THE JUNCTION BOYS

Football fans know "The Bear" is the late Paul "Bear" Bryant, legendary football coach at the University of Alabama. They may not know that, before arriving at Alabama, Bryant coached at Texas A&M. This story of Bryant's first A&M training camp, in 1954, in Junction, Texas, adds to the legend and reveals the other side of The Bear. Raymond Todd's intense reading drives home the brutality of that camp, and Bryant's lasting impact on his players. Every time a player collapses, suffers through injuries, or survives another brutal practice, Todd conveys the events with emotion and clarity, using Southern accents that add to the performance. Most people don’t know how physical football workouts are. Todd makes sure they understand, in painstaking detail. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 02]