Ray Perkins gave all he had to Paul Bryant and the Alabama footballer, and his devotion to them shaped his life.
Perkins died Monday at his home in Northport, Alabama. He was 79 years old. He once said he couldn’t live beyond 60 because he poured himself so much into the game. It meant the same thing. His love for Alabama represented a different time in college league football, and perhaps no one will ever love him that way again.
What made Perkins so important to the history of Alabama football? What is the true measure of his greatness? It’s not their coaching record, and it’s not their coaching tree. Yes, there is a link between Perkins and Nick Saban and that link includes Bill Belichick, but the contribution to history, while significant, is a footnote. Perkins ’legacy is even more profound, and the University of Alabama has given his memory a great honor.
A few figures are even more important in the history of Alabama football.
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Perkins is the guy that Bryant Hands chose to come to Alabama, not because it was going to be easy and the work was a kind of reward. It was the opposite. Bryant’s ability to recruit had waned in his final years due to poor health. He told Perkins to take his torch to Tuscaloosa, because he knew it would be an impossible and difficult task.
Bryant was not in favor of Perkins. It was the other way around.
Think about what all Perkins gave Alabama for coaching. People credited him with recruiting Belichick and Bill Parcel, but Perkins was probably preparing to become Coach Belichick. Perkins left after making the New York Giants into power, and knowingly the Giants were on the verge of NFL supremacy.
And why? To take a thankful reconstruction job in a college lodge that no one will ever really appreciate.
Bryant said at the end of his final season, “I think he’ll have some problems getting behind me, but he’s a capable guy.” “And the first thing is that he’s one of us.”
Yes, Bryant actually said those words, and so much weight and luggage was tied to him. In other words, Perkins was on duty, and he had to respect a cause greater than his own.
For the Alabama and Southeast Conventions, Perkins’ prospect of a Crimson Tide represents a true sacrifice to the idea that success led football and its influence and power were more important than all personal success. With Bryant retiring, Alabama needed to be protected and rescued at a very sensitive time.
Football is not that way anymore. In fact there are a few things. Sub has built a dynasty in Alabama, but this modern game does not allow the structure of greatness built by Bryant. It was hard to understand, though.
In December 1982, New York reporters who envisioned a resurgence of Perkins’ New York Giants were stunned that it would leave Tuscany, Alabama’s largest city on earth. Some people mocked him, and the South. Even a columnist called Perkins an anacronism stuck in the wrong era.
Perkins, however, never hesitated.
Perkins said at the time, “Full respect is only considered as a coach, whose pursuit, I repeat, followed, the greatest coach of all time,” Perkins said at the time. “It’s a dream come true and I’m looking forward to it. It’s a one-time opportunity of a lifetime. If it had been somewhere else, no other pro team, no other team from a college ledge could have lured me away from the New York Giants. “
Perkins handed the team the parcels, and then the parcels won two Super Bowls. It was also the Perkins Super Bowls.
Perkins was a football .l royalty, and many have been part of so many great careers ever. He caught passes from Joe Namath, Steve Sloan, Kenny Stabler and Johnny Units. He played for Bryant and Don Shula. He rented parcels, Bellichik and Romeo Colonel.
Why Perkins? Bryant must be aware of two things. One, that Perkins would not let him down. Most importantly, though, is that Bryant knew Perkins would be firm. They had a history together.
Long before Perkins was a coach or even a star player for Alabama, he shared an important life experience with Bryant that defined their relationship.
Perkins almost died after his sophomore year of practice, and no one knew about it until after the event. There was a head-on collision. Bryant said it was one of the worst of these.
Perkins was taken to a hospital in Tuscaloosa, and then taken by ambulance to Birmingham for emergency surgery. Three holes were drilled in Perkins’ skull to remove the swelling of his brain. Bryant had been in the hospital with Perkins for several days.
Bryant will later write an essay for the New York Daily News. “I wasn’t worried if Ray would play football again. I was worried if I was alive. “
Doctors told Perkins that he would never play again, and would not “break a sweat” for the rest of the year. He participated in every practice and watched from the sidelines. Perkins cleared up a year later, and returned to the team. He thought of kicking, and Bryant even bought him new shoes to practice. In the end, Perkins cleared up for contact.
He tested his mental health by wearing a helmet and hitting his head against the walls. He then helped Alabama win two national championships and three SEC titles. The 1966 team he captained, which went 11-0, is considered by many to be the best in the history of the school.
Perkins loved Alabama the way Bryant loved Alabama completely and with every fiber of his men. While in New York, Perkins was once asked the definition of his discipline.
“When you’re tired, when you think you’re going to die and somehow you suck your courage and you do,” Perkins said. “That’s the definition of a country.”
The same Alabama football built.
Joseph Goodman is a columnist For Alabama Media Group. It’s on Twitter JoeGoodmanJr.
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