YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Missing in the houndstooth beach balls and paint jobs is a person. Four years later, Billy was bartending at the Tuscaloosa Country Club. He drove him to Birmingham one year before Christmas because Bryant got a letter from a sick girl and he wanted to surprise her. [9] A CBS story from December 2014 reported that Bryant Jr. was partially responsible for shuttering the UAB Football program, reportedly over a long-standing grudge with Gene Bartow over a 1991 letter to the NCAA[10] - and "out of fear it might one day challenge" the football program his father had built.[11]. 2/28/2023 6:52 PM PT. The Chester County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) honored Sgt. Bryant's net worth is not public knowledge, but he has amassed enough wealth to donate tens of millions of dollars to the UA. 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. Sure did. Persistent Link for this Record:https://lhlphotoarchive.org/ark:/16417/th71m0q2fr6vl, University of Kentucky LibrariesSpecial Collections Research Center. Bryant asked whether there might be enough for him. The university sells houndstooth beach balls and houndstooth pool floats, which you can enjoy with an adult beverage kept cold by a houndstooth huggie. Others cried openly. They sat in the kitchen down the hall and ate and laughed. Bear Bryant Wife And Family - Mixedarticle The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. A story last year from Bloomberg News, mostly about his extensive business dealings, shows a man who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, a fortune gained through a variety of businesses and investments spanning dog and horse racing, the insurance industry, cement making, catfish farming and banking. "Well, that's my middle name!" Sometimes his mind is clear as a crystal. "He's young all the time here," Billy says. Billy's voice drops back down, and the words press together, a slurry of confusion and rearranged thoughts, part truth, part fiction. Bryant. The extended family includes about a. Billy sits in his big brown chair and looks at an oddly familiar man. Sometimes they talked. He earned his degree in finance from The University of Alabama in 1966. coverage of "Bear" Bryant's service. Help me understand the power of Paul Bryant, Jr. | SEC Rant 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. [3], Bryant founded the People's Bank in the late 1960s,[1] and later sold it. The Birmingham News. "It's my daddy's middle name!" "So little coming out of it. 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." There's even a song . Reach Tommy Deas at tommy@tidesports.com or at 205-722-0224. It follows the changing urban landscape of Lexington, the agricultural, tobacco and horse racing industries, key national events such as World War II and Vietnam, as well as notable regional and national figures. another $13 mil or so, in fact, which now . This isn't a celebration. "Paul Bryant Jr: His famous father casts a long shadow, one seemingly comfortable to the son", "Paul Bryant Jr.'s bank is tie that binds UA trustees", "Alabama Booster Paul Bryant Jr. Has Ties to Insurance Fraud Scheme", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_W._Bryant_Jr.&oldid=1127610045, This page was last edited on 15 December 2022, at 18:09. As Billy's memory fades, that knowledge disappears with it, widening the gulf between truth and imagination. He laughs and claps his hands. "Coach Bryant used to be the coach at Alabama," he says. As always, Varner stood in the background. As she talks, there's a noise down the hall, a rattle of movement and the thump-thump of a cane on the floor. Bryant's image. Even with names. Jos haluat muokata valintojasi, napsauta Hallitse tietosuoja-asetuksia. Is the Alabama board of trustees finally ready to kill UAB football? His moniker came from a carnival promotion where he promised to battle a caged bear when he was 13 years old. She answers for him when he seems lost. 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. Early life and family background [ edit] Paul William Bryant Jr. was born circa 1945. Billy was Bear Bryant's driver, bodyguard and valet, one of the few remaining people who knew him as a human being. It was lowered into an underground vault later. 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). Next fall, another great-grandson, Paul William Bryant Tyson, will be on Nick Saban's roster as a freshman quarterback. He is chairman emeritus of the Civil War Preservation Trust, a Washington, D.C. -. T He laughs at himself when he recenters. Billy always walked a few feet in front of Bryant, for reasons he's trying to recall. The pictures on the wall hold him. Cities and towns -- Growth -- Kentucky -- Lexington. 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. I walked in front of him. University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center. His eyes get wide, bulging, like they do when he's confused. Not yet anyway. He is a founder of the Civil War Trust in Washington D.C. and personally underwrote the merger with the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites that created the modern Civil War Trust. The Bear wore houndstooth. You want a window into Bear Bryant's power in the state of Alabama? Michael S. Serrill, John Helyar, Anthony Effinger, Paul Bryant Jr.: A legacy of his own; by Tommy Deas, tidesports.com accessed September 5, 2014, Last edited on 15 December 2022, at 18:09, Paul Bryant Jr: His famous father casts a long shadow, one seemingly comfortable to the son, Alabama Football Dominance Powered by Greyhound Fortune. Alabama Media Group, University of Alabama head football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant is lifted onto the shoulders of his players after Alabama defeated Illinois 21-15 in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn., Wednesday night, Dec. 30, 1982. 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. 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 . Hundreds of cars were lined up alongside the interstate in Birmingham to watch the procession pass. But I got outvoted. Your account has an invalid email address. For many years, Bryant has been accused of running the Alabama board of trustees like a family business, "holding secret meetings, shrugging off public records requests, ignoring or sidestepping the law. A member of the board since 2000, Bryant has said little publicly about UAB football. 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. Paul Bryant Jr.'s bank is the tie that binds UA trustees. Mrs. Bryant was dressed in a simple black dress and veil. This photograph was published on Feb 24th, 1948 (1948-02-24) Photograph Number: 1.03-1497.01 He told me one time, if somebody comes up and shoots me, they're gonna shoot you first. Before every Alabama home game, the big video board plays clips of Bryant talking, sounding like he ate a carton of Chesterfields. The patrolman understood and backed off. It's the only time we've put our name on anything. A decade ago, speaking of efforts by UAB to decrease its athletics department deficit, Bryant offered: "You can put any spin you want on it, but if you aren't selling tickets, the money isn't there.". Often, Coach read the paper aloud. Miss Mae Martin Bryant, daughter of Couch and Mrs. Paul Bryant, gives holiday tea. #RollTide pic.twitter.com/C5wakg73d7. "Bryant." 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,. [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. Several red and white banners reading 'We Love You, Bear' flapped from interstate overpasses as the motorcade rolled by. Paul W. Bryant Jr. sat down recently for a rare interview, giving insight into his involvement with UA athletics - both real and rumored - as well as a revealing glimpse into his personality, his background and the school's growth during his time on the board of trustees. Bryant entered Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa on January 25, 1983, after feeling chest discomfort. "It's exactly like that," Hilburn added. Some wore Alabama caps and others were seen in houndstoothcheck hats, which Bryant always wore on the sidelines on game day. They're probably dead themselves because I was a fast gun. His voice ticks up a few notches. ", They'd known each other for more than 20 years by then. You miss a lot of things you shouldn't miss.". Please update it here. Alabama-Fans climb tree to watch "Bear" Bryant's funeral. He was appointed to the University of Alabama Board of Trustees in 2000 . Susie is in and out of the room, doing laundry, listening to gospel music. 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. He can be almost painfully shy in public and has an intent dislike of seeing himself on television or having his photo made. 1983 Press Photo Alabama-Young man gives final salute to Coach "Bear" Bryant. "He could eat pheasant under glass with the president," he said, "or he could eat cheese and crackers with the boys out by the caddie shack, and he'd enjoy it all just the same. Over 10 years, Bryant Bank has grown to over $1.5 billion in assets, becoming the largest family-owned bank in the state of Alabama. Coach Bryant died Wednesday. All rights reserved (About Us). Kobe Bryant Family Settles Photo Lawsuit For $28.5 Million He got his bartender a badge and a gun. Susie would come home -- she worked with mental patients in a local hospital -- and see Billy's traveling bag gone. Facebook gives people the power. Knowles has walked through the museum about 10 times. 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. In his hospital room, Bryant was joking with the nurses. For all his business success, Bryant said in the interview that as a young man he had wanted to follow his father into coaching. The pitch of his voice starts to drop again, wavering between the treble of here and the deep bass of gone. Billy shuffles into the room wearing gray pajamas and black slippers. The Leader was a Republican, society-based evening edition, and the Herald a more political, heavily Democratic morning edition. He was 18. Each day brings its own reality. 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. In 1996, 14 years after Bryant died, he retired from the University of Alabama Police Department. He is survived by his wife Sylvia Mohamed-Bryant, parents Paul Dean Bryant Sr.. We know Lombardi from David Maraniss' biography, "When Pride Still Mattered," and he comes across as smaller and therefore larger in the retelling, because his humanity is on every page. The scope of the collection highlights the day to day activities of Kentuckians. "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. When things happened, and you were there ". If I'd changed jobs, I would have been making $50 more a month. Everyone gifted with some version of Coach's moniker wears a nametag, so as to keep them all straight. 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. Bryant has also had a couple of Labrador retrievers, but they passed away last year. "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. Driving through Mississippi one night, they stopped at a catfish house. You had more fun on that job. Trump avoided . His eyes get wide. Even Knowles sheepishly admits she has a houndstooth umbrella. He's an honorary assistant coach for the 1975 season. I have evidence to the contrary, from @bryantmuseum today. "Do you remember?". KATIE J. BUSH SUFFOLK -Katie Jane Bush, 74, died. Member since Sep 2010. "That's him up there," he says. "Nothing.". Some images' dates are unknown and cannot be searched by date. Watts has said he, not University of Alabama System trustees made the decision to shut the football program down. "At the University of Alabama it's really important," Bryant told Deas. 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. Three trades in a chaotic top five, The new law changing service academy football, and the coaches pushing back, Realignment chatter: How the Pac-12 holds the key to it all. The extended family includes about a dozen hunting dogs, who are kept at Bryant's farm in Greene County. Yes, Bear died, but He is risen. He was with him almost 24 hours a day.". [2] He was also the co-founder of Alabama Reassurance Co., later known as Alabama Life Reinsurance Co., a reinsurance company. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. He took care of business, and he kept everything to himself, even after Bryant died. Bryant has been married for 50 years to UA classmate Cherry Handley Hicks Bryant. T He dropped him off at night. I didn't do either of those. Paul W. Bryant Jr.'s business success as entrenched as his family's name The next morning, on Jan. 26, Varner ran errands, taking Bryant's daughter to the hospital and dropping off a to-do list at the office for Knowles. He puts a finger over his lips and says, "Shhh." The Bear, the rough-faced legend on the video board, was predestined to be great. 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 . Edit Now. Paul Bryant was the 11th of Wilson Monroe and Ida Kilgore Bryant's 12 children born in Moro Bottom, Cleveland County, Arkansas. Paul Bryant Jr. loaded his family wife Cherry and daughters Stella Gray (14), Mae Martin (13) and Anna Laurie (10) on his private plane for the trip to Memphis. [2] In 1999, he acquired a stake in Harvest Select Catfish Inc., a company which raises catfish in Alabama and Mississippi. I've had some different ones not work, too, Bryant said recently in a rare and revealing interview. To Bryant's right are his daughters Stella Gray and Anna Laurie. 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. At home, she keeps the microcassette of the last letter he dictated, the day before he died. A half-hour or more has passed. Standing before the exhibit, she can hear his voice all around her, literally, from the museum's video displays. Thereafter, he has been chairman of the Crimson Tide Foundation since its inception. "No kidding, it's my daughter's first name, too!" "This is Alabama football. ", Overhearing this exchange was yet another teenager, Bryant Denny Turner, whose parents dared to go even a step further and give their son the name of the legendary Alabama football coach and the name of the arena where the Bear did his homework, Denny Stadium. His nickname stemmed from his having agreed to wrestle a captive bear during a theater promotion when he was 13 years old. "It was so quiet. Alabama Booster Paul Bryant Jr. Has Ties to Insurance Fraud Scheme Vanessa Bryant just received a heck of a lot more money from L.A. County after her initial $15 million win last year . "He never told me anything personal about Coach Bryant," she says. The funeral service at the First Methodist Church in Tuscaloosa was deeply religious, with little reference to Bryant's career or character. A few days before the game, as a television crew interviewed him, Bryant walked by and cracked, "Don't rush yourself, Billy, I'll bring the car around. To shoot him, they had to get me first.". It was perhaps the most oddly attired gathering of mourners the cemetery had ever seen. Always, Coach Bryant, just like Mary Wilkes or Sarah Catherine: Coachbryant. "We knew he'd been offered a lot of money to write a book or help make a movie," says Linda Knowles, Bryant's longtime secretary, "and he would have none of that. "What do you know about the story where Coach Bryant and Billy met?" Tobacco industry -- Kentucky -- Lexington. 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 William Bryant Jr. Born: c. 1945: Alma mater: University of Alabama: Occupation: Banker, investor, philanthropist: Children: 3 daughters: Parent(s) Bear Bryant: See something missing? John C. Wyatt Lexington Herald-Leader photographs, https://lhlphotoarchive.org/ark:/16417/th71m0q2fr6vl, This item is 1 of 3716 items in the series ". 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. Also, members of the 27-member Black Legislative Caucus unanimously passed a resolution in opposition to Bryant's appointment, saying he was insensitive to minorities because of comments attributed to him in a 1989 Esquire magazine profile. Patsy Abbott said it pointedly -- like, literally pointing at her grandson as he waited to build a bear. Varner never felt comfortable enough to strike up conversations with Bryant, but he could poke at the Legend of The Bear. My passion is the dogs, really, he said. The University of Alabama System: Board of Trustees: Paul W. Bryant Jr. Greenetrack shareholder lawsuit alleges president, management misused funds, Four stockholders file suit against Greenetrack CEO and board officers. Who were the fastest defensive backs? Bear Bryant looks down from four or five different places. Billy is asleep. Knowles began canceling the next two weeks of Coach's schedule. There's even a song named that. "That's him," she says, standing so he can sit. "You was at the hospital when he died," she says. Married with three daughters, Bryant is known to be a student of American history, especially the Civil War. Growing up, everyone called Bear Jr. "Papa," except for Hilburn, who called Papa's daddy "Papa" while everyone else called him "Grandpapa." That's the number of IDs it would have taken to make the rounds at an invitation-only picnic in Tuscaloosa two weekends ago, before Alabama's home opener versus Arkansas State. A lot of them we've got don't hunt because they're older. She sits down and tells the story her husband can no longer tell. Alabama won the game against the University of Illinois at Urbana?Champaign, 21 to 15. Paul William Bryant Jr. (born c. 1945) is an American banker, investor and philanthropist from Alabama. Paul W. Bryant Jr. Wiki, Biography, Age, Career, Relationship, Net 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." It was a hand-me-down. 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. They know you've been vetted pretty well.. He never talked about the private things he'd seen. (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. Bryant's inner circle, those who knew the man, is surrounded by reminders of this. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 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. "There's not much really you can talk about Billy," Rutledge said. Paul W. Bryant Jr. Net Worth in 2021. He died on Jan. 26, 1983, only a few weeks after his final game on the sideline, the '82 Liberty Bowl. Bear Bryant funeral - al.com They were traveling, and Billy said he needed to get home for supper. Having football competitive and doing well, and so much more than that is (when) we're maintaining at a championship level every year, it makes it easier on businesses around the state, I promise you.