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.
Long-lost Bear Bryant ring returned to All-American Crimson Tide player from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
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.
The ring resurfaces
Tom Brakefield is a lifelong Alabama fan who lives in Greystone outside of Birmingham and is always on the lookout for Crimson Tide collectables.
An auction house sent him an email alert that a rare item was coming up for bid.
“I got a notice that they had a ’64 Alabama A-Club ring with a notation of ‘to Wayne Freeman from Paul Bryant,’” Brakefield said.
Brakefield knew his friends Larry Alley and Bucky Wood were friends with Freeman and could check into the matter.
When Wood reached Freeman’s son-in-law, John Burrows, they learned the ring was taken several years ago and a plan was hatched to get it back.
The four men decided they would pitch in and pay whatever it took to make the winning bid. After a night of bidding that finally ended at midnight, the men had the winning bid of $2,000.
“It took us maybe a couple of months now to get it,” Brakefield said. “We finally got it today and you can just tell by the look on his face and the way he’s talking and everything it’s a special, special day.”
The ring returned
The men presented the ring to Freeman over lunch at the Fish Market in downtown Birmingham. Burrows brought his father-in-law from Locust Fork, where Freeman is retired, telling him he had some people he wanted him to see.
“I had chills when I first got ahold of it,” Freeman said on getting the ring back. “It’s just unbelievable.”
More than a few times, Freeman got choked up holding the ring and talking about Bryant. Burrows would pat him on the back to show his understanding and support.
“The biggest thing is it’s from Coach Bryant and it was personal with him,” Freeman said. “It means a great deal to the players. You go back and look at Bill Battle and a lot of them, they still wear that ring. They might not wear their national championship ring, but they wear that ring.”
For Brakefield and the other men, they were just glad to see the ring back in the hands of its rightful owner.
“I’m just glad to be here and glad to meet old number 71,” Brakefield said.
The ring itself was found next to a curb in Omaha, Nebraska, and a pawn shop there put it up for sale through the auction, according to the auction listing.
Freeman’s not sure how it ended up in Omaha. He said he’s never been there. The ring is not studded with diamonds and it doesn’t have much gold. In fact, only one person definitely considers it a priceless treasure.
And that person owns it again.
“It’s worth a lot more in memory than it is in value,” Freeman said.
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