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]
Aftermath
Bryant's methods did not translate into immediate success on the field. During the 1954 season, Texas A&M played 10 games, starting on September 18 and ended on November 25, losing nine of them. It was the only losing season in Bryant's 38 years as a head coach. The Aggies' only victory was a 6–0 win over Georgia on October 2, the third game of the season.
Texas A&M did significantly better the next two seasons, going 7–2–1 in 1955, and 9–0–1 in 1956, winning the Southwest Conference despite being on probation.[8]
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 1963 Los Angeles Rams and the 1971 Washington Redskins. Stallings also became Texas A&M head coach, and his Aggie team beat Bryant's Alabama team in the 1968 Cotton Bowl Classic. Stallings later became head coach at Alabama and won a national championship in his third season in with the 1992 Crimson Tide, which was Alabama's first national championship following Bryant's death.
In 2008, 19 of the Junction Boys had a 54th anniversary reunion at a ranch in Brenham, Texas. The remaining members 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.
References
^Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites who ..., Google Books, retrieved 2008-04-10
junction, boys, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, december, 2. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Junction Boys news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Junction Boys were the survivors of Texas A amp 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 Contents 1 The camp 2 List of survivors 3 Aftermath 4 ReferencesThe camp Edit Bear Bryant in 1945 during his time coaching Maryland Texas A amp 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 amp 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 EditBy 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 Jack Pardee during his time playing for the Los Angeles Rams Ray Barrett G 5 9 195 lbs Senior from San Angelo Texas Darrell Brown T 6 1 190 lbs Sophomore from Dayton Texas died October 15 2011 2 James Burkhart G 6 1 185 lbs Sophomore from Hamlin Texas 3 Donald Bullock HB 5 11 165 lbs Sophomore from Orange Texas Henry Clark T 6 2 205 lbs Junior from Mesquite Texas Bob Easley FB 5 11 190 lbs Junior from Houston Texas Dennis Goehring G 5 11 185 lbs Sophomore from San Marcos Texas 4 Billy Granberry FB 5 7 155 lbs Sophomore from Beeville Texas 5 Lloyd Hale C 5 10 190 lbs Sophomore from Iraan Texas died April 15 2014 Charles Hall HB 5 10 185 lbs Senior from Dallas Texas Eddie Ham C 5 10 165 lbs Senior from Grapeland Texas Gene Henderson QB 6 1 175 lbs Junior from Sonora Texas Billy Huddleston HB 5 9 165 lbs Junior from Iraan Texas died July 31 2019 George Johnson T 6 3 200 lbs Junior from Ellisville Mississippi Don Kachtik FB 6 1 185 lbs Senior from Rio Hondo Texas Bobby D Keith HB 6 0 175 lbs Sophomore from Breckenridge Texas Paul Kennon E 6 1 185 lbs Senior from Shreveport Louisiana Elwood Kettler QB 6 0 165 lbs Senior from Brenham Texas Bobby Lockett T 6 3 190 lbs Sophomore from Breckenridge Texas Billy McGowan E 6 1 180 lbs Senior from Silsbee Texas Russell Moake C 6 3 215 lbs Sophomore from Deer Park Texas Norbert Ohlendorf T 6 3 200 lbs Senior from Lockhart Texas 6 Jack Pardee FB 6 2 200 lbs Sophomore from Christoval Texas died April 1 2013 Dee Powell T 6 1 210 lbs Senior from Lockhart Texas Donald Robbins E 6 1 188 lbs Junior from Breckenridge Texas Joe Schero HB 6 0 175 lbs Senior from San Antonio Texas Bill Schroeder T 6 1 200 lbs Senior from Lockhart Texas Charles Scott QB 5 8 160 lbs Sophomore from Alexandria Louisiana Bennie Sinclair E 6 2 195 lbs Senior from Mineola Texas Gene Stallings E 6 1 165 lbs Sophomore from Paris Texas Troy Summerlin C 5 8 145 lbs Sophomore from Shreveport Louisiana Marvin Tate G 6 0 175 lbs Senior from Abilene Texas Sid Theriot G 5 10 195 lbs Senior from Gibson Louisiana Richard Vick FB 6 1 185 lbs Senior from Beaumont Texas died January 25 2020 Don Watson HB 5 11 155 lbs Sophomore from Franklin Texas died January 7 2020 Lawrence Winkler T 6 0 225 lbs Senior from Temple Texas Joseph Rowell Sr G 6 2 220 lbs Junior from Citronelle Alabama died February 1 2010 7 Herb Wolf C 5 11 185 lbs Junior from Houston Texas Nick Tyson WR 6 1 181 lbs Junior from Norman OklahomaOver 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 Aftermath EditBryant s methods did not translate into immediate success on the field During the 1954 season Texas A amp M played 10 games starting on September 18 and ended on November 25 losing nine of them It was the only losing season in Bryant s 38 years as a head coach The Aggies only victory was a 6 0 win over Georgia on October 2 the third game of the season Main article 1954 Texas A amp M Aggies football team Gene Stallings in 2009 Texas A amp M did significantly better the next two seasons going 7 2 1 in 1955 and 9 0 1 in 1956 winning the Southwest Conference despite being on probation 8 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 1963 Los Angeles Rams and the 1971 Washington Redskins Stallings also became Texas A amp M head coach and his Aggie team beat Bryant s Alabama team in the 1968 Cotton Bowl Classic Stallings later became head coach at Alabama and won a national championship in his third season in with the 1992 Crimson Tide which was Alabama s first national championship following Bryant s death In 2008 19 of the Junction Boys had a 54th anniversary reunion at a ranch in Brenham Texas The remaining members 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 References Edit Twelve Mighty Orphans The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites who Google Books retrieved 2008 04 10 Horswell Cindy October 22 2011 One of A amp M s legendary Junction Boys dies Chron Junction Boys www espn com Junction Boys www espn com Junction Boys www espn com Junction Boys www espn com Citronelle Freeman Funeral Home Obituary for Joseph L Rowell Obituary for Joseph L Rowell 1956 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Junction Boys amp oldid 1119128483, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
