Junction Boys

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The Junction Boys were the "survivors" of Texas A&M Aggies football coach Bear Bryant's 10-day summer camp in Junction, Texas, beginning September 1, 1954. The ordeal became the subject of a 2001 book by Jim Dent, The Junction Boys,[1] and a television movie with the same title produced by ESPN, starring Tom Berenger as Bryant.

The camp[]

Texas A&M University hired Bear Bryant as head football coach in 1954, replacing former coach Raymond George. Bryant arrived in College Station on February 8, 1954, and began molding the team. He felt that many of the players on the team were weak and not properly trained or coached, and needed a camp away from the distractions on campus. He therefore arranged for a camp to be held in the small Hill Country town of Junction, where Texas A&M had a 411-acre (1.7-km2) adjunct campus (now the Texas Tech University Center at Junction).

At the time of the camp, the Hill Country was experiencing a severe heat wave. It was also in the midst of the worst drought in the recorded history of the region, which had already lasted four years and would last another two after the camp. According to the National Climatic Data Center, all 10 days of the camp took place in high temperatures, with a few days topping 100 °F (38 °C).

Practices began before dawn and usually lasted all day, with meetings in the evening until 11pm. The oppressive heat combined with the brutal practice schedule was too much for many of the players. Each day, fewer and fewer players reported for practice, as many quit the team from illness or disgust. The situation was compounded by Bryant's refusal to allow water breaks. This practice, now widely recognized as dangerous, was at the time commonly employed by coaches at all levels in an attempt to "toughen up" their players. The only relief provided to the players were two towels soaked in cold water; one towel was shared by the offensive players, and one by the defense. One of the Junction Boys, future NFL coach Jack Pardee, later said in an interview that some players sweated away 10% of their body weight.

List of "survivors"[]

By the end of the 10-day camp, only a fraction of those who started were left. The list of "survivors" varies from 27 to 38. The 38 Junction Boys listed by writer Jim Dent were:

Over 100 players often have been depicted as making the trip to Junction, but all the survivors insist that the number was actually smaller. Although Bryant started out with over 100 players on the roster, many had already quit or been cut by the time of the Junction camp.[citation needed]

In 1954, Richard Vick had his photograph taken with Bryant. The photo was featured on the cover of the Houston Chronicle. Today, the photo of Vick and Bryant, as well as Vick's uniform, can be seen at the Texas A&M Sports Museum at Kyle Field.

In 2008, 19 of the Junction Boys had a 54th anniversary reunion at a ranch in Brenham, Texas. The remaining members have agreed to have a reunion every five years.

In April 2010, the surviving Junction Boys were honored by the Texas Children's Cancer Center at "An Evening with Texas Legends" in Houston, Texas, at the Hilton Americas Hotel. They were interviewed by sportswriter Mickey Herskowitz at the event.

Impact[]

Bryant's methods did not translate into immediate success on the field. In 1954, Texas A&M won only one game against nine losses (1-9-0 record), the only losing season in Bryant's 38 years as a head coach. In 1956, however, in spite of a postseason ban, the team finished 9-0-1, including a win against rival Texas and an end to their Southwest Conference championship drought.

1954 schedule and results[]

  • vs. Texas Tech lost 9-41
  • vs. Oklahoma State lost 6-14
  • at Georgia won 6-0
  • at Houston lost 7-10
  • vs. TCU lost 20-21
  • at Baylor lost 7-20
  • vs. Arkansas lost 7-14
  • at SMU lost 3-6
  • vs. Rice lost 19-29
  • at Texas lost 13-22

In 1955, Texas A&M went 7-2-1, and in 1956, the team went 9-0-1 and won the Southwest Conference.

Two of the Junction Boys, Jack Pardee and Gene Stallings, went on to become head coaches in the National Football League (NFL). Pardee was a two-time All-Pro with the Los Angeles Rams (1963) and the Washington Redskins (1971). Stallings also became Texas A&M head coach, and his Aggie team beat Bryant's Alabama team in the 1968 Cotton Bowl Classic. He later took over Bryant's Crimson Tide and won a national championship in 1992 - Alabama's first national championship since Bryant's death.

References[]

  1. ^ Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites who ..., Google Books, retrieved 2008-04-10
  2. ^ Horswell, Cindy (October 22, 2011). "One of A&M's legendary 'Junction Boys' dies". Chron.
  3. ^ "Junction Boys". www.espn.com.
  4. ^ "Junction Boys". www.espn.com.
  5. ^ "Junction Boys". www.espn.com.
  6. ^ "Junction Boys". www.espn.com.
  7. ^ Citronelle, Freeman Funeral Home-. "Obituary for Joseph L. Rowell". Obituary for Joseph L. Rowell.
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