IN: Paul Bryant was the 11th of 12 children who were born to Wilson Monroe and Ida Kilgore Bryant in Moro Bottom, Cleveland County, Arkansas. His nickname stemmed from his having agreed to wrestle a captive bear during a carnival promotion when he was 13 years old. His mother wanted him to be a minister, but Bryant told her "Coaching is a lot like preaching". He attended Fordyce High School, where 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) tall Bryant, who as an adult would eventually stand 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), began playing on the school's football team as an eighth grader.

Bryant was a heavy smoker and drinker, and his health began to decline in the late 1970s. He collapsed of a cardiac episode in 1977 and decided to enter alcohol rehab, but after a few months of sobriety, he resumed drinking. Bryant experienced a mild stroke in 1980 that weakened the left side of his body and another cardiac episode in 1981 and was taking a battery of medications in his final years.  Shortly before his death, Bryant met with evangelist Robert Schuller on a plane flight and the two talked extensively about religion, which apparently had a considerable impression on the coach, who felt considerable guilt over his mistreatment of the Junction Boys and hiding his smoking and drinking habits from his mother.  After a sixth-place SEC finish in the 1982 season that included losses to LSU and Tennessee each for the first time since 1970, Bryant, who had turned 69 that September, decided to retire, stating, "This is my school, my alma mater. I love it and I love my players. But in my opinion, they deserved better coaching than they have been getting from me this year." His last regular season game was a 23-22 loss to Auburn and his last postseason game was a 21-15 victory in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee, over the University of Illinois. After the game, Bryant was asked what he planned to do now that he was retired. He replied "Probably croak in a week." His reply proved eerily prophetic.  Four weeks after making that comment, and just one day after passing a routine medical checkup, on January 25, 1983, Bryant checked into Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa after experiencing chest pain. A day later, when being prepared for an electrocardiogram, he died after suffering a massive heart attack. His personal physician, Dr. William Hill, said that he was amazed that Bryant had been able to coach Alabama to two national championships in the last five years of his life with the state of his health. First news of Bryant's death came from Bert Bank (WTBC Radio Tuscaloosa) and on the NBC Radio Network (anchored by Stan Martyn and reported by Stewart Stogel). On his hand at the time of his death was the only piece of jewelry he ever wore, a gold ring inscribed "Junction Boys". He is interred at Birmingham's Elmwood Cemetery. A month after his death, Bryant was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, by President Ronald Reagan. A moment of silence was held prior to Super Bowl XVII, played four days after Bryant's passing.

What year did Bryant die?

OUT: January 25, 1983, Bryant checked into Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa after experiencing chest pain.


IN: Juan Ponce de Leon (Spanish pronunciation: ['xwan 'ponthe de le'on]; 1474 - July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador born in Santervas de Campos, Valladolid, Spain in 1474. Though little is known about his family, he was of noble birth and served in the Spanish military from a young age. He first came to the Americas as a "gentlemen volunteer" with Christopher Columbus's second expedition in 1493. By the early 1500s, Ponce de Leon was a top military official in the colonial government of Hispaniola, where he helped crush a rebellion of the native Taino people.

In 1502 the newly appointed governor, Nicolas de Ovando, arrived in Hispaniola. The Spanish Crown expected Ovando to bring order to a colony in disarray. Ovando interpreted this as authorizing subjugation of the native Tainos. Thus, Ovando authorized the Jaragua Massacre in November 1503. In 1504, when Tainos overran a small Spanish garrison in Higuey on the island's eastern side, Ovando assigned Ponce de Leon to crush the rebellion. Ponce de Leon was actively involved in the Higuey massacre, about which friar Bartolome de las Casas attempted to notify Spanish authorities. Ovando rewarded his victorious commander by appointing him frontier governor of the newly conquered province, then named Higuey also. Ponce de Leon received a substantial land grant which authorized sufficient Indian slave labor to farm his new estate.  Ponce de Leon prospered in this new role. He found a ready market for his farm produce and livestock at nearby Boca de Yuma where Spanish ships stocked supplies before the long voyage back to Spain. In 1505 Ovando authorized Ponce de Leon to establish a new town in Higuey, which he named Salvaleon. In 1508 King Ferdinand (Queen Isabella having opposed the exploitation of natives but dying in 1504) authorized Ponce de Leon to conquer the remaining Tainos and exploit them in gold mining.  Around this time, Ponce de Leon married Leonora, an innkeeper's daughter. They had three daughters (Juana, Isabel and Maria) and one son (Luis). The large stone house Ponce de Leon ordered built for his growing family still stands today near the city of Salvaleon de Higuey.

Who was Ovando?

OUT:
Ovando assigned Ponce de Leon to crush the rebellion.