June 2, 1935

On this day in 1935, Paul William Bryant, not yet known as “Bear,” took Mary Harmon Black as his bride. They would raise two children, Paul Jr. and Mae Martin. Bryant, an Arkansas native, played for the University of Alabama football team at the time. He was known as “the other end” to Don Hutson, who became a legendary receiver at Alabama and in the National Football League with the Green Bay Packers. Bryant earned his legendary status as a college football coach, amassing a then-record 323 wins ­– 232 of them at Alabama, while leading the Crimson Tide to six national championships.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.  

(Image courtesy Paul W. Bryant Museum / The University of Alabama)

Paul “Bear” Bryant enlisted in the U.S. Navy in the early 1940s during World War II and was stationed in North Africa for a time between football-coaching stints at pre-flight schools. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Paul W. Bryant Museum, University of Alabama)

Bear Bryant, head football coach, at the University of Maryland, 1945. (The Terrapin, The University of Maryland year book, 1946)

(Image courtesy Paul W. Bryant Museum / The University of Alabama)

Paul “Bear” Bryant (1913-1983) in his last appearance at Birmingham’s Legion Field in 1982. At the time of his retirement, Bryant held the record for most wins as an NCAA Division I head coach. During the 1960s and 1970s, the University of Alabama Crimson Tide, under Bryant’s coaching, earned six national championships and had three undefeated seasons. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of The Birmingham News)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.