Daily Dose of Crimson Tide: 'Mama Called'

Need your fix of Alabama sports? BamaCentral has you covered with the return of the "Bear," Paul W. Bryant

Special to BamaCentral

Although Paul W. “Bear” Bryant had Texas A&M ranked No. 1 in the country and on the verge of winning the national championship, he met in secret with Crimson Tide officials prior to its key showdown with Rice in 1958. Coming off a three-year stretch that resulted in a dismal 4-24-1 record, Alabama was desperate to reclaim its lost glory and pried him away with a 10-year contract, an annual salary of $17,000 and a house (not to mention other assurances that the coach insisted).

“I left Texas A&M because my school called me,” Bryant said. “Mama called, and when Mama calls, then you just have to come running.”

Although Bryant was already an Alabama fixture from his playing days, he had also developed an imposing reputation from his first training camp at Texas A&M, when he took the Aggies to a barren army base and essentially ran a brutal boot camp in 100-degree heat. More than 100 players made the initial trip, but after 10 days less than one-third remained, the “Junction Boys.”

“I don’t want ordinary people,” Bryant said. “I want people who are willing to sacrifice and do without a lot of those things ordinary students get to do. That’s what it takes to win.”

The Aggies went 1-9 in 1954, the only losing season of Bryant’s career. Two years later, they finished 9-0-1 and won the Southwest Conference championship.

Like he did at Texas A&M, Bryant put players through the wringer during his first training camp at Alabama, causing many veterans to quit. But the change was immediate and noticeable during in the opener against LSU in Mobile. The Tide had a 3-0 halftime lead, but eventually succumbed, 13-3.

The key point of the game came after Alabama recovered a fumble near the 3-yard line, when LSU coach Paul Dietzel put in his third platoon, which only yielded a field goal.

“The game in which the Chinese Bandits were born,” LSU lineman Emile Fournet told the Baton Rogue Advocate. “That convinced the coaches, and everyone else, that we could play.”

LSU, which had Billy Cannon, who won the Heisman Trophy a year later in 1959, went 10-0 and won the national championship.

Alabama finished 5-4-1, which was the program’s best showing since 1953, when it won the Southeastern Conference title despite a 6-3-3 record. The other losses were all close, 14-7 to Tennessee, 13-7 to Tulane, and 14-8 to unbeaten Auburn. The 14 points were the most given up in a game the entire season, and Alabama outscored the opposition 106-75, the fewest points allowed since 1935.

The following season, Alabama went 7-2-2 to finish tenth in the polls, and started a string of 24 straight postseason appearances. In 1961, Alabama finished 11-0 to win the national title, the first of six for Bryant.

Some of this post originated from "100 Things Crimson tide Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die," published by Triumph Books