The Bear Bryant Show

Did You Know?

• The show's title sponsors were the Birmingham Coca-Cola Bottling Company and Golden Flake Snack Foods, with the slogan 'a great pair, says the Bear.'
• In 1992, Golden Flake and Coke donated the 77 surviving episodes to the Paul W. Bryant Museum.

History

As part of Bryant's contract with the University, he retained all rights to Alabama football game films, making him one of the first collegiate head coaches to have his own television program when The Bear Bryant Show began in 1958. Bryant received $3,000 per show and insisted on an hour-long format to cover the game fully and for recruiting benefits. In 1966, the show became one of the first television programs produced in Alabama to be broadcast in color.

Over its 25-year run, several co-hosts served alongside Bryant: John Forney from 1961 through 1965, Bill Austin in 1966, Charley Thornton from 1967 through 1981, and Steadman Shealy in 1982. Thornton left after the 1981 season to become an executive athletics director at Texas A&M University. Shealy, a former Crimson Tide quarterback, was selected as co-host in September 1982 by the show's producer, Sloan-Major Advertising. The program ended after the 1982 season with Bryant's retirement.

More than 250 episodes were produced, and for several years it ranked among the highest-rated syndicated television shows in the country. Only 77 episodes survive on tape because the show aired live and many videotapes from the 1970s were reused week-to-week. Some tapes were recorded at the request of the father of former Alabama halfback Mike Stock so he could watch highlights of his son. In 1992, Golden Flake and Coke donated the surviving episodes to the Paul W. Bryant Museum, and an exhibition called 'Sundays at Four' opened there in 2001. Efforts to release the show on DVD have been discussed but have not yet succeeded.

Legacy

The show reflected many values of the state through Bryant's discussions of the game, God, family, and country. His ability to connect with fans through the program helped create and sustain the legend of Bear Bryant, as observed by Keith Dunnavant. During the 1960s and 1970s, NCAA rules limited teams to two televised games per season on ABC, making The Bear Bryant Show the primary way fans across Alabama could see the games. It aired Sundays at 4:00 p.m., and its popularity often caused stations to preempt live NFL coverage in the same timeslot. Crimson Tide players also watched to hear Bryant's comments on their individual performances.