reason, McNair said, that he has put so much money (in the form of donations) into museums at the university., In 2005, Bryant founded Bryant Bank, which he calls my winding-down project.. The patrolman understood and backed off. Bryant entered Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa on January 25, 1983, after feeling chest discomfort. I always thought about that. [1] His father, Bear Bryant, was an American football player and coach. It grows smaller all the time. He looked out the window at the river and the bridge to Arkansas, which led eventually to the place where his journey began: a four-room house without electricity or running water. Paul W. Bryant, Jr. is the son of the late Paul W. Bryant and Mary Harmon Black Bryant. But it appeared they had leaned toward quickness instead -- only two of the pallbearers weighed over 200 pounds, although all were remarkably muscular. We had some guys behind us. The director of the Bryant Museum approached him about writing a book. Paul W. Bryant is dying for the second time, and one day, in the not-so-distant future, only The Bear will remain. "Oh, it goes so much deeper than that," Hilburn said, rolling her eyes and grinning. Bryant. While his portfolio seems diverse, Bryant sees a common thread in some of his most successful undertakings: banking, gaming and reinsurance (basically insurance for insurance companies) are all highly regulated. Paul W. Bryant Jr. sat down recently for a rare interview, giving insight into his involvement with UA athletics - both real and rumored - as well as a revealing glimpse into his personality, his background and the school's growth during his time on the board of trustees. He drove him to Birmingham one year before Christmas because Bryant got a letter from a sick girl and he wanted to surprise her. "What do you mean, I didn't play football? By mid-day, with the sun shining brightly, several hundred waited for the start of the graveside service for Coach "Bear" Bryant. Lexington Leader (Lexington, Ky. : Daily), [Identification of item], John C. Wyatt Lexington Herald-Leader photographs, 1936-1990,2004AV001, Special Collections and Digital Programs, University of Kentucky Libraries,Lexington, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center. Thirty years after his last season, Bryant's humanity lives only in his family and a few aging friends, in former employees such as Knowles, in 72-year-old assistant coach-turned-athletic director Mal Moore, and, perhaps most of all, in Billy Varner. She sits down and tells the story her husband can no longer tell. I had a little head start on my friends because I didn't get put in the service when I graduated, and a lot of them did that and went on to law school and to graduate school, he said. All in the family: how three generations of Jaquezes have ruled West Coast basketball, Alonso says Aston 'living a dream,' eyes podium, LIVE Transfer Talk: Bayern still keen on Kane despite new Choupo-Moting contract, Top moments from Brady, Manning, Jordan and other athletes hosting 'Saturday Night Live'. It is unknown how much, if any, of his money has gone to UAB over the years, although it is common place for many of the board's wealthier members to give substantial gifts to all three schools in the system. I looked at him like, 'What the hell you think I'm here for?'". Oh, s--- $50 wasn't worth it. "Bryant." During these years, he served three successive terms as President Pro Tempore. But I got outvoted. His voice ticks up a few notches. "Paul Bryant Jr: His famous father casts a long shadow, one seemingly comfortable to the son", "Paul Bryant Jr.'s bank is tie that binds UA trustees", "Alabama Booster Paul Bryant Jr. Has Ties to Insurance Fraud Scheme", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_W._Bryant_Jr.&oldid=1127610045, This page was last edited on 15 December 2022, at 18:09. Paul Bryant Jr., a banker and the coach's only son, says his father established the fund in 1973. . When he came back, he was a regular campus policeman. ", "Bryant " "Bryant " "Bryant " "Bryant ". When an assistant coach told him in 1970 that Vince Lombardi had died, Bryant spoke of regrets, and it shocked his friend. Barra wrote the best biography of Bryant, "The Last Coach," and even in his book, there is a Paul-sized hole at the center of the narrative. Try 100. The family of the late Kobe Bryant has agreed to a $28.5 million settlement with Los Angeles County to resolve the remaining claims in a lawsuit over deputies and firefighters sharing grisly photos of the NBA star, his 13-year-old daughter and other victims killed in a 2020 helicopter crash, attorneys and court filings said Feb. 28, 2023. Sure did. [2] Bryant is also the President of Greene County Greyhound Park. That's where he met Alabama's new football coach, and when Varner took the same job at the Indian Hills Country Club, where Bryant lived off the third fairway, they became close. "It was so quiet. Bryant asked whether there might be enough for him. His eyes get wide, bulging, like they do when he's confused. Historic buildings -- Kentucky -- Lexington. Billy was always just around, in the office, on the road, on the sidelines. "Too many football games," he says. . It was lowered into an underground vault later. Alabama-Man mourns at Coach "Bear" Bryant's funeral site. Coach Bryant died Wednesday. February 22, 1991 to January 2, 1993. Missing? There he is. According to Social Security records, since 1959 there have been 1,403 Bryants born in Alabama -- so many that it piqued the curiosity of the Bear's original namesake, Paul William "Bear" Bryant Jr. After a lifetime of hearing "I was named for your daddy," it was Junior who approached the museum that honors his father with the idea of compiling a database of those whose names do the same. To his right is the famous painting "315" that shows Bryant on the sideline as he breaks the all-time wins record, and down the wall from that is a pencil-and-ink drawing of Bryant as a young man. "I host the family holidays here at my house in Tuscaloosa, and we have so many Pauls and Marys and Mays that I have to draw up place cards for everyone and I have to use a very sophisticated system of last initials. "We hear about people really almost exclusively through word of mouth," explained Ken Gaddy, director of the Paul W. Bryant Museum, located in the heart of the University of Alabama's campus. It happens slowly but clearly. I'm not as big on killing stuff as I am finding it with the dogs. 1983 Press Photo Alabama-Mourning fans at Paul "Bear" Bryant's funeral. 19572 posts. It's a deification. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. "His life is as concealed as Coach Bryant's life. As she stands by the office exhibit, the speakers to her left loop audio of Bryant reading that devotional: "What I do today is very important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. another $13 mil or so, in fact, which now . (AP Photo). Billy tells Susie that he talks to the coach. The coach visited this house once. He established the General J.C.C. "Coach Bryant used to be the coach at Alabama," he says. Billy sits in his big brown chair and looks at an oddly familiar man. Four loud slaps. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. "I went and bought me one of those. (File Photo/ The Huntsville TImes) The Huntsville Times, Former Alabama student Tammy Rogers at graveside service for Alabama coach Paul 'Bear' Bryant at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham, Ala. on Friday Jan. 28, 1983. He laughs at himself when he recenters. "[1] He is worth "hundreds of millions of dollars. There are also a ton of Pauls and Paulas. [3][7] He also served on the boards of trustees of the Alabama Heritage Foundation and the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia. Billy always walked a few feet in front of Bryant, for reasons he's trying to recall. ", The official records show Varner started working for the university police in February 1976, but he'd been around for a decade or more by then, floating in the shadows. Bryant said that he never made the remarks and that the entire article was fabricated. Missing in the houndstooth beach balls and paint jobs is a person. A few weeks ago, as Linda Knowles took the elevator up to the fourth-floor office where she works for the Alabama faculty senate, a car with a houndstooth paint job drove past her building on Paul W. Bryant Drive, past Bryant-Denny Stadium, past the Paul W. Bryant Museum, which is filled with what can only be called relics, then past the Bryant Conference Center. Billy picked him up in the morning. The extended family includes about a dozen hunting dogs, who are kept at Bryant's farm in Greene County. Varner went home to rest, and that's where he was when the phone rang again. 1; a guy who for years has been hostile to Blazer football out of fear it might one day challenge the thing his iconic father, Paul "Bear" Bryant, raised to the pinnacle of success. But he never played football past age 12 because of a health issue -- he contracted hepatitis. Robert Witt has worked with Bryant for the last 10 years, first as UA president and more recently as chancellor of the UA system. He remembers his mother,. His voice is deep and trails off when he's unsure. Whatever order was brought on by the photographs disappears. ", There were also no Sabans at the reunion. Before every Alabama home game, the big video board plays clips of Bryant talking, sounding like he ate a carton of Chesterfields. He said he had to rest. 1983 Press Photo Alabama-Air view of cemetery at "Bear" Bryant's funeral. Watts has said he, not University of Alabama System trustees made the decision to shut the football program down. On the worst, Billy, who is 76, doesn't recognize Susie. Dr. A's weekly risers and fallers: Jeremy Sochan, Christian Wood make the list. He was appointed to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees in 2000 . Bryant moved on to other business interests, keeping a close-knit group of partners in late attorney and civic leader Sam Phelps and his son, Scott, along with veterinarian Wayne May. Growing up, everyone called Bear Jr. "Papa," except for Hilburn, who called Papa's daddy "Papa" while everyone else called him "Grandpapa." "He never told me anything personal about Coach Bryant," she says. ", You think Paul "Bear" Bryant is dead? "My favorite part is meeting all the folks and hearing all the different name combinations they come up with," explained Curtis Paul Parker of Anniston. Although Bryant never served in the military, he is a lifelong scholar of American military history and active in battlefield preservation. The pallbearers were defensive backs Jeremiah Castille, Jerrill Sprinkle and Tommy Wilcox; quarterbacks Paul Fields and Walter Lewis; linebacker Eddie Lowe; offensive tackle Mike McQueen, offensive tackle, and split end Darryl White. For his philanthropic efforts, Bryant became the inaugural recipient of the Racing Commissioners Humanitarian of the Year Award by the organization of State and Canadian Racing Regulatory Commissions. Over the years, various accounts have given him different titles, but essentially, he was a fixer. (File Photo/ The Huntsville TImes) The Huntsville Times. The university had been spending about $20 million a year on football and the years ahead would only see that number grow and Watts pulled the plug causing a firestorm of protests from players and fans. [5] He also serves as the President of Green Group, Inc.[6], Bryant invests in "dog and horse racing, the insurance industry, cement making, catfish farming and banking. He's an honorary assistant coach for the 1975 season. Alabama Media Group, University of Alabama head football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant is lifted onto the shoulders of his players after Alabama defeated Illinois 21-15 in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn., Wednesday night, Dec. 30, 1982. Patsy Abbott said it pointedly -- like, literally pointing at her grandson as he waited to build a bear. A decade ago, speaking of efforts by UAB to decrease its athletics department deficit, Bryant offered: "You can put any spin you want on it, but if you aren't selling tickets, the money isn't there.". omething remarkable happens when Billy figures out where the den is located -- at first, he stood in the living room confused while Susie called his name over and over -- and inches down the hall, through the kitchen where Coach sat one time for supper, into a room decorated with photographs of Bear Bryant. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.