LOUISVILLE, Ky. — ABC Sports loved to interview the legend Paul "Bear" Bryant. UK's head coach from 1946 to 1953, Bryant put UK Football on the map.
My father, Jim Proffitt, played for Bryant. Oh, and his famous sayings! I grew up them hearing them from my dad and his former UK teammates. They liked to say, “I they survived The Bear”.
The coach still looms large in Lexington, and while his glory days were long gone, Mark Stoops and Kentucky's remarkable run this year season started bringing comparisons to the Bryant era.
My favorite photo of my dad's, autographed by the coach, is a photograph of the 1952 Cotton Bowl Victory over Texas Christian University, 20-7. There's Bryant in all his glory, toasting Coca-Colas.
My dad is in the middle of the team, smiling. He played the entire Cotton Bowl, both on offense and defense. He is the last living member of Bryant's Cotton Bowl starting line up, and he never forgot the locker room celebration. Dad often wore a Cotton Bowl hat commemorating that victory.
Jim Proffitt was recruited by the Bear from Louisville’s Manual High School, where they wore leather helmets in the games. He was part of the “Strong Louisville Eleven" that Bryant put together, the lineup including my dad's best friend, the late Joe Koch.
Dad was recruited along with Larry Jones and his brother, Harry Jones. The leader of the team, the famed quarterback Babe Parilli.
When Bryant left UK in 1954, the players stayed close and watched their former coach become a national figure with his classic lines and gruffness playing out live in games and during interviews.
The 1970s brought amazing clothing styles, but it also brought Bryant to Louisville, where he played golf with his former players at Hurstbourne Country Club.
He organized “The Bear Bryant Reunions,” where the coach would return to hang out with his former Wildcats in Louisville every few years. They held their get-togethers at the Breckinridge Inn. My mom and dad are in many of the photos.
Something else that may surprise you, UofL greats and coaches who wanted to meet the then Alabama champ were always we invited.
Growing up in my house, there was no “hate” of the Cardinals. Coach Howard Schnellenberger, a former UK great and who worked for Bryant at Alabama is a friend. So was UofL coach Vince Gibson, every present, signing a photo to my Dad.
In one great picture sat the late Louisville linebacker and Hall-of-Famer Otto Knop. Bryant would tell him, “Otto, how did we miss you?”
I asked my dad in late November about today's rivalry compared to in the past. He told me, “We had a great respect for their players and their coaches. We didn’t have any problems. In the summer in Louisville, we all hung out together. We had played against many of the U of L guys when we were all in high school."
The Bear loved his Louisville visits, never forgetting the players, who ironically couldn't stand him at times when they played for him, but grew to love the ground he walked on in later years.
On December 17, 2018, 10 days after turning 87 years old, my dad, #87 on Bryant’s UK teams died. He didn’t live to see the Citrus Bowl, but I know he and the rest of that starting lineup are watching it, from the best seats in the house.