Reggie Jackson Once Said Bear Bryant Called Him A Slur As 'A Compliment'

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I was getting changed, finishing a shower and putting my shirt on, Bear Bryant walked up to me and paid me a compliment. He said to the group, 'This is the just kind of [n-word] we need in order to compete with Bo [Schembelcher], Woody [Hayes], Ara [Parsegian] and Johnny [Robinson] … and Joe Paterno of Penn State. He meant it as a compliment. He said, 'If we don't get one of them, we won't be able to compete with them. ... I didn't know what to say.

I got called up to the major leagues and Bear Bryant came up to Chicago ... and watched me play my first game. Twenty-one years later when I retired I played my last game in Chicago and Bear Bryant came to see me play my last game. ... That friendship lasted until he passed, but that was the most impactful thing that happened to me in Rickwood Field.

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