Paul Bear Bryant

       Paul William Bryant was born on September 11, 1913 and died on January 26, 1983. He played college football and later became a coach for the University of Alabama football team. He won six national championships and thirteen conference championships. In his retirement in 1982 he help the record for the most wins as head coach with 323 wins in football history. In his early life he had accepted a scholarship to play for the university of Alabama in 1931. He was offered many jobs to be a coach but after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Bryant joined the United States Navy. In 1942 he served as assistant coach with the Georgia Pre-Flight Sky crackers. When he served off North Africa he saw no action but his ship was rammed by an oil tanker near Bermuda and was ordered to abandon the ship. He disobeyed the order and saved lives of his men.