Houndstooth, the Bear, and the University of Alabama
The University of Alabama Returned to Notoriety with Coach Bryant
The most famous Alabama hats feature a Houndstooth pattern. Every true Bama fan
knows the history of this hat and why it became symbolic for the University of Alabama
in general. The story of one of the best coaches in college football history and certainly
one of the most important coaches in recent Crimson Tide history, Coach Paul Bear
Bryant, is enjoyable for both longtime fans and those hearing it for the first time that
it is worth recounting the salient details of the man that ESPN describes in the most
superlative terms. No college coach in the second half of the 20th century commanded a
bigger presence. Bryant became an icon, a symbol of strength and moral righteousness as
much as success.
Paul Bryant got the nickname bear when just a teen, when he agreed to wrestle a
captive bear. He played football for the Tide from 1931 to 1935, was a part of their 1934
national championship team, and got picked fourth round by the Brooklyn Dodgers in
the 1936 NFL draft, though he never played professionally. Even at this early stage in
his career, Bryant demonstrated the tough-as-nails determinism that would color his
coaching style in later years.
The Bear would not return to his alma mater until 1958, by which point he had already
earned a reputation for asking the most of his players. Describing his first training camp
as Texas A&M coach in 1953, during which more than two-thirds of the players quite,
he said, I dont want ordinary people. I want people who are will to sacrifice and do
without a lot of those things ordinary students get to do.
Bryant took over a Crimson Tide that had only won four games in the three years before
he returned, yet he led the University of Alabama to a 5-4-1 record that first season. This
began his reign of terror with the Tide, during which he habitually wore a Houndstooth
cap. He coached the Tide to multiple national championships during his 25-year tenure,
and brought Bama to the national notoriety that they have essentially maintained since.
It is reasonable to say that the Bear was instrumental in revolutionizing Crimson Tide
football.