Junction Boys

The Junction Boys were the “survivors” of Texas A&M Aggies football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s 10-day summer camp in Junction, Texas, beginning September 1, 1954. The ordeal has achieved legendary status and has become the subject of a 2001 book The Junction Boys by Jim Dent and a television movie with the same name produced by ESPN that starred Tom Berenger as Bryant.

Texas A&M University hired Bear Bryant as head football coach in 1954, replacing former coach Ray George. Bryant arrived in College Station on February 8, 1954, and began cleaning house. He felt that many of the players on the team were weak and not properly trained or coached. He decided that his players needed a camp away from the distractions on campus; thus, he arranged for the 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 an epic drought and heat wave. The drought, the worst in the recorded history of the region, had lasted four years and would last another two after the camp was over. According to the National Climatic Data Center, all 10 days of the camp had hot 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 11:00 pm. The oppressive heat combined with the brutal practice schedule was too much for many of the players. Each day, fewer and fewer players would be at practice, as many players quit the team from illness or disgust. The situation was compounded by Bryant's refusal to allow water breaks. This practice, which is 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 the players were two towels soaked in cold water; one towel was to be shared by the offensive players, and one by the defense. One of the Junction Boys, future NFL coach Jack Pardee, would later say in an interview that it was not unheard of for players to sweat away 10% of their body weight.

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