Can anyone recommend a good Bear Bryant biography?

by KevinJ on Dec 1, 2008 9:10 PM CST Comment 15 comments

I'm a Longhorn, so I am (unfortunately) completely ignorant about what I'm sure is the rich history of your legendary Coach. If anyone here could point me in the right direction it would be much appreciated. I'm looking for the penultimate sort of thing that covers how he revolutionized/dominated the game on the field mixed with the history of his personal life and history....you know, a general soup-to-nuts sorta deal that doesn't either sugar-coat or tear anyone down...something as objective and honest as possible. Anyway, congrats to you guys on The Iron Bowl and a fantastic season so far. Hope you crush Florida. I'm tired of everyone acting like there's no question they go to the Championship. To Hell With That! (Oh, and to Hell with Oklahoma as well).

FanPosts are just that; posts created by the readers of this site. They are in no way indicicative of the opinions of SBN and the authors of Roll Bama Roll.

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Yep.

Allen Barra’s The Last Coach is a very well-written and well-researched bio that received excellent reviews .

And what with you being a Longhorn and all, you’ll enjoy reading about the friendship between Coach Bryant and Coach Royal. We as Bama fans must never forget that it was Coach Royal who devised the Wishbone!

The most beautiful phrase in the English language: "Touchdown, Alabama!"

by turnover on Dec 1, 2008 9:20 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Emory Bellard

actually devised the ‘bone. He was a very successful high school coach here in Texas because of his wishbone offense and Coach Royal essentially hired him so he could convert the Horns to the ’bone. Unfortunately … and I still haven’t quite figured this out … Royal later taught then-OU OC, Barry Switzer, how to run the wishbone. I know Royal was an OU grad, but teaching the offense to his school’s rival came back to haunt him as Switzer and the Sooners pretty much owned the Texas-OU rivalry for the better part of the 1970s and led to Royal’s premature retirement.

"That rug really tied the room together."

by pantsfucious on Dec 2, 2008 8:15 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

And Bellard...

…obviously used his knowledge to help MSU beat Bama in 1980, handing the then #1 Tide its first loss since 1978 and giving the Dogs their first win vs. Bama since the 1950s. I still can’t believe it.

by NiceLittleSaturday on Dec 2, 2008 11:35 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I'd agree

The Last Coach is great. It acknowledges some flaws in Paul Bryant as a human being. Also, you may be surprised to hear about how Bryant wasn’t exactly Bill Walsh in revolutionizing the game from an X’s and O’s standpoint.

I don’t mean to sound so negative about the man, but its nice to drink something other than the kool-aid every once in a while.

by Bobby Briggs on Dec 1, 2008 10:03 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

The Last Coach...

…received great reviews from RollBamaRoll as well. Click here.

RollBamaRoll.com

by Nico2.0 on Dec 1, 2008 10:04 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Great story...

…about your parents crossing the Canadian border. That review was before I joined the site, so I had not read it. I also recommend this book, KevinJ. Thanks for the good wishes. I wanted to play Texas in the NC. Ya’ll definitely got screwed.

"I hate everything orange"
It's all about Crimson - ROLL TIDE!!!

by bamavicki on Dec 2, 2008 11:15 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

wow KevinJ...

I applaud this post…
especially this: “Hope you crush Florida. I’m tired of everyone acting like there’s no question they go to the Championship. To Hell With That! (Oh, and to Hell with Oklahoma as well).”
the BCS shafted you…you should be #2…

RBR's KING of HIP-HOP...

by SpockJenkins on Dec 1, 2008 11:28 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

A great read

about getting shafted, by the way, is The Missing Ring by Keith Dunnavant. It is about the 1966 season specifically but a great read and good insight into Coach Bryant during his heyday.

Alabama judges its team by national and SEC titles. Auburn judges its team by how many times it beats Alabama. You tell me who the dominant team in the state is.

by Nose Guard on Dec 2, 2008 7:25 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

BEAR The Hard Life and Good Times of Alabama's Coach Bryant

This is an OLDIE that leaves off in 1973! It tells about his journey to UA from Arkansas and all of the stops in between. There are details about favorite players(famous) and scandals. He gives information about his decision to go to the wishbone and how he dealt with drugs(players).

This was a book someone bought for my father years ago. I had read it before when I was younger and found it not long after CNS came to UA. The similarities in the two is uncanny when you read this book, that is why I recommend it! Also, it is interesting to hear people say what a cheater Bear was then read about it in print here!! He wasn’t a cheater because it wasn’t illegal at the time. Pretty interesting stuff and still relevant today.

by crimsongirl on Dec 2, 2008 9:24 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

My sister and I...

…have personalized autographed copies of this book. My mother got them for us when she was getting her PHD from BAMA. What are they worth? PRICELESS!!!

"I hate everything orange"
It's all about Crimson - ROLL TIDE!!!

by bamavicki on Dec 2, 2008 10:24 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Mine is only signed by my uncle..

to my father for his bd, but it is priceless TO ME as well! (no one else would care about their signatures!) I just think it is a very truthful look at a lot of facts that get distorted today b/c the NCAA rules changed so quickly!

by crimsongirl on Dec 2, 2008 10:56 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

"Bingo!"...

…“that’s a goodie”. Just channeling Bear.

"I hate everything orange"
It's all about Crimson - ROLL TIDE!!!

by bamavicki on Dec 2, 2008 11:05 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I was in a

Bible bookstore in Florence recently and noticed a copy of “Bears Boys”…it was in the DOCTRINE section! Here are all these deep books on eternal life and salvation…and then “Bears Boys.” Required reading to get to heaven, apparently.

I actually found out later that the “Inspiration” sign kept falling down, so it just looked like it was in the doctrine section, but I about lost it!

I bleed crimson and white...I puke Vol puke orange. RTR

by SugarBowl93 on Dec 2, 2008 12:39 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Either sign...

…Inspiration OR Doctrine works for me. BTW, “Bear’s Boys” is on sale at Barnes & Noble for $5.98 for your Christmas giving. Why didn’t they have “Yea Alabama”? There is a new book by Cecil Hurt(Tuscaloosa News) that is fantastically beautiful called “Tradition: The Pride of Bryant-Denny”. It’s a coffee table book – http://www.alabamafootballbook.com/preview.html I’d love to have it, but it’s $60. Yow!!!

"I hate everything orange"
It's all about Crimson - ROLL TIDE!!!

by bamavicki on Dec 2, 2008 12:59 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs