Brown died during a visit to the school
By CINDY HORSWELL, HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Updated 11:24 p.m., Saturday, October 22, 2011
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| Darrell Brown, 76, participated in the grueling 1954 training camp led by then-A&M coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. / family photo |
Darrell Brown, who left a small farm town east of Houston with
dreams of playing football at Texas A&M University during the
record-breaking drought of the 1950s, died Oct. 15 during a visit to the
campus. He was 76.
Brown was a walk-on player who won a scholarship after earning the right to be called one of the legendary "Junction Boys."
It was a title bestowed on survivors of a grueling 10-day training camp conducted by then-A&M coach Paul "Bear" Bryant in the West Texas town of Junction. Not many athletes were able to withstand the dawn-to-dusk workouts in the sweltering heat, with players given only two wet towels to share for water.
The 1954 training camp, later recounted in a book and a movie, was an experience that Brown, who lived in Dayton, said he never forgot. He regularly attended reunions with other players, including Gene Stallings and Jack Pardee, who both went on to football fame.
Devoted to Bryant
Brown even named one of his sons after Bryant. Of 600 namesakes linked to Bryant's players and associates, Brown's son, Bryant Brown, was recognized as the oldest by the Paul W. Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Two of Brown's grandsons received scholarships from a Bryant endowment and attend Texas A&M.
So Darrell Brown's family said they weren't completely surprised when he died Oct. 15 while visiting the A&M campus in the midst of the current record-setting drought.
Brown was there to see a grandson march with other members of Texas A&M's Corps of Cadets before the football game against Baylor University.
Brown collapsed just before the review. Family members said they don't know the cause of death, but noted that he had a history of heart problems.
He was among only nine sophomores who completed the notorious training camp, and was the first to die, said Betty Brown, his wife of 52 years.
Bible study helped
At one Junction Boys reunion, Bryant toasted Brown and other members of that sophomore class. Brown's son, Bryant Brown of San Antonio, said the coach told the men that they had proved they weren't quitters, noting that all had remained with the women they married after graduating from A&M.
"Coach Bryant had repeatedly told the players during the camp that they were learning life lessons," Bryant Brown said. "That they weren't going to graduate and become a bunch of ditch diggers."
He said his father, who earned a master's degree in agriculture, later teased Bryant that in some sense, he was digging ditches.
"He and his four brothers were growing rice and soybeans on about 10,000 acres," the son said. One of the brothers, Don Brown, played professional football for the Houston Oilers and Green Bay Packers.
Bryant later apologized to the Junction Boys for the grueling camp. One player suffered heatstroke and did not play that season, and Bryant told them he would have quit, too, Bryant Brown said.
He said his father led a Bible study in his dorm, and many of the players credited it with helping them make it through the camp.
Darrell Brown's faith came first, his son added.
Still friends
The Junction Boys remained close. Stallings telephoned his sympathies to Brown's widow, and nine members of the crew attended the visitation and funeral for Brown last week.
In addition to his widow and son, Brown is survived by another son, Barry Brown of Huffman; and one daughter, Brenda Lueders of Denver.
cindy.horswell@chron.com
Brown was a walk-on player who won a scholarship after earning the right to be called one of the legendary "Junction Boys."
It was a title bestowed on survivors of a grueling 10-day training camp conducted by then-A&M coach Paul "Bear" Bryant in the West Texas town of Junction. Not many athletes were able to withstand the dawn-to-dusk workouts in the sweltering heat, with players given only two wet towels to share for water.
The 1954 training camp, later recounted in a book and a movie, was an experience that Brown, who lived in Dayton, said he never forgot. He regularly attended reunions with other players, including Gene Stallings and Jack Pardee, who both went on to football fame.
Devoted to Bryant
Brown even named one of his sons after Bryant. Of 600 namesakes linked to Bryant's players and associates, Brown's son, Bryant Brown, was recognized as the oldest by the Paul W. Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Two of Brown's grandsons received scholarships from a Bryant endowment and attend Texas A&M.
So Darrell Brown's family said they weren't completely surprised when he died Oct. 15 while visiting the A&M campus in the midst of the current record-setting drought.
Brown was there to see a grandson march with other members of Texas A&M's Corps of Cadets before the football game against Baylor University.
Brown collapsed just before the review. Family members said they don't know the cause of death, but noted that he had a history of heart problems.
He was among only nine sophomores who completed the notorious training camp, and was the first to die, said Betty Brown, his wife of 52 years.
Bible study helped
At one Junction Boys reunion, Bryant toasted Brown and other members of that sophomore class. Brown's son, Bryant Brown of San Antonio, said the coach told the men that they had proved they weren't quitters, noting that all had remained with the women they married after graduating from A&M.
"Coach Bryant had repeatedly told the players during the camp that they were learning life lessons," Bryant Brown said. "That they weren't going to graduate and become a bunch of ditch diggers."
He said his father, who earned a master's degree in agriculture, later teased Bryant that in some sense, he was digging ditches.
"He and his four brothers were growing rice and soybeans on about 10,000 acres," the son said. One of the brothers, Don Brown, played professional football for the Houston Oilers and Green Bay Packers.
Bryant later apologized to the Junction Boys for the grueling camp. One player suffered heatstroke and did not play that season, and Bryant told them he would have quit, too, Bryant Brown said.
He said his father led a Bible study in his dorm, and many of the players credited it with helping them make it through the camp.
Darrell Brown's faith came first, his son added.
Still friends
The Junction Boys remained close. Stallings telephoned his sympathies to Brown's widow, and nine members of the crew attended the visitation and funeral for Brown last week.
In addition to his widow and son, Brown is survived by another son, Barry Brown of Huffman; and one daughter, Brenda Lueders of Denver.
cindy.horswell@chron.com
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