The Junction Boys: How Ten Days in Hell with Bear Bryant Forged a Champion Team

The true story of Paul “Bear” Bryant’s 1954 Texas A&M football training camp, and the courage, determination and sheer guts it brought out of one team.

Now a television movie produced by ESPN, starring Tom Berenger.

“I heard the story of the Junction Boys from gene Stallings when he was on my staff with the Cowboys. Those guys were some of the toughest to ever play the game. Jim Dent has really brough the story to life in a book any football fan would like to read.” —Tom Landry, former coach of the Dallas Cowboys

The legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant is recognized nationwide as one of the greatest coaches ever. So why did he always cite his 1-9 A&M team of 1954 as his favorite? This is the story of a remarkable team—and the beginning of the legend.

The Junction Boys tells the story of Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s legendary training camp in the small town of Junction, Texas. In a move that many consider the salvation of the Texas A&M football program, Coach Bryant put 115 players through the most grueling practices ever imagined. Only a handful of players survived the entire ten days, but they braved the intense heat of the Texas sun and the burning passion of their coach, and turned a floundering team into one of the nation’s best. The Junction Boys is more than just a story of tough practices without water breaks. An extraordinary fellowship was forged from the mind-numbing pain. The thirty-five survivors bonded together like no other team in America. They profited from the Junction experience; the knowledge they took back with them to College Station, about themselves and what they were capable of, would be used for the rest of their lives.

In vivid and powerful images reminiscent of Friday Night Lights, Hoosiers, and The Last Picture Show, these young men and their driven coach come to life. The Junction Boys contains all the hallmarks of a classic sports story, and it combines America’s love of college football with an extraordinary story of perseverance and triumph.

“It’s the best sports book I’ve ever read.” —Pat Summerall, Fox Sports

“Legendary college football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant comes alive in this rollicking story of his time at Texas A&M during the mid-1950s. . . . College football enthusiasts will enjoy reading about Bear Bryant and about a time when the sport was such a big part in the lives of many Americans, especially poor Texans.” —Kirkus Reviews

© 2024 Thomas Dunne Books (E-kirja): 9781429972840

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E-kirja: 6. elokuuta 2024