"Then," he added, "I'll do the same with Paul.". 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. There he is. That led to jobs, bartending at parties and running errands, and by the late 1960s, around the same time the coach traded his brown fedora for a hat with black-and-white checks, Billy began working for Bryant full time. But it appeared they had leaned toward quickness instead -- only two of the pallbearers weighed over 200 pounds, although all were remarkably muscular. About how Billy left her alone a lot of the time, how he gave up his life like Bryant did and how Billy never got to enjoy his retirement, either. Rutledge played for Bryant's first team and was an assistant on his last, and when he realized that he would be sharing new information, he clammed up. "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. Any William needs to be prepared to really make his or her case to be included, but many have successfully done so. A half-hour or more has passed. Kun kytt sivustojamme ja sovelluksiamme, kytmme, tarjotaksemme sivustomme ja sovelluksemme sinulle, todentaaksemme kyttjt, estksemme roskapostia ja vrinkytksi sek toteuttaaksemme tietoturvatoimia. The coach visited this house once. Simply stated, Paul Bryant cares deeply for the university.. "I always did want me the old-timey ice cream freezer," she says. I'm not as big on killing stuff as I am finding it with the dogs. She plays it sometimes. After an hour and a half, Bryant, looking tired and old, walked into his bedroom. He took care of business, and he kept everything to himself, even after Bryant died. 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. One person who has known Bryant for years, but didn't want to be named here, said that Bryant is a man who guards his family's privacy. Who were the fastest defensive backs? Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Robert Witt has worked with Bryant for the last 10 years, first as UA president and more recently as chancellor of the UA system. It was lowered into an underground vault later. He took a month off, trying to figure out how Coach Bryant would tell him to deal with his grief. I didn't use it but one time. Paul William Bryant Jr. (born c. 1945) is an American banker, investor and philanthropist from Alabama. 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. He'll dress in the middle of the night and try to leave, his pajamas rolled up in his hand. But I got it. We'd go to the stadium. ph, Casket of Alabama coach Paul Bear Bryant at the Elwood Cemetery in Birmingham, Ala. Friday Jan. 28, 1983. He says he's asked. They made small talk in the car, nothing about the life's work that had just ended. Joe Elmore said. I had a four- or five- or six-year head start on them. "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. "We had a dog named Bear as a puppy, but then we changed it to Bryant," confessed a family from Huntsville that also has two human Bryants on the roster. The price for memories is regret, and somewhere in the middle of all this, Billy considers how he spent his life. "It's my daddy's middle name!" The young people in the photo above waited at a tombstone, while those in the photo below watched television coverage of the funeral at Tuscaloosa. Married with three daughters, Bryant is known to be a student of American history, especially the Civil War. Kentucky football coach Paul 'Bear' Bryant poses with his family, Paul Jr. at center with their pet dachshund, and his wife Mary, right, at their home in Lexington, Kent., Feb. 5, 1954. Bryant announced last week that he was retiring after this game, which marks his 323rd victory. It was the first and only time he heard Bryant talk like that, and he realized that maybe his boss was a lonely man. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This was Bryant's last game as the head football coach at the University of Alabama. Bryant, who was born in Birmingham when his mother was living there with her parents while his father was serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, is a 1966 graduate of UA with a degree in finance. But many mourners wore crimson and white, the colors of the Crimson Tide. These ties received national press attention when the board of trustees made the shocking decision to kill UAB football. Bryant entered Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa on January 25, 1983, after feeling chest discomfort. Had he done that, one of those who answered back would have been Paul Francis Murray of Mobile. ", "You didn't play no football," she says. 1983 Press Photo Alabama-Young man gives final salute to Coach "Bear" Bryant. His voice becomes higher-pitched, quick but not rushed, with confidence in the direction of the words, without the long pauses to read the maps inside his mind. Sure did. Some images' dates are unknown and cannot be searched by date. Early life and family background [ edit] Paul William Bryant Jr. was born circa 1945. ", These are the stories she can tell. The Bear wore houndstooth. Neither his wealth nor his legacy as the son of the man who retired as college football's all-time winningest coach, however, has inclined him to lead a public life. They were traveling, and Billy said he needed to get home for supper. Missing in the houndstooth beach balls and paint jobs is a person. And he did! Few appear to believe that and instead see the trustees, with Bryant Jr. at the helm, as a force that for years has refused to support the team. He is chairman emeritus of the Civil War Preservation Trust, a Washington, D.C. -. The trust has over 50,000 members and more than 250,000 supporters throughout the country. [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. Always, Coach Bryant, just like Mary Wilkes or Sarah Catherine: Coachbryant. "It's crazy. Selected for Beta Gamma Sigma, he received the Financial Executives Institute of America Award for the outstanding student in commerce and business administration as well as the Alabama Bankers Association Award for the outstanding student in banking and finance. Only the sound of one woman sobbing broke the stillness. Even Knowles sheepishly admits she has a houndstooth umbrella. She liked Bryant, thought he had a good heart, even if he did almost always call her Sally. Otherwise, we'd have no idea what was what and who was where.". He got his bartender a badge and a gun. It was a hand-me-down. Even with names. Yes, Bear died, but He is risen. "[1] In 1995, Bryant acquired Reynolds Ready Mix, a cement company later renamed Ready Mix USA. Look at the UA System Trustees website and you will see the names of 15 permanent trustees, but only 14 photos. They put him on night traffic, and that first winter, he caught pneumonia. It's a cult. After services in Tuscaloosa, Bryant was brought to Elmwood Cemetery for interment. 1983 Press Photo Alabama-Air view of Coach "Bear" Bryant's funeral procession, Alabama-Air view of Coach "Bear" Bryant's funeral procession The Birmingham News, Mae Martin Bryant Tyson, Stella Gray, Anna Laurie, The daughter of Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, Mae Martin Bryant Tyson, left, and son Paul Bryant Jr., right, attend a memorial service on the campus at Tuscaloosa, Ala., Jan. 27, 1983. They are retired ones that mostly just get loving, pets.. 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. Later that night, she'd get the inevitable call. "I ended up playing football.". "Coach Bryant isn't dead," he'll say. No, no. He was 18. Alabama-Man mourns at Coach "Bear" Bryant's funeral site. Wilson's father added his own nod of approval, replying loudly, though muffled by a bite of hot dog, "Rollf Tfide! Many of the members of Bryant's last team held their faces in tense grimaces, obviously fighting back tears, at the graveside. But he never played football past age 12 because of a health issue -- he contracted hepatitis. 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. Hilburn's mother was Mae Martin Bryant, and Paul Murray's mother is Mae Martin Murray, the daughter of Paul "Bear" Bryant Jr. and, like Mary Harmon Hilburn, the granddaughter of Paul "Bear" Bryant . 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. The Chester County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) honored Sgt. Paul William Bryant Jr. was born circa 1945. [1] He was described by The Birmingham News as "among the most private of men, largely a mystery to many."[1]. 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. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Eight husky players carried Paul 'Bear' Bryant to his grave under a bare hickory tree and more than 8,000 mourners in two cities said goodbye Friday to the man they called the greatest football coach who ever lived. Although Bryant never served in the military, he is a lifelong scholar of American military history and active in battlefield preservation. Her voice sounds exactly like that of comedienne Wanda Sykes, and Susie, in real life and in the pictures around the house, wears a little smirk, as if she knows something you don't know. "[12] In 2001. a committee of trustees met in secret, just one day after a court barred Auburn's board of trustees from doing the same thing. He focuses on the shot from the Liberty Bowl. He laughs at himself when he recenters. Billy was worried, and maybe that's why he offered a rare piece of insight to a local reporter. (AP Photo), Press Photo Woody Hayes At Bear Bryant Funeral, Woody Hayes - Bear Bryant Funeral. 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. Four loud slaps. Bryant grew reflective. 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. To Bryant's right are his daughters Stella Gray and Anna Laurie. Lexington (Ky.) -- Social life and customs. George Wallace and former Washington Redskins Coach George Allen, representing President Reagan, were among the 400 dignataries, family members and friends who packed the church for the rites. The John C. Wyatt photographs (LHL) consist of an estimated 2 million unique photographic negatives spanning the years 1939-2001. You miss a lot of things you shouldn't miss.". re: Help me understand the power of Paul Bryant, Jr. Posted on 12/2/14 at 9:47 pm to weagle99. Sometimes they didn't. Growing up, everyone called Bear Jr. "Papa," except for Hilburn, who called Papa's daddy "Papa" while everyone else called him "Grandpapa." It's a deification. 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. usie Varner answers the door. You can reach up and feel it. "I keep trying to call that the Indian Hills football team. Historic buildings -- Kentucky -- Lexington. Despite his famous name, business success and longtime influential role at the University of Alabama, Paul Bryant Jr. has stayed out of the spotlight. Other sports notables at the funeral included New York Jets quarterback Richard Todd, Jets defensive lineman Marty Lyons, former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Lee Roy Jordan, former Georgia Tech Coach Bobby Dodd, Duke Coach Steve Sloan, former Ohio State Coach Woody Hayes, Florida Coach Charlie Pell, former Arkansas Coach Frank Broyles and Auburn Coach Pat Dye. Bryant got the name right; "Susie" was scrawled on the outside. Bryant is Chairman Emeritus and the longest-serving member of the organizations Board of Trustees. Sitting with Paul Murray was his cousin, Mary Harmon Hilburn, granddaughter of Bear. A 1966 UA graduate who earned a degree in commerce, Bryant started People's Bank while still in his 20's. 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. Most afternoons, Bryant would slip into the bar and play cards with friends. Lexington (Ky.) -- History -- 20th century. They sat in the kitchen down the hall and ate and laughed. Jos haluat muokata valintojasi, napsauta Hallitse tietosuoja-asetuksia. (AP Photo/Joe Holloway Jr.), College football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, wearing black coat, observes his team Alabama Crimson Tide after they defeated Illinois 21-15 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tenn., on Dec. 30, 1982. A funeral procession three miles long, consisting of more than 300 cars and six buses carrying Bryant's last University of Alabama team and many of his former players, drove the 60 miles to Birmingham behind the white hearse after funeral services in Tuscaloosa. Paul Bryant has stepped up for this project like he . Given that fact, it was not a surprise that phone calls to his office were not returned. 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. Paul W. Bryant Jr. was running a minor league baseball team before he was 25 years old. From 2000 to 2015, he was a member of the Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama System. Next fall, another great-grandson, Paul William Bryant Tyson, will be on Nick Saban's roster as a freshman quarterback. But unlike the others at the namesake reunion, his name wasn't merely a tribute. He remembers his mother,. Jack Rutledge asked carefully. "It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key: That key is Russian national interest.". Bryant asked whether there might be enough for him. The collection also contains associated newspaper clippings, job sheets, and hand-written photographers' notes. Bryant's inner circle, those who knew the man, is surrounded by reminders of this. Bryant said he was urged by the UA alumni association, ex-presidents of the school, members of the A-Club (made up of former UA athletic letter winners) and alumni to seek the seat on the board. All rights reserved (About Us). Bryant was held accountable for the demise of UAB football because of a letter Gene Bartow . If I'd changed jobs, I would have been making $50 more a month. "Paul 'Bear' Bryant was my great-grandfather," the eighth-grader said with pride as he sat in his great-grandfather's museum, in a conference room decorated with oil paintings, bronze busts and even a marionette of the man behind his name. "Bryant." Because of the overflow crowd, the service also was piped into the nearby First Baptist Church, which seated 1,300, and the Presbyterian Church, which accommodates 600. The scope of the collection highlights the day to day activities of Kentuckians. Research Account set-up and use instructions can be found at: http://libguides.uky.edu/SCRCaccount, Wyatt, John C.Lexington Leader (Lexington, Ky. : Daily)Lexington Herald-LeaderLexington Herald (Firm). YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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. Sometimes his mind is clear as a crystal. I've had some different ones not work, too, Bryant said recently in a rare and revealing interview. Paul W. Bryant, Jr. is the son of the late Paul W. Bryant and Mary Harmon Black Bryant. Billy's voice drops back down, and the words press together, a slurry of confusion and rearranged thoughts, part truth, part fiction. He is survived by his wife Sylvia Mohamed-Bryant, parents Paul Dean Bryant Sr.. His voice loses its pitch and clarity, sort of like he's got a mouth full of pea gravel. He looks back at the Liberty Bowl photograph. [2] He also served as general manager of minor league baseball's Birmingham Barons. 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. "I wish I'd read this 30 years ago," he told a friend, "I wouldn't have wasted so much valuable time." Alabama-"Bear" Paul Bryant funeral. Place kicker Peter Kim is at top right. Bryant, at the time less well-known, lived in the historic Redmont home shortly after he married Mary Harmon in June 1935. 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