From an eyewitness, the truth about Bear Bryant and Adolph Rupp in their UK days

[AndyPopCat]

It's a Mark Story column, but you do not have to visit the HL to read. Link is to the Ledger-Enquirer

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2015/06/27/3789566/mark-story-from-an-eye-witness.html

 

[TeoJ]

Good read

 

[jnewc2]

What I wouldn't give to be able to go back in time and trade a championship basketball program for a championship-caliber football program.

 

[Zakk Wyldcat]

The point is taken, but there'd be no need to trade one for the other had the UK administration/AD made the correct/better hire in any of 1962, 1969, 1973, 1990. Hindsight is 20/20, yes, but there were more obvious choices than the guys that were hired. The historians on here can probably expound on that better than I.

 

[Oldtrainer]

Humzey I think is correct about Uncle Adoph & The Bear relationship.
After coach Rupp retired I ask him to speak at a Wildcat Club meeting and remember him saying he had a seat on the plane for away football games. I believe he said when first came to UK he helped coach football for a brief period.

 

[HedleyLamarr]

Interesting. After the Cards won the Sugar Bowl, and the NCAA basketball title in the same year, I started looking into UK history to see if they had done anything like that. Sure enough, they upset no.1 Oklahoma in the 1951 Sugar Bowl and won the 1951 Basketball title. From what I could find, Rupp and Bear were good friends, neighbors, members of the same country club, etc. Both coaches had a great thing going in Lexington, until the legislature voted to restrict out of state recruiting. Bear left an otherwise great situation to go to Texas A&M. Kentucky could have been as good at football as they have been at basketball, but for the idiot politicians in Frankfort.

 

[Deeeefense]

but what about the watch? or was it a lighter?

 

[The_Godfather]

There's no doubt that Alabama would have come hard after Bear in 1958 no matter where he was coaching. Considering that it was his alma mater, not sure why so many pull their hair over whether or not UK could have had another handful of seasons before he left for Tuscaloosa.

 

[UKWildcats#8]

There's no doubt that Alabama would have come hard after Bear in 1958 no matter where he was coaching. Considering that it was his alma mater, not sure why so many pull their hair over whether or not UK could have had another handful of seasons before he left for Tuscaloosa.

Yeah, I agree. He would have left UK for Alabama regardless. Now would I have enjoyed another few seasons of high level play? Absolutely. Of course, well before my time so would just be a couple more years way back in the day I could say "See, UK used to be good!" in football.

 

[Oldtrainer]

Interesting. After the Cards won the Sugar Bowl, and the NCAA basketball title in the same year, I started looking into UK history to see if they had done anything like that. Sure enough, they upset no.1 Oklahoma in the 1951 Sugar Bowl and won the 1951 Basketball title. From what I could find, Rupp and Bear were good friends, neighbors, members of the same country club, etc. Both coaches had a great thing going in Lexington, until the legislature voted to restrict out of state recruiting. Bear left an otherwise great situation to go to Texas A&M. Kentucky could have been as good at football as they have been at basketball, but for the idiot politicians in Frankfort.

^^^ agree^^^
CATS were very good then. When a young 'Bear' became their coach he made UK very competent in The SEC. Believe the team was SEC champs and after Sugar Bowl think coaches poll labeled them # 1. I was fourteen then and Imo that was the glory days of UK football!

 

[Blouman]

Yeah, I agree. He would have left UK for Alabama regardless. Now would I have enjoyed another few seasons of high level play? Absolutely. Of course, well before my time so would just be a couple more years way back in the day I could say "See, UK used to be good!" in football.

Not so sure about that. UK went in consecutive seasons to Orange, Sugar and Cotton Bowls and I think won them all. This was in days when there were only about 6 bowl games. Had he stayed until 58 UK may have been the premier program in the conference, maybe the country! Just a thought.

 

[Johnfarrel]

There was no watch or lighter. The Bear himself debunked that watch and Caddy story and Rice also debunked it. But it lives on. The fantasy outlives the facts.

 

[Blouman]

A few years ago I saw a TV program that showed some video from an old Adolph Rupp show from the early or mid 60s and his guest was Bear Bryant. At some point Bryant took a lighter out of his pocket and shows it to Rupp and Rupp says "I remember this. I gave this to you a long time ago and you still have it after all these years. Isn't that nice!" or something like that. So apparently Rupp gave him a lighter whether the admin did or not.

 

[SanAntonioCat]

Bryant was 34 when he came to UK. He was 7-3 that year ending 30+ years of mediocre football. How did he do it? He had 22-25 year old WWII veterans coming home and entering college on the GI bill.

Herman Donovan, a sports enthusiast, was UK president at the time. He very much enjoyed the new found football success and the long term basketball success. Like most successful football coaches Bryant had a "slush" fund to "recruit" players. This was common practice and college presidents absolved themselves of knowing about such means to attract players. Today, this method has been legalized and called recruiting budgets.

President Donovan discovered the practice and admonished Bryant after making promises of continued support for the football program. This was the genesis of Bryant leaving. There were other reasons as well and those have become urban legends in som instances and fact in others.

Bryant and Rupp despite their egos were lifelong friends. At the end of the day, the decision to recruit only in Kentucky, Paul Hornung's decision to attend Notre Dame and the short sighted, disastrous support to football by basketball AD's further contributed to our descent into SEC bottom feeding from the 60s to the early 2000's. Yes, there was periodic blips of success, but that was usually followed by still another probation.

Thankfully, the commitment to academics AND athletics by the university and donors are making a difference beyond anything we could imagine.

Bear Bryant would smile today to see UK take initiatives to be successful. I remember his last appearance at Commonwealth Stadium when he wore a blue/white houndstooth hat during the pregame warm ups. As the teams left the field Paul Bryant walked down under the UK goalpost and stood for several minutes. He was saying goodbye to a place that began his meteoric rise to coaching fame.

Adolph Rupp would have been proud of his good friend. Today, Mark Stoops, Vince Marrow and this talented young staff and their players have a great opportunity to resurrect not only UK football to respectability, but to become an SEC competitor providing the BBN a sense of pride we've waited and hoped to see since 1953.

 

[Blouman]

Bryant was 34 when he came to UK. He was 7-3 that year ending 30+ years of mediocre football. How did he do it? He had 22-25 year old WWII veterans coming home and entering college on the GI bill.

Herman Donovan, a sports enthusiast, was UK president at the time. He very much enjoyed the new found football success and the long term basketball success. Like most successful football coaches Bryant had a "slush" fund to "recruit" players. This was common practice and college presidents absolved themselves of knowing about such means to attract players. Today, this method has been legalized and called recruiting budgets.

President Donovan discovered the practice and admonished Bryant after making promises of continued support for the football program. This was the genesis of Bryant leaving. There were other reasons as well and those have become urban legends in som instances and fact in others.

Bryant and Rupp despite their egos were lifelong friends. At the end of the day, the decision to recruit only in Kentucky, Paul Hornung's decision to attend Notre Dame and the short sighted, disastrous support to football by basketball AD's further contributed to our descent into SEC bottom feeding from the 60s to the early 2000's. Yes, there was periodic blips of success, but that was usually followed by still another probation.

Thankfully, the commitment to academics AND athletics by the university and donors are making a difference beyond anything we could imagine.

Bear Bryant would smile today to see UK take initiatives to be successful. I remember his last appearance at Commonwealth Stadium when he wore a blue/white houndstooth hat during the pregame warm ups. As the teams left the field Paul Bryant walked down under the UK goalpost and stood for several minutes. He was saying goodbye to a place that began his meteoric rise to coaching fame.

Adolph Rupp would have been proud of his good friend. Today, Mark Stoops, Vince Marrow and this talented young staff and their players have a great opportunity to resurrect not only UK football to respectability, but to become an SEC competitor providing the BBN a sense of pride we've waited and hoped to see since 1953.

 

[Blouman]

Great post SA Cat!!

 

[WildCard]

but what about the watch? or was it a lighter?

The Cadillac and lighter story was a Bryant fabrication he used in speeches. The most likely reason for his fairly sudden departure was a change in athletic department policy limiting out of state scholarships (Rupp was doing great with Kentucky kids so Bear should be able to do the same, right? ). Most of Bear's players came from OH and PA and he left in a huff, taking what was maybe the worst job around at the time (aTm).

The seedier story is Happy Chandler used his significant influence to have Bear "removed" because of a liaison with Happy's daughter. Unsubstantiated story is about 8th paragraph down. FWIW, I have a friend who is close to a very well known Kentucky sports journalist (from that era) and the journalist swears the story about Chandler's daughter is true.

Peace

 

[SanAntonioCat]

Bryant and Happy Chandler's daughter did indeed enjoy a friendship. The degree of that friendship has always been a topic of polite conversation.

What is true is Mary Harmon Bryant's shock and dismay about her husband moving her from Lexington (she loved living here) to College Station, Texas.

 

[TeoJ]

but what about the watch? or was it a lighter?

when the legend becomes fact print the legend.

 

[SanAntonioCat]

Bryant and Happy Chandler's did indeed enjoy a friendship with the Governor's daughter. The degree of that friendship has always been a topic of polite conversation.

What is true is Mary Harmon Bryant's shock and dismay about her husband moving her from Lexington (she loved living here) to College Station, Texas.

when the legend becomes fact print the legend.

 

[SanAntonioCat]

A great quote from one of John Ford's memorable westerns, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."

 

[Oldtrainer]

Great post SA Cat!!

Ditto.

Lived in Galveston area and sometime play golf with a member of Coach Bryant first Aggie team. He said Coach always spoke fondly of his days at UK and once told them he left the best player he ever recruited in Steve Meilinger. Buckshot Underwood was on Bears staff at UK and followed him to A&M. Later Buckshot came back to UK and was on Curci staff. Buckshot was one of our favorite WILDCAT CLUB speakers. In one his serious talks said coach and his wife Mary Harmon loved living in Lexington and hated to leave. Buckshot said coach Bryant told him when they first moved to College Station " I was a member of Idle Hour and hell they still have a waiting list"!

 

[SanAntonioCat]

Thanks to everyone for your comments. These posts place a great deal of truth to Paul Bryant's years at UK and his reasons for leaving.

The time is now to move forward and support our program and be the best we can be.