Bert Bell

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person De Benneville "Bert" Bell (February 25, 1895 – October 11, 1959) was an American professional football executive and coach. He was the fifth chief executive and second commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he introduced competitive parity into the NFL to improve the league's commercial viability and promote its popularity.

Whereas Bell had become the chief executive in a sport that was largely seen as second-rate and heading a league still plagued by franchise instability, by his death the NFL was a financially sound sports enterprise and seriously challenging Major League Baseball for preeminence among sports attractions in the United States. Bell was posthumously inducted into the charter class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Bell played football at the University of Pennsylvania, where as quarterback, he led his team to an appearance in the 1917 Rose Bowl. After being drafted into the US Army during World War I, he returned to complete his collegiate career at Penn and went on to become an assistant football coach with the Quakers in the 1920s. During the Great Depression, he was an assistant coach for the Temple Owls and a co-founder and co-owner of the Philadelphia Eagles.

With the Eagles, Bell led the way in cooperating with the other NFL owners to establish the NFL draft in order to afford the weakest teams the first opportunity to sign the best available players. He subsequently became sole proprietor of the Eagles, but the franchise suffered financially. Eventually, he sold the team and bought a share in the Pittsburgh Steelers. During World War II, Bell argued against the league suspending operations until the war's conclusion.

After the war, he was elected NFL commissioner and sold his ownership in the Steelers. As commissioner, he implemented a proactive anti-gambling policy, negotiated a merger with the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), and unilaterally crafted the entire league schedule with an emphasis on enhancing the dramatic effect of late-season matches. During the Golden Age of Television, he tailored the game's rules to strengthen its appeal to mass media and enforced a policy of blacking out local broadcasts of home contests to safeguard ticket receipts. Amid criticism from franchise owners and under pressure from Congress, he unilaterally recognized the NFLPA and facilitated in the development of the first pension plan for the players. He survived to oversee the "Greatest Game Ever Played" and to envision what the league would become in the future.

As commissioner, Bell oversaw the integration of the NFL. Although Fritz Pollard was the first African American to play in the NFL, appearing with three teams from 1922 to 1926, a “gentleman’s agreement” among the owners kept the sport segregated for another 20 years. In 1946, four black players began playing in the NFL.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Early life (1895–1932)

Bell was born De Benneville Bell,<ref>Didinger with Lyons: 6; cf. Claassen: 163, Yost: 54</ref> on February 25, 1895,<ref>MacCambridge: 41; cf. Didinger with Lyons: 6, Rothe: 34, King: 20, Lyons: 1</ref> in Philadelphia to John C. Bell and Fleurette de Benneville Myers.<ref>Lyons: 1; cf. Didinger with Lyons: 6</ref> His father was an attorney who served a term as the Pennsylvania Attorney General.<ref name="LY3">Lyons: 3</ref> His older brother, John C. Jr., was born in 1892.<ref name="LY3"/> Bert's parents were very wealthy,<ref>MacCambridge 2005: 41; cf. Lyons: 1–3</ref> and his mother's lineage predated the American Revolutionary War.<ref>Lyons: 2</ref> His father, a Quaker of the University of Pennsylvania (class of 1884) during the early days of American football,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> accompanied him to his first football game when Bell was six years old.<ref name="Sully2324">Sullivan: 23–24</ref> Thereafter, Bell regularly engaged in football games with childhood friends.<ref name="LY3-4">Lyons: 3–4.</ref>

In 1904, Bell matriculated at the Episcopal Academy, the Delancey School from 1909 to 1911 and then the Haverford School until 1914.<ref name="LY3-4"/> About this time, his father was installed as athletics director at Penn<ref name="Sully2324"/> and helped form the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).<ref name= "LY235">Lyons: 2–3, 5.</ref> At Haverford, Bell captained the school's football, basketball, and baseball teams,<ref>Lyons: 4; cf. King: 21.</ref> and "was awarded The Yale Cup [for being] 'The pupil who has done the most to promote athletics in the school.'"<ref name="HAVERFORD">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Although he excelled at baseball, his devotion was to football.<ref>Lyons: 5</ref> His father, who was named a trustee at Penn in 1911,<ref>Marquis: 286</ref> said of Bell's plans for college, "Bert will go to Penn or he will go to hell."<ref name= "LY235"/>

University of Pennsylvania (1914–1919)

File:1916 Penn Quakers backfield.jpg

Bell (left) with Penn teammates Ben Derr (center) and Joe Berry in 1916

Bell entered the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in the fall of 1914. He majored in English and joined the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity.<ref name="LY5-7">Lyons: 5–7</ref><ref>Rothe: 34</ref> In a rare accomplishment for a sophomore, he was named the starting quarterback by Penn coach George H. Brooke.<ref name="LY5-7"/> He also was a defender, punter, and punt returner.<ref name="PENN POSITIONS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After the team's 3–0 start, Bell temporarily shared possession of his quarterbacking duties until he subsequently reclaimed them later in the season,<ref>Lyons: 6–7</ref> as Penn finished with a record of 3–5–2.<ref name="MAC 1080">MacCambridge 2009: 1080</ref>

Prior to Penn's 1916 season, Bell's mother died while he was en route to her bedside.<ref name="LY7-8">Lyons:7-8</ref> He started the first game for the Quakers under new coach Bob Folwell, but mixed results left him platooned for the rest of the season.<ref name="LY7-8"/> Penn finished with a record of 7–2–1.<ref name="MAC 1080"/> However, the Quakers secured an invitation to the 1917 Rose Bowl against the Oregon Ducks.<ref>King: 21; cf. Lyons: 9</ref> Bell had the best offensive gain for Penn during their 0–14 loss to Oregon, a 20-yard run, but was replaced late in the game at quarterback after throwing an interception.<ref>Lyons: 10</ref> In the 1917 season, Bell led Penn to a 9–2 record.<ref name="MAC 1080"/>

Following the 1917 season, Bell registered with a Mobile Hospital Unit of the United States Army for World War I and was deployed to France in May 1918.<ref name="LY1115">Lyons: 11–15</ref> As a result of his unit participating in hazardous duty, it received a congratulatory letter for bravery from General John J. Pershing,<ref name="LY1115"/> and Bell was promoted to first sergeant.<ref name="L16-20">Lyons: 16–20.</ref> After the war, Bell returned to the United States in March 1919.<ref name="LY1115"/> He returned to Penn as captain of the team in the fall and again performed erratically.<ref name="L16-20"/> The Quakers finished 1919 with a 6–2–1 record.<ref name="MAC 1080"/> Academically, his aversion to attending classes forced him to withdraw from Penn without a degree in early 1920.<ref>Template:Cite news; cf. Lyons: 20–21, MacCambridge 2005: 42, Willis: 310–311</ref> His collegiate days ended with his having been a borderline All-American,<ref>Lyons: 20; cf. Umphlett: 143–144</ref> but this period of his life had proven that he "possessed the qualities of a leader."<ref>Template:Cite news; cf. Colleges Already Preparing for Football by Cleaning Out Cash Registers and Polishing Up Stars</ref>

Early career (1920–1932)

Bell assembled the Stanley Professionals in Chicago in 1920, but he disbanded it prior to playing any games because of negative publicity received by Chicago due to the Black Sox Scandal.<ref>Template:Cite news; cf. Stanley Football Team Disbands</ref> He joined John Heisman's staff at Penn as an assistant coach in 1920, where he remained for several years.<ref name="LY 22-23">Lyons: 22–23.</ref> At Penn, he was well regarded as a football coach, and after its 1924 season, he drew offers for, but declined, head-coaching assignments at other universities.<ref name="LY 22-23"/> At least as early as 1926, his avocation was socializing<ref>Lyons: 23–29</ref> and frequenting Saratoga Race Course, where he counted as friends Tim Mara, Art Rooney, and George Preston Marshall.<ref>Lyons writes, against all common sense, it was Jack Mara, Tim's son, as the person he befriended. Lyons: 23, 29</ref> In 1928, Bell tendered his resignation at Penn in protest over the emphasis on in-season scrimmages during practices by Lud Wray, a fellow assistant coach.<ref name="LY2527">Lyons: 25–27</ref> Bell's resignation was accommodated prior to the start of the 1929 season.<ref name="LY2527"/>

Bell was then an employee of the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia. At one point, he tried his hand as a stock broker and lost $50,000 (Template:Inflation) during the Wall Street Crash of 1929.<ref name="LY3032">Lyons: 30–32</ref> His father bailed him out of his deprivation, and he returned to working at the Ritz.<ref name="LY3032"/> From 1930 until 1932, he was a backfield coach for Temple in Philadelphia.<ref>Template:Cite news; cf. Rothe: 34, Lyons: 28, Willis: 310</ref> In 1932, Marshall tried to coax Bell into buying the rights to an NFL franchise, but Bell disparaged the league and ridiculed the idea.<ref>Lyons: 49</ref> When Pop Warner was hired to coach Temple for the 1933 season, Warner chose to hire his own assistants, and Bell was let go by Temple.<ref>Lyons: 28; cf. MacCambridge 2009: 1081</ref>

NFL career

Philadelphia Eagles (1933–1940)

By early 1933, Bell's opinion on the NFL had changed, and he wanted to become an owner of a team based in Philadelphia.<ref name = "RPW56-95">Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 56, 95.</ref> After being advised by the NFL that a prerequisite to a franchise being rendered in Philadelphia was that the Pennsylvania Blue Laws would have to be mollified,<ref name="WWARPW">Westcott: 101; cf. Willis: 303–304, Algeo: 13–15, Ruck; Patterson, and Weber: 95</ref> he was the force majeure in lobbying to getting the laws deprecated.<ref name="WWARPW"/> He borrowed funds from Frances Upton,<ref name="LCMPW"/> partnered with Wray,<ref name = "LCMPW">Lyons: 46–47; cf. Claassen: 336, MacCambridge 2005: 42, Peterson: 112, Westcott: 101</ref> and he procured the rights to a franchise in Philadelphia,<ref name="LCMPW"/> purchasing the Frankford Yellow Jackets which he christened as the Philadelphia Eagles, inspired by Franklin Delano Roosevelt's use of the American eagle symbol in choosing that name.<ref>Lyons: 47; cf. MacCambridge 2005: 42</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

After the inaugural 1933 Philadelphia Eagles season,<ref>Willis: 310–311; cf. Coenen: 237, Didinger with Lyons: 255</ref> Bell married Upton at St. Madeleine Sophie Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia.<ref>Lyons: 33–38, 41.</ref> Days later, his suggestion to bestow the winner of the NFL championship game with the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy was affirmed.<ref>Willis: 327–328</ref> In 1934, the Eagles finished with a 4–7 record,<ref>Didinger with Lyons: 255</ref> The Eagles' inability to seriously challenge other teams made it difficult to sell tickets,<ref>Lyons: 54</ref> and his failure to sign a talented college prospect<ref>Lyons: 56; cf. MacCambridge 2005: 43</ref> led him to adduce that the only way to bring stability to the league was to institute a draft to ensure the weakest teams had an advantage in signing the preeminent players.<ref>Peterson: 119; cf. Williams: 41</ref> In 1935, his proposal for a draft was accepted,<ref>Willis: 341–343; cf. Lyons: 57–58, DeVito: 84, Didinger with Lyons: 256</ref> and in February 1936, the first draft kicked off, at which he acted as Master of Ceremonies.<ref>Williams: 41–42; cf. Peterson: 119</ref> Later that month, his first child, Bert Jr., was born.<ref>Lyons: 60</ref>

In the Eagles' first three years, the partners exhausted $85,000 (Template:Inflation),<ref>MacCambridge 2005: 43; cf. Lyons: 63</ref> and at a public auction, Bell became sole owner of the Eagles with a bid of $4,500 (Template:Inflation).<ref>MacCambridge 2005: 43; cf. Claassen: 335, Lyons: 63</ref> Austerity measures forced him to supplant Wray as head coach of the Eagles,<ref>Lyons: 63; cf. Claassen: 342</ref> wherein Bell led the Eagles to a 1–11 finish, their worst record ever.<ref>;Didinger with Lyons: 256</ref> In December, an application for a franchise in Los Angeles was obstructed by Bell and Pittsburgh Steelers owner Rooney as they deemed it too far of a distance to travel for games.<ref>Willis: 355</ref> During the Eagles' 2–8–1 1937 season,<ref>Didinger with Lyons: 257</ref> his second child, John "Upton", was born.<ref>Lyons: 70</ref> In the Eagles' first profitable season, 1938, they posted a 5–6 record.<ref>Lyons: 72–73.</ref> The Eagles finished 1–9–1 in 1939 and 1–10 in 1940.<ref>Didinger with Lyons: 258</ref>

Pittsburgh Steelers (1940–1945)

In December 1940, Bell conciliated the sale of Rooney's Steelers to Alexis Thompson,<ref name="Algeo: 16">Algeo: 16</ref> and then Rooney acquired half of Bell's interest in the Eagles.<ref>Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 183–184; cf. Herskowitz: 149, Lyons: 81–82</ref> In a series of events known as the Pennsylvania Polka,<ref name="Algeo: 16"/> Rooney and Bell exchanged their entire Eagles roster and their territorial rights in Philadelphia to Thompson for his entire Steelers roster and his rights in Pittsburgh.<ref>Lyons: 87; Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 187</ref> Ostensibly, Rooney had provided assistance to Bell by rewarding him with a 20% commission on the sale of the Steelers.<ref>Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 303; cf. MacCambridge 2005: 45</ref> Bell became the Steelers head coach and Rooney became the general manager.<ref>Ruck; with Patterson and Weber: 187; cf. Lyons: 88, MacCambridge 2005: 45</ref>

During the training camp of Pittsburgh's inaugural season with the nickname Steelers, Bell was buoyant with optimism about the team's prospect, but he became crestfallen after Rooney denigrated the squad and flippantly remarked that they looked like the "[s]ame old Steelers" (SOS).<ref>Template:Cite news; cf. Claassen: 247, Lyons: 90, Leblanc: 62</ref> After losing the first two games of the 1941 season, Rooney compelled Bell to resign as head coach.<ref>Lyons: 90–91</ref> Bell's coaching career ended with a 10–46–2 record, his 0.179 winning percentage is second-lowest in NFL history to only Phil Handler's 0.105 for coaches with at least five seasons. And at 36 games under .500 he held the record for futility until John McKay passed him in 1983 and Marion Campbell passed him in 1988.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 225; cf. MacCambridge 2005: 45</ref> His first daughter and last child, Jane Upton, was born several months after the season's conclusion.<ref>Lyons: 92</ref>

By 1943, 40% of the NFL rosters had been drafted into the United States Armed Forces for World War II.<ref>Algeo: 29, 35, 46.</ref> The resulting difficulty in fielding a full-strength squad led some owners to recommend the league should shut down until the war ended. Bell auspiciously argued against this as he feared they might not be able to resume operations easily after the war, and since Major League Baseball was continuing unabated, then they should also.<ref>DeVito: 103</ref>

Throughout Bell's affiliation with the Steelers, he suffered monetarily and Rooney bought an increasing allotment of the franchise from him.<ref>Rooney; Halaas and Masich: 71</ref> Compounding Bell's problems, Arch Ward organized the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1944 to displace the NFL's sovereignty in professional football.<ref>MacCambridge 2005: 13; cf. Davis 2005: 196–197</ref> Ward's AAFC promptly began luring players to join the league,<ref>Davis 2005: 199; cf. Piascik: 11, Littlewood 166, Staudohar: 56</ref> which resulted in salaries being driven up drastically.<ref>Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 228; cf. Davis 2005: 200–201</ref> In Bill Dudley's contract proceedings with the Steelers, he attributed Bell's anxiety during the negotiations to the rivalry from the AAFC.<ref>Whittingham: 229</ref> Furthermore, by the end of 1945, the Steelers were in their most economically perilous situation in its history.<ref>Claassen: 251–252</ref>

NFL commissioner (1946–1959)

Election, Hapes-Filchock, and the NFL schedule (1946–1948)

Elmer Layden was appointed the first NFL commissioner in 1941, but Ward appeared as dictating his hiring.<ref>Littlewood: 133</ref> Layden tendered his resignation for personal reasons January 1946.<ref>Davis 2005: 199; cf. MacCambridge 2005: 15, Peterson: 159</ref> Bell, who was not well respected in Pittsburgh,<ref>Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 225; cf. Davis 2005: 201</ref> was elected to replace him.<ref>Williams: 41; cf. Lyons: 116–117, MacCambridge 2005: 15</ref> He received a three-year contract at $20,000 per year (Template:Inflation),<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref> and transacted a sale of his stake in the Steelers to Rooney,<ref>Lyons: 114</ref> albeit for a price Bell did not construe was full-value.<ref name="Lyons">Lyons: 166–167</ref> He was then immediately placed at the center of a controversy wherein the owners denied Dan Reeves permission to relocate the Cleveland Rams to Los Angeles.<ref name = "MDYL">MacCambridge 2005: 15–16; cf. Davis 2005: 201–202, Yost: 57–58: Lyons: 117–118</ref> Bell moderated a settlement, and, as a result, the Los Angeles Rams were formed.<ref name = "MDYL"/> As a precondition to the Rams leasing the Los Angeles Coliseum, they signed Kenny Washington, which marked the beginning of the end of racial segregation on the field, but also caused "'all hell to break loose'" amidst the owners.<ref>Rathet; Brown: 210</ref>

The drawing up of a regular-season schedule had been a perennial source of contention among the NFL owners since the league's inception.<ref>Willis: 302, 303, 308, 371, 383</ref> The crux of the problem was the scheduling of games meant weighing the interest of owners who, early in the season, wanted their franchises to confront teams that drew the largest crowds, versus owners who wanted to play the weaker franchises to pad their team's win–loss record.<ref>Yost: 61; cf. Sullivan: 26.</ref> The resultant impasse coerced the owners, in 1946, to confer upon Bell the sole discretion in developing the league's schedule.<ref>MacCambridge 2005: 40; cf. Maule: 242, Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 248</ref> He utilized this responsibility to, early in the season, pit the weaker teams against other weak teams, and the strong teams against other strong teams.<ref name="S26;RPW248">Sullivan: 26; Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 248</ref> His goal was to augment game attendances by keeping the difference in team standings to a minimum as deep into the season as possible.<ref name="S26;RPW248"/>

On the eve of the 1946 championship game, Bell was notified that Merle Hapes and Frank Filchock of the New York Giants had been implicated in a bribing scandal.<ref>Template:Cite news; cf. Coenen: 127, Peterson: 159–160, MacCambridge 2005: 48, Pervin: 15, Lyons: 130</ref> Filchock was sanctioned by Bell to play in the game but Hapes was suspended.<ref>Lyons: 130–131; cf. Pervin: 16, Davis 2005 p. 207</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the next NFL owners' meeting, Bell was worried the repercussions from this event would lead to his firing.<ref name="NYTH">Template:Cite news</ref> However, he was pleasantly surprised to learn that his contract would be elevated to five years at $30,000 per year.<ref name="LY129">Lyons: 129</ref> Reinvigorated with renewed support, he persuaded the owners to allow him to put sudden-death overtime into the playoffs.<ref>Lyons: 289; cf. DeVito: 83, Willis: 301, Maule: 242</ref>

Subsequently, he wrote an anti-gambling resolution into the league constitution,<ref>Lyons: 131–132; cf: Bell Planning Campaign to Kill Gambling</ref> which empowered him with the ability to permanently ban any NFL associated personnel for betting on a game or for withholding information on a game being possibly fixed.<ref>Lyons: 203–204; cf. MacCambridge 2005: 48–49</ref> Furthermore, to obstruct gamblers from getting inside information, he secreted the names of officials he would assign to games,<ref name="NYTH"/> and he directed each team to promulgate a precursory injury report which listed anyone who might not participate in a game.<ref>Lyons: 134–135; cf. MacCambridge 2005: 48–49</ref> Eventually, he lobbied to get every state in the US to criminalize the fixing of sporting events<ref name="Lyons_a">Lyons: 142</ref> and put employees on the payroll of the NFL to investigate potential betting scams.<ref>Yost: 60; cf. Daley: 193</ref>

AAFC–NFL merger (1948–1950)

The NFL's struggle against the AAFC generated stress on wages,<ref>Lyons: 129; cf. Davis 2005: 203–204</ref> attendance,<ref>Coenen: 125–126</ref> marketing,<ref>Coenen: 125</ref> and by 1949, it had prevented the NFL for showing a profit for three consecutive years.<ref>Lyons: 171</ref> Bell and representatives from both leagues met to attempt a merger, but their efforts were fruitless.<ref>Piascik: 125; cf. Lyons: 146</ref> In an unrelated matter, he apprised the owners that attendance records had shown televising games locally had a negative impact on the sale of home tickets.<ref>Coenen: 154</ref> Nevertheless, he actualized the NFL's first television contract<ref>Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 290</ref>—the 1949 championship game.<ref>Lyons: 156–157</ref> Simultaneously, he dealt with a lawsuit from Bill Radovich, who had been blacklisted for leaving the Lions and gaining employment with the AAFC.<ref>Lyons and the New York Times incorrectly list Radovich for playing with the Los Angeles Seals. U.S. House Committee III, 1957, pp. 2778–2779; cf. Piascik: 27, Carrol with Gersham, Neft, and Thorn: 1197, Lyons: 154</ref> Bell and the owners were advised by John C. Jr. that this lawsuit was potentially not winnable, and the ramifications from the outcome of the case weighed heavily on Bell.<ref>Lyons: 154–155</ref>

One of the primary impediments in an AAFC–NFL merger was the supposed violation of "territorial rights" claimed by Marshall.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref> Eventually, Bell gathered enough support to effectuate a compromise with the AAFC.<ref>Davis 2005: 229</ref> In late 1949, the leagues merged,<ref name="L150_163_Mac_52">Lyons: 150, 163; cf. MacCambridge 2005: 52</ref> as three AAFC teams (the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Colts) joined the NFL; a fourth AAFC team (Los Angeles Dons) merged with the Los Angeles Rams, and the other AAFC teams disbanded.<ref name="L150_163_Mac_52"/> Bell stayed on as commissioner<ref name="L150_163_Mac_52"/> with his contract extended from five to ten years<ref>Lyons: 147</ref> Seeking to capitalize on the publicity of the residual AAFC–NFL rivalry, he utilized "exquisite dramatic" and business sense and allocated the 1950 opening game to a contest between the 1949 champion Eagles versus the perennial AAFC champion Browns.<ref>Peterson: 191–192; cf: Brown with Clary: 197</ref> Feeling financially secure after the merger, he purchased his first home for himself and his family in Narberth, Pennsylvania.<ref name="Lyons" />

Marketing of the NFL (1950–1956)

In 1950, Bell originated a blackout rule into the NFL which forbid all teams to televise their home games within a 75-mile radius of their stadium – except for the Rams.<ref>Coenen: 154; cf. Davis 2005: 259–260, 266, 268–269, LaBlanc p. 10.</ref> Consequently, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) opened an investigation into a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.<ref>Coenen: 157.</ref> Rams attendance for 1950 dropped off by 50%,<ref>Peterson: 197; cf. Hessions: 45, MacCambridge 2005: 70</ref> and this signaled a potential financial disaster.<ref>Rader: 86–87</ref> In 1951, he licensed the DuMont Television Network to air the championship games for the next five years, and he stipulated that teams were free to develop their own television contracts independently.<ref>Template:Cite news; cf. Pro Football and DuMont Sign a $475,000 TV Pact, MacCambridge 2005: 73, 480, Rader: 86–87; contra: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Lyons and Patton report the title game receipts were only $75,000 for the 1951 NFL Championship Game. Fans Rush for Tickets to NFL Game, Lyons: 179, Patton: 35</ref>

However, preceding the 1951 season, he reimposed the blackout rule on all teams in the league.<ref>Davis 2005: 271; cf. MacCambridge, 2005: 73</ref> The DOJ filed suit over this and Bell publicly retorted, "You can't give fans a game for free on TV and also expect them to go to the ballpark"; nevertheless, the suit was ordered to trial for January 1952.<ref>Coenen: 157–158</ref> After the 1951 season ended, he gained unilateral control over the setting of a television strategy for the NFL.<ref>Rader: 86; cf. Peterson: 197</ref> He negotiated a deal with DuMont, which granted it the rights to nationally broadcast one regular-season game every week,<ref>Template:Cite news; cf. Lyons: 196</ref> and he directed that the income from this contract was to be shared equally between all the teams.<ref>Coenen; 156, 162; cf. Lyons: 196</ref> In the DOJ's case, the judge ruled that the blackout policy was legal, but both Bell, and the franchises collectively, were enjoined from negotiating a TV contract;<ref>Patton: 55; cf. Peterson: 198, Lyons: 199–200</ref> Bell was ecstatic.<ref>Rader: 86</ref> Later that year, Bell forced one of the owners of the Cleveland Browns to sell all of his shares in the team after Bell determined the owner had bet on Browns' football games.<ref>Brown with Clary: 230–232</ref> Although he hated to fly,<ref>Patton: 48</ref> at some indeterminate point, he visited the training camps of every team and lectured on the danger gamblers posed to the league.<ref>U.S. House Committee III, 1957, p. 2587; cf. Summerall with Levin: 36–37</ref>

Bell authorized a Pro Bowl to be held at the end of each season in order to showcase the talents of the best players.<ref>Brown with Clary: 214</ref> But in the early 1950s, on the field activities sometimes denigrated to borderline assault and battery<ref>Ratterman; with Deindorfer: 125</ref> with teams' star players being viciously targeted by opposing players.<ref>Template:Cite magazine; cf. Piascik: 155</ref> He answered charges the league was too savage by saying, "'I have never seen a maliciously dirty football player in my life and I don't believe there are any.'"<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Nevertheless, he ordered broadcasts to follow a strict rule of conduct whereby TV announcers would not be permitted to criticize the game, and neither fights, nor injuries, could be televised by virtue in his belief that announcers were "'salesman for professional football [and] we do not want kids believing that engaging in fights is the way to play football.'"<ref>King: 37; cf. I Don't Believe There Is Dirty Football</ref>

Bell was criticized for censoring TV broadcasts, a charge he dismissed as not pertinent because he believed he was not impeding the print media but only advertising a product.<ref>Lyons: 282</ref> After CBS and NBC gained the rights to broadcast the games in 1956,<ref>Patton: 37; cf Rader: 87</ref> he advised the franchises to avoid criticizing the games or the officials, and forewarned that TV would give "'us our greatest opportunity to sell the NFL and everyone must present to the public the greatest games ... combined with the finest sportsmanship.'"<ref>Maraniss: 168–169</ref> This relationship with television was the beginning of the NFL's rise to becoming America's most popular sport.<ref>Lomax: 16</ref>

Compromise with the NFLPA (1956–1957)

In Radovich v. National Football League, the Supreme Court ruled in Radovich's favor and declared the NFL was subject to antitrust laws,<ref>Coenen: 182; cf. Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 293</ref> and the implication was that the legality of the draft and reserve clause were dubious.<ref>Coenen: 182; cf. Lyons: 255–256</ref> Bell pressed a case in the media that the NFL should be exempted from antitrust regulations and proffered the league was a sport and not a business.<ref>Lyons: 261</ref> He invited an investigation from Congress with respect to the court's ruling.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The House Judiciary committee, chaired by Emanuel Celler—who believed the draft was illegal and should be abolished, convened in July 1957 to discuss the ramifications of the Radovich decision.<ref>Carroll: 199</ref> Red Grange and Bell testified at the committee's solicitation and argued the draft was essential to the sport's success.<ref>U.S. House Committee III, 1957, p. 2596; cf. Carroll: 199</ref> Representatives of the NFLPA contradicted these statements and said the draft and the reserve clause were anti-labor, and it seemed as if Congress was going to accept their position.<ref name="L1947">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref> Faced with Congressional opposition, Bell formally recognized the NFLPA and declared he would negotiate with its representatives.<ref name="L1947"/>

However, Bell was speaking only for himself and without the auspices of the owners.<ref name="ROONEY 78">Rooney; Halaas and Masich: 78</ref> At the next owners' meeting, Rooney admonished they either had to recognize the NFLPA or remove Bell as commissioner.<ref name="ROONEY, 2007, p. 78.">Rooney; Halaas and Masich, 2007, p. 78.</ref> In order to do this, they had to agree in a vote that required a super-majority.<ref>Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 294; cf. U.S. House Committee III, 1957, p. 2580a–2580at</ref> Bell unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the owners to permit the NFLPA to act as a bargaining agent for the players.<ref name="S_63 O_57">Staudohar, 1986, 63; cf. Oriard: 57</ref> However, he did reach a compromise with the owners to get them to acquiesce to some of the NFLPA's requests for salary standards and health benefits.<ref name="S_63 O_57"/>

Final days (1958–1959)

For the 1958 season, the duration of timeouts was extended from 60 to 90 seconds<ref>Gifford; with Richmond: 121; cf. Maule: 245</ref> and Bell mandated officials call a few TV timeouts during each game — a change which triggered criticism from sportswriters.<ref>Powers: 84</ref> The 1958 championship game became the first NFL championship game decided in overtime,<ref>Gifford uses literary license when he writes "The overtime rule had been instituted for this game ..." p. 210 Gifford; with Richmond: 207–208, 210, 214</ref> and it was considered to be the greatest football game ever played.<ref>Template:Cite magazine; cf. Gifford; with Richmond: 230</ref> The game further increased football's marketability to television advertising,<ref>Patton: 41</ref> and the drama associated with overtime was the catalyst.<ref>Powers: 88; cf. Gifford; with Richmond: 213</ref> Years later, after witnessing Bell openly crying after the game, Raymond Berry attributed it to Bell's realization of the impact the game would have on the prevalence of the sport.<ref>Gifford; with Richmond: 229; cf. Greatest Game: Remembering '58 NFL finale Template:Webarchive, The Man Who Modernized Pro Football Template:Webarchive</ref>

The death of Mara in February Template:Nfly unsettled Bell and he experienced a heart attack later that month.<ref name="LY 308">Lyons: 308</ref> He converted to Catholicism that summer because of the lifelong urging of his wife,<ref name="Lyons_a"/> Mara's death, and his enduring friendship with Rooney,<ref>Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 311</ref> a practicing Catholic.<ref>Rooney; Halaas and Masich: 26; cf. Ruck; Patterson, and Weber: 84</ref> Bell was advised by his doctor to avoid going to football games, to which he quipped, "I'd rather die watching football than in my bed with my boots off."<ref name="LY 308"/> Bell and his children attended an Eagles game on October 11 at Franklin Field against the Steelers (both his old teams).<ref name="LY275">Lyons: 275</ref> The Eagles held complimentary box seats for him and guests to watch the game, but he preferred to buy his own tickets and sit with the other fans.<ref name="LY275"/> Sitting towards the end of the field near the end zone during the fourth quarter of the game, he suffered a fatal heart attack and died later that day at the nearby university hospital.<ref name=ppgbell>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=blczr>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite news Other authors alternately list his age at death (e.g., Ruck p. 313, Lyons p. 306) and his date of death (Lyons p. 306).</ref> League Treasurer Austin Gunsel was named interim NFL commissioner for the rest of the season.<ref name=agnabo>Template:Cite news</ref>

Afterwards, he was remembered as "a man of buoyant joviality, with a rough and ready wit, laughter and genuine humility and honesty, clearly innocent of pretense and [pretension]."<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref> His funeral was held at Narberth's St. Margaret Roman Catholic Church and Monsignor Cornelius P. Brennan delivered the eulogy, as close friends and admirers attended the mass.<ref name="LY312">Lyons: 312</ref> Dominic Olejniczak and all the extant owners of the NFL franchises were pallbearers.<ref>Template:Cite news; cf. Lyons: 311–312</ref> Bell was interred at Calvary Cemetery in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania,<ref>Lyons: 311–312</ref> northwest of Philadelphia.

Bell had named Baltimore Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom as his executor. Bell had been Rosenbloom's backfield coach at Penn in the early 1950s, and later had convinced Rosenbloom to purchase the Colts after becoming commissioner. Rosenbloom owned the Colts in 1958 when they won the greatest game ever played, and brought greater national attention to the NFL. After Bell's death, Rosenbloom hired Bell's sons Upton and Bert Jr. to work for the Colts.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Legacy and honors

Template:Infobox designation list Bell was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame,<ref name="Lyons: 315">Lyons: 315</ref> the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Haverford's Athletic Hall of Fame.<ref name="HAVERFORD"/> The Maxwell Football Club, which he founded in 1937,<ref>Rooney; Halaas and Masich: 238</ref> has presented the best NFL player of the year with the Bert Bell Award since 1959.<ref>Template:Cite journal; cf. Lyons: 314</ref> The Bert Bell Benefit Bowl was exhibited in his honor from 1960 through 1969.<ref name="Lyons: 315"/> A statue of Bell will be unveiled on October 25, 2024, at the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> The historical maker to Bell in Narberth, Pennsylvania is within blocks of his family's home at 323 Haverford Avenue.<ref name=":0" />

Although he did not have the wherewithal to prevent the wholesale betting on games,<ref>Oriard: 13; cf. Gifford with Richmond: 29, Brown with Clary: 230–232</ref> he was proactive in ensuring games were not tampered with by gamblers,<ref>Lyons: 131–132; cf. MacCambridge 2005: 48–49</ref> and he created the foundation of the contemporary NFL anti-gambling policy.<ref>Yost: 60–61</ref>

Bell was criticized as being too strict with his refusal to let sold-out games to be televised locally.<ref>Template:Cite magazine; cf. Coenen: 167, Detroit Free Press</ref> Nevertheless, his balancing of television broadcasts against protecting game attendance made the NFL the "healthiest professional sport in America",<ref name="NYTH"/> and he was the "leading protagonist in pro football's evolution into America's major sport."<ref>Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 222</ref> He had understood that the league needed a cooperative television contract with revenue-sharing, but he failed to overcome the obstacles to achieve it.<ref>Patton: 52–53; cf. Herskowitz Spreading the wealth rings a Bell</ref> He was portrayed by sportswriters as ensuring the owners treated the players fairly,<ref>Riger with Maule: 9</ref> and his decision to recognize the NFLPA in the face of adversity from owners was a "master stroke" in thwarting Congressional intervention.<ref name="L1947"/> After he initiated terms for a pension plan with the players in 1959, little progress was made with the NFLPA,<ref>Berry deprecates the importance of the NFL's agreement to a pension plan with the owners in 1959. Berry; with Gould and Staudohar, 1986, p. 96.</ref><ref>Staudohar writes: "In 1959 the [NFLPA] achieved another breakthrough when it persuaded the owners to provide a pension plan for the players." Staudohar, 1986, p. 63.</ref> however, the first players' pension plan – the Bert Bell National Football League Retirement Plan – was approved in 1962.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Bell's implementation of the draft did not show immediate results,<ref>Coenen: 90; cf. MacCambridge 2005,: 41</ref> but it was "the single greatest contributor to the [league]'s prosperity" in its first eighty-four years.<ref>Yost: 55</ref> His original version of the draft was later ruled unconstitutional,<ref>Staudohar: 79–81; cf. Smith v. Pro Football, Inc., 420 F. Supp. 738, 593 F. 2d 1173 (1978)</ref> but his anchoring of the success of the league to competitive balance has been "hailed by contemporaries and sports historians".

Bell's belief in the efficacy of parity for the financial health of the league is best summarized by his most famous quotation, made to the press in November 1952 to explain an uptick in stadium attendance:

"The teams are so closely matched that on any given Sunday, any one team can beat any other team. Professional football has come down to the point where the psychological edge is the determining factor. Physically these teams are even, so it depends on the mental outlook of the squads to determine the winner. It's this factor that has made the game close and is bringing fans out to the ball parks."<ref>Associate Press, "NFL Attendance Improved: Dallas Club 16,281 Up on 1951 Yankees," Tulsa World, November 12, 1952, p. 52.</ref>

Head coaching record

NFL

Team	Year	Regular season					Postseason
		Won	Lost	Ties	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
PHI	1936	1	11	0	Template:Winpct	5th in NFL Eastern	–	–	–	–
PHI	1937	2	8	1	Template:Winpct	5th in NFL Eastern	–	–	–	–
PHI	1938	5	6	0	Template:Winpct	4th in NFL Eastern	–	–	–	–
PHI	1939	1	9	1	Template:Winpct	5th in NFL Eastern	–	–	–	–
PHI	1940	1	10	0	Template:Winpct	5th in NFL Eastern	–	–	–	–
PHI Total		10	44	2	Template:Winpct		–	–	–	–
PIT	1941	0	2	0	Template:Winpct	5th in NFL Eastern	–	–	–	–
PIT Total		0	2	–	Template:Winpct		–	–	–	–
Total		10	46	2	Template:Winpct		–	–	–	–

Published works

• Bell, Bert, "The Money Game." Liberty Magazine, XIII (November 28, 1936), pp. 59–60.
• Bell, Bert, "Offensive Football." Popular Football, (Winter 1941), p. 111.
• Bell, Bert, "This is Commissioner Bell Speaking." Pro Football Illustrated, XII (1952), pp. 60–63.
• Bell, Bert; with Martin, Paul, "Do the Gamblers Make a Sucker Out of You?." Saturday Evening Post, CCXXI (November 6, 1948), p. 28.
• Bell, Bert; with Pollock, Ed, "Let's Throw Out the Extra Point." Sport, XV (October 1953), p. 24–25.<ref>Smith: 156</ref>
• Bell, Bert (1957). The Story of Professional Football in Summary. Bala Cynwyd, PA: National Football League.

Bibliography

Primary materials

• Lyons, Robert S. (2010). On Any Given Sunday, A Life of Bert Bell. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Template:ISBN

Secondary materials

• When Pride Still Mattered, A Life of Vince Lombardi, by David Maraniss, 1999, Template:ISBN
• Organized Professional Team Sports: Part 1. United States House Committee on the Judiciary I, Subcommittee on Antitrust (1957).
• Organized Professional Team Sports: Part 3. United States House Committee on the Judiciary III, Subcommittee on Antitrust (1957).
• {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}

• Algeo, Matthew (2006). Last Team Standing. Philadelphia: Da Capo Press. Template:ISBN
• Berry, Robert C.; with Gould, William B. and Staudohar, Paul D. (1986). Labor Relations in Professional Sports. Dover, MA: Auburn House Pub. Co. Template:ISBN
• Brown, Paul; with Clary, Jack (1979). PB, the Paul Brown Story. New York: Atheneum.
• Carroll, Bob; with Gershman, Michael, Neft, David, and Thorn, John (1999). Total Football:The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. New York: HarperCollins. Template:ISBN
• Carroll, John M. (1999). Red Grange and the Rise of Modern Football. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. Template:ISBN
• Claassen, Harold (Spike) (1963). The History of Professional Football. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
• Coenen, Craig R. (2005). From Sandlots to the Super Bowl: The National Football League, 1920–1967. Knoxville, TN: The University of Tennessee Press. Template:ISBN
• Daley, Arthur (1963). Pro Football's Hall of Fame. New York: Grosset and Dunlap.
• Danzig, Allison (1956). The History of American Football: Its Great Teams, Players, and Coaches. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
• Davis, Jeff (2005). Papa Bear, The Life and Legacy of George Halas. New York: McGraw-Hill Template:ISBN
• DeVito, Carlo (2006). Wellington: the Maras, the Giants, and the City of New York. Chicago: Triumph Books. Template:ISBN
• Didinger, Ray; with Lyons, Robert S. (2005). The Eagles Encyclopedia. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Template:ISBN
• Gifford, Frank; with Richmond, Peter (2008). The Glory Game: How the 1958 NFL Championship Changed Football Forever. New York: HarperCollins. Template:ISBN
• Herskowitz, Mickey (1990). The Golden Age of Pro Football. Dallas: Taylor Publishing Company. Template:ISBN
• Hession, Joseph (1987). The Rams: Five Decades of Football. San Francisco: Foghorn Press. Template:ISBN
• Hibner, John Charles (1993). The Rose Bowl, 1902–1929. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. Template:ISBN
• King, Joe (1958). Inside Pro Football. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
• Layden, Elmer; with Snyder, Ed (1969). It Was a Different Game: The Elmer Layden Story. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:Prentice-Hall, Inc.
• LaBlanc, Michael L.; with Ruby, Mary K. (1994). Professional Sports Team Histories: Football. Detroit: Gale Research Inc. Template:ISBN
• Levy, Alan H. (2003). Tackling Jim Crow, Racial Segregation in Professional Football. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., Inc. Template:ISBN
• Littlewood, Thomas B. (1990). Arch: A Promoter, not a Poet: The Story of Arch Ward. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press. Template:ISBN
• Template:Cite journal
• MacCambridge, Michael (2005). America's Game. New York: Anchor Books. Template:ISBN
• MacCambridge, Michael (2009). ESPN College Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Game. New York: ESPN Books, Inc. Template:ISBN
• Marquis, Albert Nelson (1934). Who's Who in America: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women of the United States, Vol., 18, 1934–1935, Two Years. Chicago: The A. N. Marquis Company.
• Maule, Tex (1964). The Game; The Official Picture History of the National Football League. New York: Random House
• Oriard, Michael (2007). Brand NFL: Making and Selling America's Favorite Sport. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. Template:ISBN
• Patton, Phil (1984). Razzle-Dazzle: The Curious Marriage of Television and Professional Football. Garden City, NY: The Dial Press. Template:ISBN
• Paul, William Henry (1974). The Gray-Flannel Pigskin: Movers and Shakers of Pro Football. Philadelphia: Lippincott.
• Pervin, Lawrence A. (2009). Football's New York Giants. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Inc. Template:ISBN
• Peterson, Robert W. (1997). Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football. New York: Oxford University Press. Template:ISBN
• Piascik, Andy (2007). The Best Show in Football: The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing. Template:ISBN
• Powers, Ron (1984). Supertube: The Rise of Television Sports. New York: Coward-McCann. Template:ISBN
• Rader, Benjamin G. (1984). In its Own Image: How Television Has Transformed Sports. New York: The Free Press. Template:ISBN
• Rathet, Mike; with Smith, Don R. (1984). Their Deeds and Dogged Faith. New York: Balsam Press. Template:ISBN
• Ratterman, George; with Deindorfer, Robert G. (1962). Confessions of a Gypsy Quarterback; Inside the Wacky World of Pro Football. New York: Coward-McCann, Inc.
• Riger, Robert; with Maule, Tex (1960). The Pros. New York: Simon and Schuster.
• Rooney, Dan; with Halaas, David F. and Masich, Andrew E. (2007). My 75 Years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. Template:ISBN
• Rothe, Anna; with Prodrick, Elizabeth (1951). "Bert Bell" in Current Biography: Who's News and Why 1950. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company.
• Ruck, Rob; with Patterson, Maggie Jones and Weber, Michael P. (2010). Rooney: A Sporting Life. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press. Template:ISBN
• Smith, Myron J. Jr. (1993). Professional Football: The Official Pro Football Hall of Fame Bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Template:ISBN
• Staudohar, Paul D. (1986). The Sports Industry and Collective Bargaining. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press. Template:ISBN
• Sullivan, George (1968). Pro Football's All Time Greats. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.
• Summerall, Pat; with Levin, Michael (2010). Giants: What I Learned about Life from Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Template:ISBN
• Umphlett, Wiley Lee (1992). Creating the Big Game: John W. Heisman and the Invention of American Football. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Template:ISBN
• Westcott, Rich (2001). A Century of Philadelphia Sports. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Template:ISBN
• Whittingham, Richard (2002). What a Game They Played: An Inside Look at the Golden Era of Pro Football. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, Inc. Template:ISBN
• Williams, Pete (2006). The Draft: A Year Inside the NFL's Search for Talent. New York: St. Martin's Press. Template:ISBN
• Willis, Chris (2010). The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc. Template:ISBN
• Yost, Mark (2006). Tailgating, Sacks and Salary Caps. Chicago: Kaplan Publishing. Template:ISBN

Further reading

• Lower Merion Historical Society (2000). The first 300 : the amazing and rich history of Lower Merion. Ardmore, Pa. : The Society

External links

• Template:Trim Pro Football Hall of Fame profile
• Template:Find a Grave