Paul “Bear” Bryant became head football coach at Texas A&M in 1954 after coaching at Maryland and Kentucky, and he chose the Texas A&M adjunct in Junction for a preseason camp to evaluate his new players. The adjunct had opened in Junction in 1951 on 411 acres purchased by citizens of Kimble County. Nearly 100 players rode two buses 250 miles to Junction on Sept. 1 for a grueling ten-day training camp. Although the site near the South Llano River was normally well watered, the region was suffering a long-term drought in 1954, with hardly any grass. In the high heat, on rough ground, and through long practices, players left during the nights, and by the end of camp only 35 remained to return to College Station. That fall the team won one game, the only losing record in Bryant’s 38-year career. Two years later, the 1956 team went undefeated, won the Southwest Conference, had seven all-conference players, and finished fifth in the nation. Many camp survivors later succeeded in their chosen careers, including two who had long coaching careers in college and the National Football League. Bryant later left Texas A&M for Alabama, where he won six national championships and retired in 1982 as college football’s winningest coach. In 1979, Bryant and the Junction Boys reunited there, at a place that became legendary in Texas and American sports history.