32 years ago today...1/26/83 Coach Bryant passed away

wishbonedays

1st Team
Mar 30, 2003
663
4
0
Hanceville, AL, USA
www.wfl1974.com
32 years ago today I was in-between college classes, trying on some new golf shoes at a sporting goods store, when I heard on the store's radio that Coach Bryant had passed away...I dropped the shoes and just sat there for a few minutes, then went back to my apartment and watched the TV for news...it was a really sad day.
 

Elefantman

Hall of Fame
Sep 18, 2007
5,934
3,855
187
R Can Saw
Re: 32 years ago today...1/26/83

Back in the prehistoric days when there were no cell phones, twitter or facebook, you could not get a dial tone on your phone for several minutes after the announcement. Everyone was calling someone to spread the word.
 

jabcmb

All-American
Feb 1, 2006
2,792
318
107
Birmingham, AL
Re: 32 years ago today...1/26/83

Yeah, I still remember the stupid trash Auburn fans in my office laughing about it that day. In the years since a couple of them died from horrible diseases and I wondered if they thought it was funny then.
 

Go Bama

Hall of Fame
Dec 6, 2009
13,783
14,073
187
16outa17essee
Re: 32 years ago today...1/26/83

That's one of those moments everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.
 

Rush

All-American
Jul 5, 2011
3,190
768
137
Ontario, Canada
Re: 32 years ago today...1/26/83

That's one of those moments everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.
I was in my law school dorm room, where I had an SI cover featuring Coach Bryant up on my bulletin board.

Even tho back in those pre-Internet days Alabama felt so far away, I still remember the impact of hearing the news.

And the profound sadness it elicited in me...
 
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im4datide

All-SEC
Sep 6, 2001
1,578
11
62
63
Spring Hill,TN
Re: 32 years ago today...1/26/83

I was 22 and an asst mgr at a fast food restaurant. I had opened the restaurant that day and the store mgr (a Vols fan) called me and told me that Coach Bryant had passed. I'm glad I had closed the door as I entered to take the call. After hanging up I sat and cried as if a member of my family had passed. I had never met him but my grandmother worked in the football offices during the late 60's - early 70's, so as a kid I grew up following Coach Bryant. I will never forget that day!
 

imauafan

All-American
Mar 3, 2004
3,619
977
232
Huntsville, AL
Re: 32 years ago today...1/26/83

Here are some vintage photos from Bear Bryant's funeral; he died 32 years ago today

Mary Harmon Bryant didn't want an elaborate funeral for her husband, certainly nothing at the football stadium. Her husband already had enough attention, she figured. She didn't want music or a long list of speakers giving eulogies.

Nonetheless, the service and telecasts filled three churches in downtown Tuscaloosa. Hundreds of thousands lined the streets there and in Birmingham and along the path of Interstate 59 along which Paul "Bear" Bryant was taken to his final resting place at Elmwood Cemetery.

Bryant died on Jan. 26, 1983 and the services were held on Jan. 28. He was 69 years old, only a few months removed from the last football game he ever coached, the 323rd of his then-record victories.

Recently, The Huntsville Times discovered some vintage photos of Bryant's funeral as taken by former photographers Tony Triolo and Dave Dieter. They include shots of various dignitaries in attendance, like Joe Namath and ex-coaches Bud Wilkinson and Woody Hayes.

On this, the anniversary of that funeral, we thought it'd be appropriate to share those and other photographs.
I still get chill bumps and misty-eyed when looking at these photos. RIP, Coach Bryant, RIP.
 

exiledNms

Hall of Fame
Aug 2, 2002
5,443
7
0
Hattiesburg, MS (USA)
Re: 32 years ago today...1/26/83

I was in my last semester as an undergrad @ UA. At the time I heard of Coach's passing, I was browsing in a record store that used to be on the Strip. I recall them shutting down the music & switching to live news to keep us posted. So vivid in my aging mind.
I actually attended his funeral, sitting in the church designated "other" (non-team, non-family, non-visiting-dignitary, basically)
 

TideWatcher

All-SEC
Dec 11, 2006
1,814
11
62
newton county, ms
Re: 32 years ago today...1/26/83

So Right. I was in college, just got out of baseball practice back at my room and teammate came by with tears in his eyes told me. Still remember how his face looked when he told me.
That's one of those moments everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.
 

ron70

New Member
Nov 23, 2014
10
0
0
yes, i was at the burial in Birmingham and walked back to work which was several miles
 

gtowntide

All-American
Mar 1, 2011
4,288
1,092
187
Memphis,TN.
I was in a hotel on a business trip. When I saw the news on TV I checked out and went home. I felt like I needed to be with my family. RIP Coach Bryant.
 

BoSox Tider

Scout Team
Jul 1, 2011
122
51
52
I remember that day very well. I was working at my first "real" job after law school and saw the story on the evening news. It hit me like a ton of bricks.

A personal note: My dad and CPB were born the same year (1913) and close to the same time of year, CPB in September, my dad in November. Even though my dad live many years longer than CPB, the anniversaries of their deaths are very close (CPB today, my dad on January 17). I miss them both very much.
 

CB4

Hall of Fame
Aug 8, 2011
9,446
13,419
187
Birmingham, AL
I was working at University Hospital in Birmingham at the time. Many of the doctors had colleagues that worked at DCH who had told them that Coach Bryant had been admitted through the ER. A short time later we received worked he had passed away of a heart attack. It was a tremendously shocking, sad, and somber day.

Working in healthcare, you come to terms that unfortunately death is a part of life. It tends to harden you. Not that day. I sobbed like a baby.
 

JDCrimson

Hall of Fame
Feb 12, 2006
5,346
4,417
187
51
I was in the 4th grade - I was walking to get on the school bus to go home when I heard the news. I cried all the way home.
 

tmv85

All-SEC
I was a sophomore in high school. One of my friends walked into class and told us. I called him a liar.

Personal note: One of my uncles, who was as big a Bama fan as could be, passed away today. When I realized the date, I got a small sense of comfort because I could imagine Coach Bryant greeting him with a big Roll Tide.
 

Ldlane

Hall of Fame
Nov 26, 2002
14,253
398
102
Re: 32 years ago today...1/26/83

Sophomore in HS in Jacksonville Ark. We just came into shower after Off-season conditioning drills and I overheard our coaches discussing it. A couple of weeks later I quit football because the only thing I ever wanted to do was play for Coach Bryant. I've regretted ever since.
 

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