TerryP
Staff
Wayne Freeman was an All-American offensive lineman on Paul “Bear” Bryant’s second national championship-winning team at the University of Alabama and that’s something nobody can ever take away from him.
But somebody did. Sort of.
Freeman played guard on the 1964 team that won the national championship. The player from Fort Payne with the size 14 shoes was given the nickname “Foots.” He earned All-American honors and Bryant is quoted on the Crimson Tide official website as saying, “He’s the finest guard I’ve ever coached.”
When Freeman finished playing football for the Crimson Tide, Bryant gave him an “A Club” ring with the inscription inside reading “To Wayne Freeman from Paul Bryant.”
“It’s a special ring because back when I was playing, you had to get your degree,” Freeman said. “This ring was not from the university, it’s from Coach Bryant personally. That carries a lot more leverage. A lot of guys didn’t ever get a ring.”
Freeman said Bryant would wait for players to show him their diplomas before he would mail them the ring.
From the time he got it, the ring lived on Freeman’s hand. He would take it off to sleep and when he washed his hands. It was at a bathroom bar in Alabama when he thought he would never see the ring again.
“The last time I remember it, I was washing my hands and set it up on a sink and walked out,” he said. “Five minutes later I ran back in the bathroom and it was gone.”
Freeman said that was in either 1967 or 1968. He thought about the ring often for a year or two and then he eventually stopped thinking about it.
More of the story here ...
Bear Bryant ring returned to All-American Crimson Tide player nearly 50 years after it was stolen - Alabama News Center
But somebody did. Sort of.
Freeman played guard on the 1964 team that won the national championship. The player from Fort Payne with the size 14 shoes was given the nickname “Foots.” He earned All-American honors and Bryant is quoted on the Crimson Tide official website as saying, “He’s the finest guard I’ve ever coached.”
When Freeman finished playing football for the Crimson Tide, Bryant gave him an “A Club” ring with the inscription inside reading “To Wayne Freeman from Paul Bryant.”
“It’s a special ring because back when I was playing, you had to get your degree,” Freeman said. “This ring was not from the university, it’s from Coach Bryant personally. That carries a lot more leverage. A lot of guys didn’t ever get a ring.”
Freeman said Bryant would wait for players to show him their diplomas before he would mail them the ring.
From the time he got it, the ring lived on Freeman’s hand. He would take it off to sleep and when he washed his hands. It was at a bathroom bar in Alabama when he thought he would never see the ring again.
“The last time I remember it, I was washing my hands and set it up on a sink and walked out,” he said. “Five minutes later I ran back in the bathroom and it was gone.”
Freeman said that was in either 1967 or 1968. He thought about the ring often for a year or two and then he eventually stopped thinking about it.
More of the story here ...
Bear Bryant ring returned to All-American Crimson Tide player nearly 50 years after it was stolen - Alabama News Center
