Coach Bear Bryant Retiresย
Amidst the holiday season of December 1982, Alabamians witnessed the conclusion of the legendary coaching career of Paul โBearโ Bryant.
Bryant played football at the University of Alabama in the early 1930s. After a brief career in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he held head coaching positions at Maryland, Kentucky and Texas A&M. Then, in 1958, โMama Called,โ and the Bear returned to his alma mater, where he remained for 25 years, becoming one of the greatest football coaches in modern history.
The 1982 season was disappointing. The Tide lost to conference rivals Tennessee and LSU and dropped a home game against Southern Miss. Then, Auburnโs Bo Jackson went โover the topโ at the goal line to secure the Tigerโs 1-point victory, handing Alabama their first Iron Bowl loss in a decade.
โThere comes a time in every profession when you need to hang it up,โ Bryant said plainly at a Dec. 15, 1982, news conference. Failing healthโby then visible to manyโwas the reason. Bryant introduced Ray Perkins, coach of the NFLโs New York Giants, as his successor.
On Dec. 29, 1982, Bryant coached the Tide for the last time, securing a 21-15 victory over Illinois in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee. It capped a storied career, one against which all future coaches at the Capstone will assuredly be measured: 323 wins, 85 defeats, 17 ties, three undefeated seasons, 13 SEC championships, 24 consecutive bowl game appearances and six national championships. At the end of the game, his players lifted their retiring coach onto their shoulders, carrying him off the field and into history.
Bryant died of a heart attack less than a month later. In February 1983, Ronald Reagan posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
โ Scotty Kirkland
