Alabama Football: The Crimson Tide and the Aggies go way back
By Ronald Evans
The Men Who Built Lasting Bonds
This is an incomplete list. Anyone not included is an unintentional omission. The entire group of Aggie players who survived pre-season camp outside Junction, Texas could be listed here. Over the years in those Junction camps, Paul Bryant and Gene Stallings learned how to coach and not coach football.
- Frank Thomas coached Paul Bryant.
- Paul Bryant (of course) played at Alabama and coached at TAMU and Alabama
- John David Crow played at TAMU and was a ‘Junction Boy’ and won a Heisman under Bryant. He later coached with Bryant at Alabama. Crow’s son played at Alabama. Crowe’s Heisman is displayed at the Bryant Museum. It is the only Heisman Trophy won by a Bryant-coached player.
- Gene Stallings was a ‘Junction Boy’ playing for Bryant. He was an assistant coach for Bryant at Alabama and a head coach at both schools.
- Dee Powell was another ‘Junction Boy’ player for Bryant at TAMU. He was an assistant coach at Alabama.
- Smokey Harper was a trainer for Bryant at TAMU and Alabama. The stories of Harper are legendary. Purportedly his two favorite injury remedies were an aspirin tablet and ‘rubbing some dirt on it.’
- Jackie Sherrill played for Bryant at Alabama and was the head coach for the Aggies.
There is one purposeful omission in the last list – The Weasel – who coached at both schools and will always be remembered in Tuscaloosa for urging his players “to hold the rope” and later left town without talking to them.
So on Saturday night in Brazos Valley region of Texas, when the Corps and Reveille IX run on the field, stand and cheer for the Aggie tradition and the men who helped make it.
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Some fans, particularly younger ones may not connect with this nostalgia. For those wondering if the close bonds between the programs diminish the drive to demolish the opponent. They do not. Certainly not for the players and not for the coaches. And not even for this fan who loves the history. History has no place inside a football game and there are championships to be won.