The Junction Boys is the name given to the “survivors” of Paul “Bear” Bryant’s 10 day summer football camp in Junction, Texas beginning September 1, 1954. The ordeal has achieved legendary status and has become the subject of a book by Jim Dent and a mini-series produced by ESPN. Image from stamp honoring Bryant Paul Bear Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football coach. ... Junction is a city located in Kimble County, Texas. ... September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... ESPN, which stood for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, is an American cable television network dedicated to sports 24 hours a day. ...

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. Bryant felt than 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 of campus. He arranged for the camp to be held at the 411-acre adjunct campus of Texas A&M at the small town of Junction. Texas A&M University at College Station Texas A&M University, often Texas A&M, A&M or TAMU for short, is one of the premiere universities in Texas and is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. ... City nicknames: Aggieland, heart of the Research Valley Location in the State of Texas County Brazos County Mayor Ron Silvia Area  - Land  - Water 104. ... February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

At the time of the camp, the Texas 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. All ten days of the camp saw temperatures rise over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. A drought is an extended period where water availability falls below the statistical requirements for a region. ... A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by excessive humidity. ... This article is about the temperature scale; see also Fahrenheit graphics API. Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after the German physicist Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), who proposed it in 1724. ...

The oppressive heat combined with the brutal practice schedule caused many players to drop out of the football program from illness or disgust. The situation was compounded by Bryant refusing to allow water breaks. This practice is now widely recognized as dangerous, but at the time was commonly employed by athletic coaches in an attempt to toughen up their players. The only relief provided the players were two towels soaked in cold water, one to be shared by the offensive players, one for the defense. One of the Junction Boys, future NFL coach Jack Pardee would later say in an interview that losing 10% of your body weight in sweat in a day was not unusual. NFL logo For other uses of the abbreviation NFL, see NFL (disambiguation). ... Born in Christoval, Texas, Jack Pardee was an All-American linebacker at Texas A&M University, a 2-time All-Pro with the Los Angeles Rams (1963) and Washington Redskins(1971), a 2-time NFL Coach of Year (1976,79), and winner of 87 games in 11 seasons. ...

Practices began before dawn and usually lasted all day with meetings in the evening until 11:00 PM. The conditions were too much for many players and each day, there would be fewer and fewer players at practice as men would quit the team. By the end of the 10 day camp, only a fraction of those that started were left.

The list of “survivors” varies from 27 to 35. The Junction Boys listed by writer Jim Dent were:

• Ray Barrett - G 5-9 195 Sr. San Angelo, Texas
• Darrell Brown - T 6-1 190 Soph. Liberty, Texas
• James Burkhart - G 6-1 185 Soph. Hamlin, Texas
• Henry Clark - T 6-2 205 Jr. Mesquite, Texas
• Bob Easley - FB 5-11 190 Jr. Houston, Texas
• Dennis Goehring - G 5-11 185 Soph. San Marcos, Texas
• Billy Granberry - FB 5-7 155 Soph. Beeville, Texas
• Lloyd Hale - C 5-10 190 Soph. Iraan, Texas
• Charles Hall - HB 5-10 185 Sr. Dallas, Texas
• Gene Henderson - QB 6-1 175 Jr. Sonora, Texas
• Billy Huddleston - HB 5-9 165 Jr. Iraan, Texas
• George Johnson - T 6-3 200 Jr. Ellisville, Mississippi
• Don Kachtik - FB 6-1 185 Sr. Rio Hondo, Texas
• Bobby D. Keith - HB 6-0 175 Soph. Breckenridge, Texas
• Paul Kennon - E 6-1 185 Sr, Shreveport, Louisiana
• Elwood Kettler - QB 6-0 165 Sr. Brenham, Texas
• Bobby Lockett - T 6-3 190 Soph. Breckenridge, Texas
• Billy McGowan - E 6-1 180 Sr. Silsbee, Texas
• Russell Moake - C 6-3 215 Soph. Deer Park, Texas
• Norbert Ohlendorf - T 6-3 200 Sr. Lockhart, Texas
• Jack Pardee - FB 6-2 200 Soph. Christoval, Texas
• Dee Powell - T 6-1 210 Sr. Lockhart, Texas
• Donald Robbins - E 6-1 188 Jr. Breckenridge, Texas
• Joe Schero - HB 6-0 175 Sr. San Antonio, Texas
• Bill Schroeder - T 6-1 200 Sr. Lockhart, Texas
• Charles Scott - QB 5-8 160 Soph. Alexandria, Louisiana
• Bennie Sinclair - E 6-2 195 Sr. Mineola, Texas
• Gene Stallings - E 6-1 165 Soph. Paris, Texas
• Troy Summerlin - C 5-8 145 Soph. Shreveport, Louisiana
• Marvin Tate - G 6-0 175 Sr. Abilene, Texas
• Sid Theriot - G 5-10 195 Sr. Gibson, Louisiana
• Richard Vick - FB 6-1 185 Sr. Beaumont, Texas
• Don Watson - HB 5-11 155 Soph. Franklin, Texas
• Lawrence Winkler - T 6-0 225 Sr. Temple, Texas
• Herb Wolf - C 5-11 185 Jr. Houston, Texas

It has often been portrayed that over 100 players made the trip to Junction. In fact, a smaller number actually went to the camp. Although Bryant started out with over 100 players on the roster, many had already quit or been cut by the time of the Junction camp. The exact number that left for Junction varies but all the survivors insist that it was less than 100. Born in Christoval, Texas, Jack Pardee was an All-American linebacker at Texas A&M University, a 2-time All-Pro with the Los Angeles Rams (1963) and Washington Redskins(1971), a 2-time NFL Coach of Year (1976,79), and winner of 87 games in 11 seasons. ...

Although the "survivors", as they came to be called, were mentally tougher after the experience, this new strength did not translate into immediate success on the field. In 1954, Texas A&M won only one game against nine loses. Two years later, however, the team went 9-0-1 and won the Southwest Conference. The Southwest Athletic Conference (SWC) was a college athletic conference in the United States, now defunct. ...

Many of the Junction Boys went on to great success in various fields after college. Two of the Junction Boys, Jack Pardee and Gene Stallings, would go on to become head coaches in the NFL. Stallings would also become the head coach of Texas A&M and later took over Bryant's Alabama Crimson Tide and won a national championship in 1992. NFL logo For other uses of the abbreviation NFL, see NFL (disambiguation). ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...