The pictures seem to anchor him. [2] By 2011, he sold it to Cemex, a Mexican construction corporation, for US$350 million. I remember all of them. There's even a song named that. He worked security at games, no longer inside the circle. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. In addition, he chaired the committee that hired Dr. Robert Witt, past President of The University of Alabama and retired Chancellor of The University of Alabama System. He is chairman emeritus of the Civil War Preservation Trust, a Washington, D.C. - based organization which works to preserve historic battlefields. The magazine quoted Bryant, who owned GreeneTrack in Greene County at the time, as saying that the dog track was frequented by low-class, welfare blacks.. (AP Photo), Press Photo Woody Hayes At Bear Bryant Funeral, Woody Hayes - Bear Bryant Funeral. Persistent Link for this Record:https://lhlphotoarchive.org/ark:/16417/th71m0q2fr6vl, University of Kentucky LibrariesSpecial Collections Research Center. Billy Varner has been married to Susie for 57 years, and as her life was once spent waiting on him to get home from a job that didn't know hours or days off, now it's spent managing his dementia. Billy picked him up in the morning. [2] In March 2015, The Birmingham News revealed that many UA trustees worked or had relatives who worked for the Bryant Bank. A half-hour or more has passed. Bryant also has a keen interest in the Civil War, and serves as chairman emeritus of the Civil War Preservation Trust, a national historic battlefield preservation organization. "You was at the hospital when he died," she says. another $13 mil or so, in fact, which now . Dr. A's weekly risers and fallers: Jeremy Sochan, Christian Wood make the list. Members of the 1982 football team carry the casket of Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant from the Tuscaloosa First Methodist Church in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Friday, Jan. 29, 1983. 1983 Press Photo Alabama-Man mourns at Coach "Bear" Bryant's funeral site. 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). They married right out of high school. The Bear, the rough-faced legend on the video board, was predestined to be great. 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." I walked in front of him. Former Data Analyst - Consultant at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida - Jacksonville. His nickname stemmed from his having agreed to wrestle a captive bear during a theater promotion when he was 13 years old. The John C. Wyatt photographs (LHL) consist of an estimated 2 million unique photographic negatives spanning the years 1939-2001. They hoped that through him they might better understand the coach. The Birmingham News. [7], He served on the board of trustees of the University of Alabama[3][6] until September 2015 and previously served as its chairman. Here we are updating just estimated networth of Paul William Bryant Jr. salary, income and assets. And no one knew Coach Bryant better than Billy. Married with three daughters, Bryant is known to be a student of American history, especially the Civil War. "Yes, sir, we've got Paul and Bryant covered right there in one house.". * This list only holds up to 10 photographs. Buy what you want, he told her, not what you need. Accessed March 4, 2023. https://lhlphotoarchive.org/ark:/16417/th71m0q2fr6vl, Researchers are required to have an SCRC Researcher Account in order to request or order digital copies of materials. Bryant was held accountable for the demise of UAB football because of a letter Gene Bartow . Bryant's net worth is not public knowledge, but he has amassed enough wealth to donate tens of millions of dollars to the UA. Bryant bought seafood dinners for everyone there, and Billy cracked later, "It was like you were handing out loaves and fishes." He's out having lunch and out doing business, so (to say he is a) recluse is maybe a little too strong, but he has certainly guarded his private life as well as anyone could with that name and with the things he has done.. He remembers his mother,. After an hour and a half, Bryant, looking tired and old, walked into his bedroom. 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. It happens slowly but clearly. But while the younger Bryant never coached, he has used his personal fortune to support UA to the tune of millions of dollars in donations -- $20 million to the UA football program alone during his time as a trustee. T Bryant is a family man: He has been married to his wife, Cherry, since 1966, and they have three daughters all UA graduates and three grandchildren. Today his memories seem to orbit around the idea of protecting Bryant from some unseen enemy. Sometimes they talked. Who were the fastest defensive backs? Alabama won the game against the University of Illinois at Urbana?Champaign, 21 to 15. Historic buildings -- Kentucky -- Lexington. For nearly 44 years the collection was cared for by John C. Wyatt (1928-2005), who became a Lexington Leader photographer in 1946, was the chief photographer for many years, and retired from the Lexington Herald-Leader in 1990. The LHL photographs are an unparalleled source of photographic evidence of the many historical, cultural, and industrial changes that have shaped Lexington and its surrounding region. We're going into the stadium. 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. 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.". The pitch of his voice starts to drop again, wavering between the treble of here and the deep bass of gone. 'I think Coach Bryant was the greatest leader this country ever had,' said his former All-America and Dallas Cowboy linebacker Lee Roy Jordan. He never talked about the private things he'd seen. Bryant has been married for 50 years to UA classmate Cherry Handley Hicks Bryant. He said he asked Esquire for a retraction, but William M. Adler, the freelance writer of the article, said he stood by the story. There he is. I didn't do either of those. For all his business success, Bryant said in the interview that as a young man he had wanted to follow his father into coaching. Joe Elmore said. 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. I wasn't really seeking it, he said. 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. After the game, on Dec. 30, Varner drove Bryant back to Tuscaloosa. 1983 Press Photo Alabama-Fans watching T.V. Bryant established two dozen operating companies and over 50 real estate ventures and syndicates. Others cried openly. ", "Bryant " "Bryant " "Bryant " "Bryant ". ph, Casket of Alabama coach Paul Bear Bryant at the Elwood Cemetery in Birmingham, Ala. Friday Jan. 28, 1983. 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. "It's really important to the state that we have a successful football program. "I went and bought me one of those. There is certainly regret in Bryant's choice of devotional. Jack Rutledge asked carefully. You start thinking about what you could have been doing. "My name is Chase Bryant Duncan," said a teenager, proudly pointing to his nametag as he stood in the food line on the lawn of the Paul W. Bryant Museum with his family. 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. Age: 68 Birthplace: Birmingham Education: Graduated in 1966 with a degree in finance from the University of Alabama Family: Wife, Cherry; three daughters and three grandchildren Career: President of Greene Group Inc., a privately-held holding company; chairman of Bryant Bank; president pro tempore of the UA board of trustees; chairman emeritus of the Civil War Preservation Trust, a national historic battlefield preservation organization, Tommy Deas Executive Sports Editor | The Tuscaloosa News. Edit Now. Bryant has also had a couple of Labrador retrievers, but they passed away last year. He said he had to rest. Don Siegelman moved in 2000 to have Bryant considered for the board, some legislators protested, saying the vacant seat had been promised to be filled by an alumnus of the UA system's Birmingham campus, UAB. "I keep trying to call that the Indian Hills football team. Each day brings its own reality. "What's your name?" Paul Bryant, Jr., who traveled with his former K-9 partner Azeem to Ground Zero to search for missing persons shortly after the attacks of . He'd eaten some sausage, and it upset his stomach is all. 1983 Press Photo Alabama-Fans climb tree to watch "Bear" Bryant's funeral. "There's not much really you can talk about Billy," Rutledge said. During these years, he served three successive terms as President Pro Tempore. coverage of "Bear" Bryant's service. Joe Namath - Bear Bryant Funeral. This urge to protect, probably born from seeing the Saturday Evening Post erroneously accuse the coach of fixing a game, is also erasing something. Only the sound of one woman sobbing broke the stillness. ", She stands still, surrounded by the strangers who've come to genuflect, and she thinks, "If they only knew." Coach Bryant died Wednesday. Supporters of UAB football insist that the now-scrapped football program played an important role in helping the university attract students and build campus life. Alabama-Funeral-Young man gives final salute to Coach "Bear" Bryant. Gaps open between the words, and sentences turn staccato. $1 Million - $5 Million. You can reach up and feel it. She was accompanied by her son, Paul Bryant Jr., and daughter, Mae Martin Tyson. "Do you remember?". kehittksemme ja parantaaksemme palveluitamme sek tuotteitamme. just to see how many people would turn around. His voice loses its pitch and clarity, sort of like he's got a mouth full of pea gravel. All rights reserved (About Us). He took a month off, trying to figure out how Coach Bryant would tell him to deal with his grief. I have evidence to the contrary, from @bryantmuseum today. He's following me. 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. 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. Jos et halua meidn ja kumppaneidemme kyttvn evsteit ja henkiltietoja nihin listarkoituksiin, napsauta Hylk kaikki. Last week, after 23 years of mostly losing seasons, UAB President Ray Watts announced that the 2014 football season would be the last for UAB. he man Billy Varner is remembering has very little in common with the Bryant who is beloved by so many Alabama fans. When he came back, he was a regular campus policeman. Susie is in and out of the room, doing laundry, listening to gospel music. In the Yellowhammer State, they've been giving 100 percent to the Bear Bryant name game for a very long time now. 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. Yes, Bear died, but He is risen. He earned his degree in finance from The University of Alabama in 1966. 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. "What do you mean, I didn't play football? That's what the annual namesake reunion is all about, bringing the living tributes together to create a sense of crimson-blooded community among those linked by their labels. The history of it kind of came up with lobbyists who worked for UAB at the time, some other people opposing my being on the board and it got to be kind of, sort of, a fight.. "It's crazy. Varner went home to rest, and that's where he was when the phone rang again. Another large circulating newspaper during this time was the Kentucky Leader (formed by a group of Fayette County Republicans in 1888) which eventually became known as the Lexington Leader in 1901. Twenty-eight days later, on a Tuesday night, Billy's phone rang. Bryant loved University of Alabama Crimson Tide football, and his son appears to love it just as deeply. He saw him cry. 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. Hundreds of others gathered silently outside the Methodist church to wave goodbye when Bryant's body was loaded into a hearse for the trip to Elmwood Cemetery. But that's how it goes with family, and all those people out there today with Papa's name, that's what they are: family. He only serves on one committee, but he does carry some influence with other board members. That's a no-no.". Early life and family background. Bryant grew reflective. When Paul took his grandson fishing, Billy came along. They put him on night traffic, and that first winter, he caught pneumonia. "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. USCALOOSA, Ala. -- Something important is being lost. ", You think Paul "Bear" Bryant is dead? Croakies to hold sunglasses, cuff links, purses, both the kind with handles and clutches. This was Bryant's last game as the head football coach at the University of Alabama. 1983 Press Photo Alabama-Young man gives final salute to Coach "Bear" Bryant. 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). At the end, when Bryant was sicker than anyone knew, Billy heard the private coughs. I had a four- or five- or six-year head start on them. Look at the UA System Trustees website and you will see the names of 15 permanent trustees, but only 14 photos. View the profiles of people named Paul Bryant Jr. Join Facebook to connect with Paul Bryant Jr. and others you may know. Paul, who rode in a mule-drawn cart from Moro Bottom, Ark., and in the back of Billy Varner's crimson Buick LeSabre, struggled, season after season. When then-Gov. 1983 Press Photo Alabama-Woman and child mourn the death of Coach "Bear" Bryant. "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. His voice ticks up a few notches. You want a window into Bear Bryant's power in the state of Alabama? "I said, 'Why would you name him after the greatest coach of all time when he could be named after the two greatest coaches of all time? KATIE J. BUSH SUFFOLK -Katie Jane Bush, 74, died. Getty. One grandmother introduced her preschool-aged grandson, Hayden Bryant Kennedy, this way: "If I'd had my way, he'd be Nicholas Bryant Kennedy." Bryant announced last week that he was retiring after this game, which marks his 323rd victory. Four loud slaps. announced that the 2014 football season would be the last for UAB, Our view: We don't trust the process that ended UAB football, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. On the worst, Billy, who is 76, doesn't recognize Susie. But unlike the others at the namesake reunion, his name wasn't merely a tribute. 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. John C. Wyatt established and maintained the collection's original organizational scheme. Connelly's C-USA preview, part 2: Which returning teams could rule new-look league? He has also commissioned two books by Delbert Teed honoring Alabama alumni who served in World War II: When Winning Was Everything: Alabama Football Players in World War II and All of Us Fought the War. Although Bryant never served in the military, he is a lifelong scholar of American military history and active in battlefield preservation. S "He's there in the black," he says. He is a man. [2], In 2005, Bryant founded the Bryant Bank. [1][2] By 1995, they were incorporated as GreenTrack, Inc.[4] As of 2009, he owned 72% of GreenTrack. She plays it sometimes. "Coach Bryant isn't dead," he'll say. It's lunchtime. Even Mrs. Bryant didn't know him as well as Billy did. "I ended up playing football.". Everyone gifted with some version of Coach's moniker wears a nametag, so as to keep them all straight. Knowles and Varner cleaned out the real version of this office after Coach died. "Don't tell me he's dead.". 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 . His clarity comes and goes. 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. [1] His father, Bear Bryant, was an American football player and coach. Bryant got the name right; "Susie" was scrawled on the outside. Despite his famous name, business success and longtime influential role at the University of Alabama, Paul Bryant Jr. has stayed out of the spotlight. NHL trade deadline: Winners and losers, including the Bruins, Devils and Bruce Boudreau? We can't just have anybody who is named Paul or William or even Bryant showing up and trying to sneak into the group. It was a hand-me-down. Earlier this month, a retired Alabama assistant coach sat at his kitchen table and gauged how much he could reveal. 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. We thought we'd do that for the grandchildren and stuff, and there's some responsibility that goes with that, I guess.. I'm not much better than other people, but the timing might have been good on some things.. Oh, s--- $50 wasn't worth it. It's difficult to understand if you're not from here, but when football isn't doing well it kind of hurts, the whole state is kind of in a funk. In real life, biographer Allen Barra reports, Bryant had a copy of Philip Roth's masturbation-heavy literary masterpiece "Portnoy's Complaint" on his shelf. 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. The farm spans hundreds of acres and has catfish farms, cattle and grounds for quail hunting. Several red and white banners reading 'We Love You, Bear' flapped from interstate overpasses as the motorcade rolled by. "If you're gonna be in, be all-in," explained James Turner, Bryant Denny Turner's father. [3], Bryant founded the People's Bank in the late 1960s,[1] and later sold it. His voice might be what affects her most. [8], He has donated millions of dollars to the Alabama Crimson Tide football program. He died on Jan. 26, 1983, only a few weeks after his final game on the sideline, the '82 Liberty Bowl. If I'd changed jobs, I would have been making $50 more a month. If you've been in that, you get looked at close so it helps to do OK in one regulated business you get another one, he said. Bear Bryant looks down from four or five different places. Whatever order was brought on by the photographs disappears. I didn't want it to be (a fight), but I felt some responsibility, Bryant said. She'd always ask: "When y'all coming back?". 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. It was the university football team.". 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. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. The price for memories is regret, and somewhere in the middle of all this, Billy considers how he spent his life. [2] Bryant is also the President of Greene County Greyhound Park.