Long before Nick Saban tripped headfirst over the tenth day of November in 2012, and long before Johnny Football held the sports media hostage with a string of off-the-field, off-his-rocker antics, Alabama and Texas A&M had a much bigger, more substantial connection.
It was 1954, and Texas was in the middle of one of the words droughts in nearly 700 years. Paul William “Bear” Bryant had just finished winning coaching stints at Maryland and the University of Kentucky, and he was headed to the Texas A&M campus to take over as the new head coach and athletic director. Feeling that the existing depth chart needed extensive purging, Bryant packed up the team up and headed out for ten days in Junction, Texas. What happened next is equal parts lore and legend.
Practices began between five and six in the morning, continued through sweltering afternoons topping over 100 degrees, and ended around ten o’clock at night. Water breaks were not allowed and injuries were not accommodated. Players claim that Bryant head-butted a player who wasn’t up to snuff, breaking his nose in the process. It’s the toughest of the tough who survive most summer football camps; only the maniacal would survive The Bear’s litmus test.
Over 100 boys took the ride into Junction; between 27 and 35 made it back as part of the team (reports still vary). After all the sweat, blood and vomit was over, Texas A&M still finished with a 1-9 season that first year. Those that survived were crowned with titles instead of wins: “The Junction Boys.”
In 1958, Bryant took over the head coaching job at his alma mater, the University of Alabama. Upon leaving A&M, he famously quoted “Mama called. And when Momma calls, you just have to come runnin’.” While coaching the Crimson Tide over the next twenty-five years, The Bear racked up six national titles, thirteen SEC championships, and became one of the most beloved figures in the history of the state of Alabama. Still, the only piece of jewelry Bryant was wearing when he died? Not a ‘Bama championship or SEC ring, but a ring gifted to him from The Junction Boys. It was the only piece of jewelry Bryant was known to wear. For all the love poured out on Bryant from the state of Alabama, apparently his most-missed exes lived in Texas.
Somewhere under the circus, there’s a deep-steeped sacredness to this matchup. Ironically, Wednesday would have been Bear Bryant’s 100th birthday. What would the Bear have had to say about quarterbacks signing autographs illegally for cash? Taunting each other with “money” signals after touchdowns? Supermodel girlfriends getting camera time?
Without a doubt, if he’d made it to his 100th birthday, Bear would love Manziel’s aggressiveness. Saban’s disciplined, no-nonsense approach. The size of the Crimson Tide’s offensive line. The presence of John David Crowe, Bryant and Texas A&M’s first Heisman winner, on the sideline.
But he sure as heck wouldn’t be handing out any water.
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Main Photo Credit: legacy.com, CC
