Even today, more than two decades after his
death, the Alabama Crimson Tide take the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium
only after a recording of Bear Bryant's legendary growl blares
throughout the stadium.
Mr. Bryant, known for his houndstooth hat and guttural rumble, strode
the sidelines in Tuscaloosa for 25 years. He collected six national
championships and won a then-record 323 games. In Alabama, he was
royalty. More than a quarter of a million people witnessed his funeral
procession in 1983.
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The coach's ineffable appeal was of course intensified by geography. As
Marino Casem, famed coach and administrator at black colleges,
explained, "In the East, college football is a cultural exercise. On the
West Coast, it is a tourist attraction. In the Midwest, it is
cannibalism. But in the South, it is religion."
Which explains why Alabama drugstores sold postcards of Bryant literally
walking on water. Allen Barra, a native Alabamian long fascinated by
both Bryant and the Crimson Tide, attempts to separate the man and the
icon in his moving biography The Last Coach, a comprehensive account
emboldened by nuance and extensive research.
Most striking in the current era of million-dollar coaches: Bryant
adhered to a policy of always keeping his salary $1 below that of the
university president.
Born in Moro Bottom, Ark., Bryant grew up poor and displayed little
interest in academics. A teenage stunt wrestling a carnival bear affixed
him with a lifelong nickname. On a lark, he took up with the high school
football team and later was recruited to play at the University of
Alabama, where he garnered respect and attention after playing against
Tennessee despite a broken leg.
