Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant

After Paul breaking the record for career victories by a college football head coach, Paul (Bear) Bryant called himself a tired old man who never got tired of football. When Bryant finally retired, he didn't receive an opportunity to enjoy life away from the game, if that were possible for him. He died 28 days after coaching his last game.

After Paul graduated in 1936, Bryant was an assistant coach with Alabama for four years and Vanderbilt for two. Just when it appeared as if he might become Arkansas' head coach, the U.S. entered World War II. Bryant served in the Navy, on the U.S.S. Uruguay, before becoming the head coach of a preflight training school football team in North Carolina. When the war ended, Bryant was named head coach at Maryland.

For years, Bryant defended charges of racism by saying the social climate didn't allow him to go after black players. In 1970, Bryant recruited Wilbur Jackson as Alabama's first African-American scholarship player. The following season, junior-college transfer John Mitchell became the first black to play for Alabama. By 1973, one-third of the team's starters were African-American.

On 8-4 season in 1982, Bryant retired. On Jan. 26, 1983, he died from heart failure. Bear Bryant was 69. Paul died 28 days before he was going to retire his job as a coach. Today he is still in all his players hearts.