-
Birth
Bryant is born as the 11th of 13 children to Ida Kilgore Bryant and William Monroe in the unmarked farmming town of Moro Bottom, Arkansas -
Period: to
Childhood
Birth-Leaving for College -
Moving to Fordyce
Bryant family moves a few miles south to Fordyce, Arkansas, where relatives own significant land and there is a school for Paul to attend -
Joining the Football Team
Paul is walking by the Redbug High practice field, and a coach notices Paul, and asks if he wanted to play. The rest of the conversation went something like this
Paul "Yessir, I guess I do. How do you play?"
Coach "Well, you see that fellow catching the ball down there?"
Paul "Yeah."
Coach "Well, whenever he catches it, you go down there and try to kill him." -
Earning his Nickname
A traveling carnival comes to town, and one of the attrations is live bear wrestling. Paul signs up this, because he wanted the money ($1 a minute) and also to impress a girl. During the match, the bear's muzzle comes off and it bites Paul, so he jumps of the stage and runs. The bear's owner skips town before Paul got his money. -
Recruited for Alabama
Alabama assistant Coach Hank goes to Fordyce to recurit some of the Redbugs talent. He doesn't get the players he came for, but he did get Paul Bryant -
Period: to
College
-
Champions
Paul is a standout player on the 10-0. They go to the Rose bowl as the underdogs against the mighty Stanford and win 29-13. -
Married
Paul Bryant is Married to his college girlfriend, Mary Harmon Black -
ol' number 34
During the pregame talk before the game against Tennesse, Coach Tomas say "I don't know about you, you, or you, or you, but I know that ol' number 34 will be after them today. No one knew who coach meant by "ol' number 34" since the players got new numbers every week, until Bryant looked down and saw the numbers "3" and "4" on his jersey. Bryant was surprised to hear coach say that he would play, since he had a broken bone in his leg. Bryant was a star on the team, and Alabama won 25-0. -
1st child
Mary Harmon gives birth to Paul Bryant's first child, Mae Martin Bryant -
Period: to
Assistant Coach
During this time Bryant is an assistant coach at Alabama and later Vanderbuilt. He perfects recuriting and starts to learn how to oach the game. -
Period: to
Navy
Paul Bryant enlists in the Navy in responce to the Pearl Harbor attack. He serves in North Africa and sees no combat action. He reaches the rank of Lieutenant Commander. -
Ramming
The ship Bryant was on, the USS Uruguay, is rammed by another ship. Bryant, among other men, disobey orders to abondon ship. Only the 200 some people who followed orders died. -
"First" Win
Bryant, now the Head coach at North Carolina Navy Pre-Flight School, wins against Duke, 13-6. This is technecally Bryants first win as head coach, but it didn't count towards his Record because his wins at North Carolina weren't counted towards his record. -
2nd Child
Paul Bryant's second child, Paul jr. is born. -
Period: to
Maryland
Head coach at Maryland -
Period: to
Kentucky
Head Coach at Kentucky -
Period: to
Texas A&M
Head coach at Texas A&M -
The Junction Boys
Bryant recieves his new job as head coach at Texas A&M, and decides to clean house. He takes over 100 players to a 4 day football camp in an nearby area known as the Juntion. The ground was hard and dry and littered with stones and cactus needles, and some days temperatures soared over 100 degrees. Less then 30 players remained at the end of the camp. A movie has been made about this event. -
Heisman Winner
John David Crow becomes Bryants first and only Heisman winner. The reason Bryant didn't have more winners is because he didn't believe in humiliating losing opponents, so he sent in 2nd and 3rd string players, which didn't allow stars players to build up the stats needed to win. -
Period: to
Alabama
Head Coach at Alabama -
First Integrated Opponents
Alabama faced their first racially integrated opponents, the Penn State Nittany Lions, at teh 1959 Liberty Bowl and lose, 7-0. -
1st National Championship
Alabama swept both polls for the 1961 championship by finishing 10-0 and beating Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl. -
Bear Accused
The Saturday Evening Posts publishes an a story claiming the Paul Bryant and Georgia athletic director Wally Butts of fixing the 1962 Georgia-Alabama game. Both of them sue, Butts wins his case and five months later Bryant settled out of court for $360,000 -
2nd National Championship
Alabama wins the polls for Bryants second national championship, finishing its 1964 season 10-0 -
3rd National Championship
Ranked 4th on New Year's Day, Alabama beats Nebraska 39-28 and wins the polls for Bryant's 3rd national championship. -
Alamaba Integrated
Alabama becomes racially integrated when John Mitchell becomes Alabama's first starting black player. -
Greatest College Game of All Time
In the 1973 sugar bowl, Alabama faced Notre Dame, both were unbeaten. The lead changed 6 times, and in the end Notre Dame won, 24-23. Alabama lost by the margin of a missed extra point kick. Many call it the greatest college football game ever played. -
4th National Championship
After the 1973 sugar bowl, Alabama split the national championship with Notre Dame, Alabama winning one poll and Notre Dame the other. -
Goal Line Stand
Alabama defeats No. 1 ranked Penn State 14-7. The game is decided when Alabama stops Penn State at the 1 yard line late in the 4th quarter and becomes what is probably the most famous defensive stand in college football history. -
5th National Championship
After the famous Goal Line Stand game, Alabama wins the polls for Bryants 5th national championship. -
6th National Championship
Alabama beats Arkansas 24-9, finishing the 1979 season 28-17 and winning Bryants 6th and final national championship. -
Breaking the Record
Bryant defeats Auburn in the 1981 Iron Bowl, beating his former assistant coach Pat Dye for his 315th career win, beating Amos Alonzo Stagg's recond of 314 wins, making Bryant the winningest coach ever in college football. -
Period: to
Retirement
The time from when Bryant retired from the head coach position at Alabama until his death -
Death
At the age of 69, Paul Bryant dies at Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa from a heart attack. -
Funeral
Bryant is buried at Elmwood Cementery in Birmingham on January 28 after a funeral procession that began in Tuscaloosa and was witnessed by an estimated 250,000 people.
