PAUL BEAR BRYANT

Paul “Bear” Bryant was born  9/11/1913 in Fordyce, Arkansas and died Fordyce, Arkansas and died January 26, 1983 Tuscaloosa, Alabama at the age of 69. He died after suffering a massive heart attack. He was a college football player and a coach. During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, he amassed six national championships and thirteen conference championships. Paul Bryant was the 11th of 12 children who were born to Wilson Monroe and Ida Kilgore Bryant in Fordyce, Arkansas. His nickname stemmed from his having agreed to wrestle a captive bear during a theater promotion when he was 13 years old.