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

by Jim Dent

The Junction Boy is now a television movie produced by ESPN, starring Tom Berenger as Bryant.

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 10 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.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Football, History, Biography, American History, Memoir

290 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 1999

Reviews

[John Hirschi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure why this book gets so much praise. The writing sometimes sounds like the script to a NFL films feature. Other times it's ok, but never really grippping. As for the subject matter - Paul Bryant was an idiot. He was young, and times were different back then, but his coaching style is apalling. One of his boys almost dies of heat stroke, but he continues to deny water during practice? This book made me ill at times. His players were tough, but they were tough before he started coaching them.. He won a national championship with them, but he might have done it earlier if he had lost or injured most of his athletes.

[Brian Eshleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Bryant quote at the head of each chapter or the best part. The author's vocabulary range with admirable. His story probably could have been trimmed down a little bit and been more effective.

[Gil Valle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Admittedly I am a bit of a Bear Bryant buff, but I couldn't put this book down. What a heck of a story this was, and it was awesome how close this group was for years after that football camp. Highly recommended for sports fans

[Ben Chubb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really impressed how the book illustrated that Bryant was so brutal but also had a lot of depth, growing slowly while retaining his core qualities that made him great. Got pumped about the respect he earned and impact he had on the guys he led, even though he admitted he did a lot of stuff wrong. The 50’s were wild. Run the dang ball.

[Kyle Magin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll give the book it's due-- it's usually wild enough to hold your attention. It's kind of like a rock 'n' roll memoir in its tone and attention span. My problem is how Dent treats the horrific abuse Bryant dished out-like when he kicked a player who had passed out from heat stroke, or head-butted another repeatedly until he fractured his nose and shattered his face. The author accepts this as 'tough coaching' when even Bryant, late in life, lamented how he treated the Junction Boys and admitted how his problematic drinking was a way to cope with the torture he put them through. It was hard for me to read a book this breezy and laudatory about a clear tyrant.

[Gregg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was more an exposé on hazing. At least Bear Bryant seemed to have learned from the experience. With 8 players from Junction still present years later on the National Championship team, the two events are positively correlated; however, it seems that they won in spite of Junction not because of it.

[Rachel Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mandatory offseason reading. There are lots of great things about this book. The best is when Nederland High School coach Bum Phillips shows up and invents zone blocking with salt and pepper shakers.

[Morgan Petermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to absolutely love this book, but I just couldn't do it. It's a great story, but everytime the story got really intense, the dialogue ruined it. It was just too cheesy for me. Did everyone in the 1950s talk like they were in that movie "It's a Wonderful Life"?

Essential, however, for any Aggie football fan. Crucial to understanding the history of the program and one of the most influential people to ever coach in Kyle Field.

[Robert Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mandatory reading for Aggie football fans.

[Spencer Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 stars because old football is sick; 1 star for dialogue = 3 stars?

[Wes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s captivating to hear the events that these young men endured at the command of Coach Bryant.

From a football player’s perspective this book reiterated the mental strength that’s necessary on the field to force thoughts or feelings of pain, discomfort, and other weakness and make them secondary to completing your duty each down between whistles. (Maybe not to the extent that these young men did, but to some some extent none the less)

From a Marine’s perspective this book helped me realize that just because your superiors may haze you and task you with extremely difficult responsibilities it is often (though not always, sometimes you just pissed off the wrong person) for your own good and in many cases was meant to prepare you for difficult times that they predict lie ahead. Although you may feel like someone hates you and that’s why they seem to always pick on you and test you it may be (and probably is) because of the exact opposite, not hatred they have for you but hope they have in you (hope being the feeling that something desired is possible). This book strengthened my thought of the importance to not get hot headed and negative when times get hard but to take the rough situation and take something from it to better you. I am a firm believer that through incredible hardships come incredible personal development that would otherwise never be attained.

For anyone, sports fan or not, looking for a good story with accurately factual information I will always recommend this book.

[Jay Jessmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always appreciated Coach Bryant for being a winner, but honestly had never dug much into his TRUE history. After this book, I have even more appreciation for who and what he was and did for the sport. It doesn't take very long reading to actually FEEL that you are part of this team. You begin to bond with both players and coaches, and at times find yourself bruised, batterred and breathing heavily right along with them. This book is a MUST READ of any fans of the sports genre. So many of the names throughout were familiar to me, but it was very cool to read about them as ¨youngsters¨. A lot of emotion in the last 3 chapters, and the epilogue. I went into this book expecting some nice football action and maybe a coaching tip or two. What I found was a FANTASTIC read and the story of how a group of extraordinary young men became one and survived ¨Hell¨.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jim Dent does a bang up job, again. Interesting that although the Junction trip is often lauded as some sort of bygone testament to toughness and a "better day" in sports even though everyone pretty much thought it was a bad idea, even Bear Bryant, and most considered it barbaric at the time. We weren't tough in previous years, just dumber.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

They would have put him in prison if he tried that with today's kids.

[Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the grossest and most graphic books I have ever read. The first half is truly stomach turning. I'm glad I finished it though, it gets better.

[John Whyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book about the building of character. Coach Bryant knew how to weed out quitters, and to breakdown and remold players to be champions.

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was brutality what coaches did back in those days.

[Panther Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. Lots of details. Lots of stories. And I’m so glad college football has moved beyond the mayhem of the 50s.

It’s fascinating, and a bit sickening, to think of the power Paul Bear Bryant commanded. He put the lives of his players at risk. He humiliated them. He also protected them - accepted their drinking and whoring and covered up their destructive raves. He set up and encouraged illegal payment to players and their families. He fully embraced the image of football as blood sport, with a fierce desire to win above all else.

Bryant’s players feared him and respected him. And most of them loved him, convinced that if they gave less than they could, the pain and shame would be worse than anything they suffered on the field.

The facts that Dent presents would be enough to get any coach fired today. But the only real threat to Bryant’s job was that Texas A&M only won 1 game in his first year there. Even then, Bryant knew what he was doing, and knew he could build a winning team quickly. And there were very few people in a position to question him.

Dent clearly presents both the good and bad of Bryant’s tenure. And he shares the doubts that Bryant himself had about some of his actions. There’s little doubt that Dent sees Bryant as both a great and a good man. I’m not in a position to claim otherwise, even after reading. And I can’t fault the book for that.

[Nathan Kornegay · Rating 3 out of 5]

In depth book about Bear Bryant and his tenure as Aggies head coach in the 1950s. Book centers around his first training camp in the desert of Junction, TX where he changed the mentality of the team from the inside out the old fashioned way. It goes on to detail the successes Bryant had after his first season, which are attributed to the grit and determination sowed on the dirt, cactus fields of Junction. The stories of camp from the coaches perspective are gruesome and abusive. However some of the stories of determination and teamwork are inspiring. Although Bear crosses the line several times, his team comes together and forms a bond that eventually results in a championship with the addition of some new highly recruited talent. The author does a good job of presenting the story as is and letting the reader decide what is and isn’t appropriate given the historical context. Overall, I recommend for hardcore football fans, Texans, and of course all Aggie alum. It’s an entertaining read and a good glimpse of what the origins of football looked like.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book for me on several levels. It’s about Texas. It’s about football. It’s about people who have become icons in both worlds. If you have no interest in Texas or football, then don’t bother reading it. If you do find yourself wanting to know more about college football and the spell it casts over so many Americans, this book is a must read.

Just yesterday evening I was driving down a neighborhood road here in Austin and glimpsed little Texas boys, perhaps only 9 years of age, decked out in massive helmets and shoulder pads, working under the sweltering 100 degree heat in order to prove themselves worthy of the game of football and, it seemed, manhood itself. A new generation of little Junction boys in the making. Fortunately their coaches now know better - at least I hope they do - than to deny water breaks during hours of grueling practice in broiling heat.

[Devonne West · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book about a great man that is often misunderstood. I shed a few tears for the players AND Bryant as I read what these young men endured. Bryant was doing only what he had learned himself. It is touching that the Texas A&M team that Bryant loved the most was made up of those Junction Boys who gave him the only losing season Bryant had as a coach. Bryant was a man that coached tough but loved deeply.
Before I read this book, I suspected that the carried some guilt about those 10 days of Hell Camp and after reading this book, it is confirmed. As Ken Hall (one of the Junction Boys) said in a letter to Bryant, "...I believe that it's time you can stop beating yourself up over me. You were forgiven a long time ago."
There aren't many men like Paul "Bear" Bryant any more and I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing....maybe it's both.

[Steve Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bear Bryant was old school on eleven. Somehow, I missed this book when it was first published and didn't watch the ESPN series (probably because I'm a teasip). Jim Dent crafts a solid narrative of what is was like in Junction, TX in the summer of 1954. Bryant was a brutal and occasionally cruel taskmaster and the jaw dropping details are not spared. While his tactics would be considered criminal by today's standards, there is no denying the special bond that formed among the players that served the ten days in hell. The book is quick paced and well-written--though clearly a football book, it's not bogged down in the esoteric language of the game. A small complaint--in the version I have there are a few editing errors. However, it's not enough to be a huge distraction.

[Lee Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very hard book to review. The cruel-sometimes intentional-brutality of Bear Bryant is central to this books story. The book, in my opinion, doesn’t portray Bryant in a favorable light. He is bull headed, arrogant, and coarse—to his own hurt. It does appear that he did learn some lessons that enabled him to experience long term success at Alabama.

While all the characters seemed to have landed on their feet and become very successful, it did come at a great price.

The book is a great read, entertaining and well written. Jim Dent does an amazing job as always. If you’re a fan of Texas college football—and the old Southwest Conference—you owe it to yourself to read this book.

[Drew Bott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, but not outstanding. I really wanted more dialogue and personal stories. It felt like a long newspaper article.
Many reviewers are incensed that a coach would act like Bear Bryant did. As a former college football player from the early 2000’s I can understand the outrage. However it is unfair to judge yesterday by today’s standards. Coach Bryant was ‘building toughness’ the only way he knew how; it was just how they did it. Withholding water? Dumb and dangerous (because science tells us so), but they actually believed it had salubrious effects upon athletes.
It’s worth a read but make sure you read it with the right glasses on.

[Brooks Keele · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Jim Dent's best. Any fan of college football will love this book. Direct quotes from Bear Bryant at the beginning of each chapter add an additional layer to every single page, and unlike many sports books, thrives and excells during the off-field segments just as much, if not more than, the on-field ones. With insight into both the coaching philosophy and accomplishments of Bear Bryant, and the impact he had on those around him, a near mythical figure adored by college football fans from all eras and regions is humanized in a way few pieces of media ever have.

[Jeff Colston · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating, unfiltered look at the life and legacy of Bear Bryant and his Aggie football teams. Dent does a fantastic job of capturing life in 1950s Texas and Southwest Conference football, and he makes you want to live during that time period.

My only complaint: I was shocked by Bryant’s horrible treatment of his players and felt like Dent may have portrayed Bryant with too much praise for his “tough coaching.”

Would still highly recommend to any Aggie, any college football fan, or really any Texan. Extremely interesting read.

[Ryan Bubeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read for any sport fan or anyone looking for a motivational book. The book tells a one of kind story of the most brutal Football camp at any level of the game, is also goes on to show how being uncomfortable can forge you into a stronger person. The book ends with a reunion of all survivors of the hellish camp and goes in depth about the sheer success of each and everyone one of them. I would heavily recommend this book for an over the summer read

[Joey Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. Definitely still good for a non-football/lay audience.
Especially fun when you've been to Junction! It's a very interesting place; the first half is grassy and the second half is all desert sand. Really the doorstep of Chihuahua and the modern American west. The movie kind of sucks compared to the book, and the players themselves say it's all for show, but it's a good story about a football team that went through a whole lot.

[Michael Mastrodicasa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was too long ago for me to remember a ton, but I remember I enjoyed this book and it helped me along my football journey.

This book reminded me of a lot of the sacrifices involved with the game of football. Things weren't quite this bad when I was playing, but some of the principles and the shared bonding apply still. Of course, after me came the age of paying excessive amounts to college players so who knows what is next.

[Ricky Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first, I did not like what Bear Bryant was doing. He was a bully, abrasive and awful person. He practically drove more than 75 players off the team. Not only that, he almost killed someone else as well. But over the chapters, I get to appreciate him more and more. Bryant actually felt guilty about what he did do to many of his players at TAMU.

If he was coaching as of today, he would be fired and blackballed from coaching ever again.