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Bert Bell

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Bert Bell
refer to caption
Bell (center) with Washington Redskins owner George Marshall (right) presenting President Harry Truman an annual pass to NFL games in 1949.
Personal information
Born:(1895-02-25)February 25, 1895
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died:October 11, 1959(1959-10-11) (aged 64)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Record at Pro Football Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Pro Football Hall of Fame

De Benneville "Bert" Bell (February 25, 1895 – October 11, 1959) was the National Football League (NFL) commissioner from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he advanced the idea that the NFL's success was tied to bringing parity amongst the teams. His passion for the game of football enabled him to chart a path for the NFL to eventually place it as the most popular sports attraction in the United States. For his stewardship as commissioner, he was posthumously inducted into the charter class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Bell played football at the University of Pennsylvania and as quarterback on the Penn Quakers, he led his team to the 1917 Rose Bowl. He was drafted into the United States Army during World War I before completing his collegiate career at Penn. He became an assistant football coach with the Quakers and the Temple Owls, and then was a co-founder of the Philadelphia Eagles. Thereat, his proposal of an NFL draft, to enhance the competitive balance in the league, was instituted into the NFL.

He became part owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers before being elected NFL commissioner in 1946. As commissioner, he enacted an anti-gambling resolution into the NFL to protect the integrity of the game, negotiated the merger of the NFL with the AAFC, introduced competitive balance into the NFL, and modified the rules of the game to enhance it's appeal on television. Amidst criticism from NFL owners, he unilaterally recognized the NFLPA and assisted in negotiating the first pension plan for the players. His life would abide just enough to oversee the playing of the Greatest Game Ever Played.

Early life (1895-1932)

Bell was born de Benneville Bell,[1] on February 25, 1895[2] in Philadelphia to John C. Bell and Fleurette de Benneville Myers.[3] His father was an author[4] and an attorney who became the Pennsylvania Attorney General. His older brother, John C. Jr., was born in 1892.[5] Bert's parents were very wealthy,[6] and his mother's lineage predated the American Revolutionary War.[7] His father (University of Pennsylvania, C' 1884)[8] played football during his college days, and he brought Bell to his first football game at Penn, when he was six years old. About this time, his father became director of athletics at Penn[9] and helped form the NCAA.[10]

Thereafter, Bell regularly engaged in football games with childhood friends. In 1904 he attended the Episcopal Academy, the Delancey School from 1909 to 1911 and then went to The Haverford School[11] and was one of the best athletes there. In his senior year, he served as captain of the school's football, basketball, and baseball teams,[12] and "was awarded The Yale Cup, given to 'The pupil who has done the most to promote athletics in the school.'"[13] Although he excelled at baseball, his passion was football.[citation needed] His father was named trustee at Penn in 1911.[14] and he said of Bert's plans for college, "Bert will go to Penn or he will go to hell."[10]

University of Pennsylvania (1914-1919)

Bell entered Penn in the fall of 1914,[15] as an English major, and became a member of Phi Kappa Sigma.[16] He became the starting quarterback for the Penn Quakers under coach George H. Brooke in 1915, an unusual occurrence for a sophomore.[15] On the team, he also played as a defender, punter, and punt returner.[17] After a 3-0 start, Bell began sharing quarterbacking duties before he regained the starting quarterback position in the eight game,[18] as Penn finished with a record of 3–5–2.[19]

His mother passed away in late 1916, while he was en route from campus to her bedside. He started the first game of the 1916 season for new coach Bob Folwell. Mixed results caused Bell to be platooned for the rest of the season.[20] Penn finished the regular season with a record of 7–2–1[21] Although, the most successful offensive play for the Quakers was a 20 yard rushing gain by Bell, he was replaced int the game at quarterback after throwing an interception, that led to the final score, Oregon 14, Penn 0[22] At the time, this game was considered to be the greatest football game ever played on the West Coast.[23]

In the 1917 season, Bell led Penn to a 9–2–0 finish,[24] and afterwards, he was inducted into a Mobile Hospital Unit of the United States Army for World War I and was deployed to France in May 1918. As a result of his unit volunteering for dangerous assignments, it received a congratulatory letter for bravery from General John J. Pershing. He was promoted to top sergeant and, after the war ended, arrived back in New York City in March 1919 with a discharge soon to be.[25] He returned to Penn as captain of the Quakers in the fall and again played erratically.[26] The Quakers finished 1919 with a 6–2–1 record.[27] His collegiate playing days ended, and he was viewed as having been between an above-average player to a borderline All-American candidate.[28] Off the field, his aversion to attending academic classes caught up with him, and in February 1920 he left Penn without a degree.[29]

Early career (1920-1932)

Bell became the primary owner of the Stanley Professional independent football team in the fall of 1920, but he quickly disbanded the team due to the negative publicity of the Black Sox Scandal.[30] He became a backfield coach for Penn's coach John Heisman from 1920 to 1922. With Heisman, he became well regarded as an assistant coach. After Penn's successful football season in 1924, he received, but declined, offers for head-coaching positions.[31] In 1928, Bell tendered his resignation because he believed fellow assistant coach Lud Wray overemphasized in-season scrimmages during practices. Bell preferred to stay on at Penn, but his resignation was accepted prior to the start of the 1929 season.[32]

He was a manager of the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia, and in 1929, he become a stock broker and managed to lose approximately $50,000 (presently, $887,209) during the Wall Street Crash of 1929. His father bailed him out of his losses, and he continued to work, or returned to working, at the Ritz for an unspecified period.[33] From 1930 until 1932, he was a backfield coach for Temple University under coach, and former Penn teammate, Heinie Miller .[34] When Pop Warner was hired to coach Temple for the 1933 season, he chose to hire his own assistants, and Bell was let go.[35]

During his coaching tenure at Penn and Temple, Bell spent most of his off time socializing. He frequented Saratoga Race Course every August as late as 1926, and there he counted among his friends Tim Mara, Art Rooney, and George Preston Marshall.[36] Marshall met Bell in Atlantic City in 1932 and tried to coax him into buying the rights for a new NFL franchise, but Bell disparaged the NFL and ridiculed the suggestion.[37]

NFL career

Philadelphia Eagles (1933-1939)

By early 1933, Bell's opinion on the NFL had changed, and he wanted to become an owner. At the time, college football, played on Saturdays, was vastly more popular than the NFL,[38] so he was told a prerequisite to a franchise being granted to him was the Pennsylvania Blue Laws would have to be changed to permit NFL games to be played on Sunday. He played the primary role in getting the Blue laws deprecated.[39] He then needed money to purchase entry into the NFL, but his father would not lend him any because he disapproved of football as a career.[40] So he borrowed money from Frances Upton, his future wife, which he used to partner with Wray, among others, and buy the rights to play in Philadelphia that the Frankford Yellow Jackets once held.[41] Bell named the franchise the Philadelphia Eagles, the partners paid the league entrance fee of $2,500 (presently, $58,843)[42] and agreed to guarantee the outstanding debt of the Yellow Jackets.[43] Bell became president for the Eagles[44] in their inaugural 1933 NFL season.[45] After the Eagles 3–5–1 1934 NFL season,[46] a de facto racial segregation occurred in the NFL

Bell married Broadway actress Frances Upton, a devout Roman Catholic, on May 6, 1934, at St. Madeleine Sophie Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia.[47] Bell's proposal to have the winner of the annual NFL championship game be awarded the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy was accepted at the NFL owners meeting.[48] In the 1934 NFL season, the Eagles went 4-7,[49] and the Cincinnati Reds went bankrupt.[50] The lack of the Eagles' success on the field made it difficult to sell tickets.[51] His inability to sign a college player to a contract[52] led him to believe that the only way to bring competitive parity and financial stability to the NFL was for all teams to have an equal opportunity to sign eligible players by instituting a draft.[53] In 1935, his proposal for a draft was accepted,[54] and in February 1936, the first NFL draft began, at which he acted as Master of Ceremonies.[55] His first child, Bert, Jr. was born later that month.[56]

In their first three years, the Eagles lost about $85,000 (presently, $1,866,331).[57] and in a public auction, he became sole owner with a winning bid of about $4,500 (presently, $98,806).[58] Austerity measures forced Bell to become head coach.[59] Bell made the Municipal Stadium the team's home field for the 1936 NFL season[60] and coached them to a 1–11 finish, still their worst record ever.[61] In December, an application for an NFL franchise in Los Angeles was denied because Bell and Rooney argued it was too far of a distance to travel for games.[62] His second child, John "Upton", was born in October 1937.[63] The Eagles finished the 1937 with a 2–8–1 record,[64] and in their first profitable season, 1938, with a 5–6 record.[65] The Eagles finished 1–9–1 in 1939 and 1–10 in 1940.[66]

Pittsburgh Steelers (1940-1945)

In December 1940, Bell negotiated a sale of the the Steelers to Alexis Thompson. In a series of events, known as the Pennsylvania Polka,[67] he and Rooney became equal partners in the Steelers after Rooney bought a half interest in Bell's Eagles.[68] and they then swapped franchises with Thompson.[69] Ostensibly, Rooney had provided financial assistance to Bell by granting him a 20% commission on the sale of the Steelers.[70] In their inaugural season, Bell, as head coach,[71] was resigned to the Steelers having a dreadful season after Rooney denigrated the team during training camp in a phrase that would morph into the "Same old Steelers"−(SOS).[72] After losing the first two games of the 1941 season, Rooney pressured him into resigning as head coach.[73] His coaching career ended with a 10–46–2 record. For coaches with at least five years in the NFL, it was the worst record in history.[74] Daughter Jane Upton, was born to the Bell's in February 1942.[75]

By 1943, 40% of NFL players had been drafted into the United States Armed Forces because of World War II. This shortage of players could have been eradicated if African Americans had been integrated into the teams.[76] Some owners wanted to shut down the league until the war ended, but Bell successfully argued against it because the league might not be able to jump start itself after the war, it was their duty as patriots to continue the league, and Major League Baseball was continuing its schedule.[77] Throughout Bell's partnership in the Steelers, he suffered financially and Rooney bought an increasing share of the Steelers from Bell.[78] Compounding Bell's financial problems, in 1944, Arch Ward created the AAFC to compete against the NFL,[79] and it immediately began battling for the best players.[80] Consequently, player salaries were immediately driven up drastically.[81] The NFL responded by creating a rule to ban players for five years from NFL-associated employment if they left the NFL to join the AAFC.[82] "Bullet" Bill Dudley noticed Bell's apprehension of the rivalry,[83] and at the end of 1945, the Steelers franchise was in it's most financially perilous position since it had entered the NFL.[84]

NFL commissioner (1946-1959)

Second NFL commissioner

Elmer Layden was hired as NFL commissioner in 1941, but Ward was viewed as dictating his hiring.[85] Some of the owners believed Layden had a conflict of interest in dealing with the AAFC.[86] Throughout 1945, a feud between Dan Topping, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and Mara,[87] resulted in Topping taking his Dodgers from the NFL to the AAFC.[88] The rise in player's salaries due to the competition from the AAFC,[89] Layden's perceived unconcerned attitude about the threat of the AAFC, and Topping's departure contributed to Layden getting fired on January 1946.[90] Bell, who was not well respected in Pittsburgh,[91] was elected to become the second[92] NFL commissioner.[93]

Bell accepted a three-year contract at $20,000 (presently, $312,491) per year[94] and sold his stake in the Steelers to Rooney,[95] albeit for a price Bell did not believe was full-value.[96] He was then immediately placed at the center of a dispute wherein the owners refused to permit Dan Reeves to transfer the Cleveland Rams to Los Angeles. Bell helped negotiate a settlement and, as a result, the Los Angeles Rams were created[97]As a precondition to the Rams leasing the Los Angeles Coliseum, they signed Kenny Washington to the team, which ended racial segregation in the league, but also caused "'all hell to break loose...'" among the owners.[98]

Introduction of competitive balance into the NFL

The drawing up of the NFL schedule had been a perennial source of contention in the NFL.[99] Developing a season schedule meant dealing with, either teams wanting to play only teams that drew the best crowds at home and when visiting, or stronger teams wanting to play the weaker ones early in the season to pad their win-loss records.[100] Consequently, the owners in 1946 granted Bell the sole discretion in developing the NFL schedule.[101] He created the schedules so at the start of the season, the weaker teams would play against each other and the stronger teams would play each other. His goal was to augment game attendances by keeping the disparity in team standings to a minimum for as long as possible.[102]

Hapes-Filchock Scandal and introduction of overtime

Before the 1946 Championship game, Bell became aware that Merle Hapes and Frank Filchock of the Giants had been implicated in a bribing scandal.[103] Hapes was suspended by Bell, but Filchock was permitted to play in the game.[104] At an ensuing NFL owner's meeting, Bell was worried he was going to be fired,[105] but he was advised his contract was enhanced to a five-year pact at $30,000 per year.[106] At the same meeting, he persuaded the owners to introduce sudden-death overtime for the playoffs.[107] Subsequently, he wrote an anti-gambling resolution into the league constitution[108] and then successfully lobbied to get every state in the union, with an NFL franchise, to criminalize fixing games.[109] The resolution gave the commissioner the ability to permanently ban any player for betting on a game, or for withholding information on a game being possibly fixed.[110] He put employees on retainer to investigate potential betting scams.[111] To prevent gamblers from getting inside information, he kept secret the names of officials he would assign to games,[105], and furthermore mandated each team publish an injury report, 48 hours prior to each game, which listed the players who may not, or could not, play.[112]

AAFC-NFL merger, Radovich, and NFL television broadcast rights

The competition between the NFL and the AAFC caused tremendous pressures on salaries,[113] attendance,[114] and marketing,[115] to the point that after the end of 1948 NFL season, the NFL had not shown a league wide profit for three years[116] Bell and representatives from both leagues met, but they were unsuccessful to coming to terms on a merger,[117] but they had come close.[118] At an ensuing league meeting, Bell informed the owners that attendance records had clearly shown televising games locally had a negative impact on the sale of home tickets.[119] Nevertheless, he negotiated the first television contract for the NFL[120]—the 1949 NFL Championship Game.[121] Concurrently, he dealt with a lawsuit from Bill Radovich, who had been blacklisted by the NFL for leaving the Lions and then playing in the AAFC.[122] Bell and the owners were advised by John C. that the case was potentially not winnable, and the outcome weighed heavily on Bell.[123]

Bell gathered support from the NFL owners for a compromise with the AAFC.[124] In December 1949, the leagues merged. He would stay on as commissioner, and three AAFC teams (the Cleveland Browns, the San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Colts) would be incorporated into the NFL.[125] Throughout the entire process, he was viewed as negotiating fairly with the AAFC.[126] His contract was changed again from a five-year to a 10-year pact at the same salary,[127] and he bought his first house for his family in Narberth, Pennsylvania.[128] Seeking to capitalize on the publicity of the rivalry between the AAFC and the NFL, he utilized "exquisite dramatic" and business sense and pitted the 1949 NFL champion Eagles against the perennial AAFC champion Browns in the 1950 season opener.[129]

Television Era (1950-1956)

By the beginning of 1950, the NFL mandated home games had to be blacked out within a 75 mile radius of the home stadium for the 1950 NFL season, except for the Rams.[130] As a result of this blackout policy, the U.S. Justice Department opened an investigation into a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.[131] The Rams attendance dropped off by almost 50%,[132] and this signaled a potential financial disaster for the NFL.[133] Nevertheless, at league meetings in early 1951, Bell pushed through a motion that teams could still televise their home games if they and the visiting team both agreed. Also, Bell's salary was increased to $40,000 (presently, $469,538) a year for the remainder of his contract.[134] In the spring, Bell negotiated a TV contract with the DuMont Television Network to televise the NFL championship game for $95,000 for each of the next five years.[133][135] However, prior to the start of the 1951 NFL season, he reimposed the blackout rule.[136]

In October, the Justice Department filed suit against the NFL over its blackout rules. Bell told the Chicago Tribune, "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.[137] After the season concluded, Bell gained control over the setting of television policy for all teams in the NFL.[138] As a result of the return of blacking out their home games for the 1951 NFL season, the Rams attendance returned to, approximately, the same level as their 1949 attendance. Rader, 1984, p. 86.</ref> In May 1953, Bell negotiated a deal with DuMont granting them the rights to nationally broadcast certain regular season games.[139][140] The revenue from this contract was split equally amongst all the teams and amounted to about $50,000 (presently, $569,403) for each team.[139][141] In November, the Justice Department's case against the NFL's television policy was decided.[142][143] The judge's decision permitted the blackout policy but forbid Bell, or the NFL franchises collectively, from negotiating a TV contract;[144] The judge wrote not allowing the blackout policy could result in all the teams in the NFL becoming bankrupt.[145] This decision, however, was subject to a possible reversal by a superior court;[146] nevertheless, Bell was ecstatic.[147]

In 1953, Bell forced one of the owners of the Cleveland Browns to sell all of his shares in the team because he was found to have been betting on Browns' football games.[148] Although Bert hated to fly,[149] as late as the mid 1950s, Bell visited the training camps of every team, each year, and made it a point to discuss with the danger gamblers posed to the league.[150]

Bell's focus, with respect to television, was to showcase the NFL's best assets—the players. As a result, Bell mandated an all-star game, the Pro Bowl, be played at the end of each season.[151] But in the early 1950s, play sometimes denigrated to borderline assault and battery[152] with players trying to take out opposing teams star players.[153][154] Bell responded in an interview to charges the NFL had dirty players by saying, "'... I have never seen a maliciously dirty football player in my life and I don't believe there are any maliciously dirty players in the National Football League.'"[155] Nevertheless, Bell mandated broadcasts would have to follow a strict rule of conduct. TV announcers would not be permitted to criticize the game, and neither fights, nor injuries, could be televised. Bell said announcers were "'salesman for professional football'" and "'we are selling football'" and "'we do not want kids believing that engaging in fights is the way to play football.'"[155][156] Bell was criticized frequently for censoring TV broadcasts, a charge he dismissed as not pertinent because he was advertising a product on TV and was not impeding the print media.[157] When CBS and NBC took over the rights to broadcast NFL games in 1956,[158][159] Bell made it a point to advise the franchises to avoid denigrating the games or the officials of the games—on, or off the field. He wrote that the new relationship with CBS and NBC would give "'...us our greatest opportunity to sell the National Football League and professional football. Everyone must do all in his power to present to the public the greatest games in football combined with the finest sportsmanship.'"[160]

NFL Player's Union Movement (1956-1959)

In Radovich v. National Football League, the Supreme Court ruled in 1957 in favor of Radovich. Furthermore, the court declared the NFL was subject to antitrust laws.[161][162] The implications from the Court's ruling were that the legality of the draft and of the NFL's reserve clause was dubious.[161][163] Furthermore, the Court delineated a disparity in American professional sports which the Court said was "unrealistic, inconsistent, or illogical"; professional baseball was exempt from antitrust laws, but other professional sports were not.[164][165][166] The Court suggested it was Congress's responsibility to legislate uniformity across all of professional sports.[162] Congress immediately scheduled hearings on the ramifications of the ruling. Bell pressed a case in the media for the NFL being legislatively granted an exemption from antitrust regulations. Bell registered himself as a Congressional lobbyist and then claimed to the media that the NFL was a sport and not a business.[167]

The House Judiciary subcommittee met in July 1957. The chairman of the subcommittee, Representative Emanuel Celler of New York, argued that the NFL draft was illegal and should be abolished.[168] Red Grange testified before the committee and rejected Celler's assertions and said that the draft was essential and attested to having never heard of any college football players complain about the draft system.[168][169] Representatives of the NFLPA appeared before Congress and explained that the draft and the reserve clause were anti-labor. At the time, a large portion of the American population was in unions. Members of Congress were unmoved by Bell's arguments, and it appeared as if Congress was going to revoke the NFL's implementation of the draft. Faced with Congress becoming more intimately involved with the running of the NFL, Bell formally recognized the NFLPA and declared he would negotiate with the NFLPA. His decision was heralded in the media as a "master stroke" in thwarting Congressional legal maneuvers.[170] However, Bell was speaking only for himself, with no formal consent from the owners. At an ensuing NFL meeting, Rooney explained that the owners had to recognize the NFLPA or else Bell would have to be removed as commissioner.[171] In order for the owners to formally recognize the NFLPA, they had to agree in a vote that required a supermajority.[172][173] Finally, Bell was able to take Carroll Rosenbloom, owner of the Baltimore Colts, privately aside and persuaded him to vote for recognizing the NFLPA.[171] The ensuing vote passed and the owners agreed to the requests from the NFLPA.[174]

For the 1958 season, the durations of timeouts was increased from 60 to 90 seconds[175][176] and Bell created a new rule which instructed referees to call a few TV timeouts during a game—a change which brought criticism from sportswriters.[177] The 1958 NFL Championship Game became the first NFL championship game decided in overtime.[178] The game was believed to be the greatest football ever played by some contemporaries in the media.[179] The game further increased football's marketability to television advertising, that had begun after the Giants had won the 1956 NFL Championship Game,[180] and the drama associated with the sudden-death overtime was the catalyst.[181][182] Years later, after witnessing Bell openly crying after the game, Raymond Berry attributed it Bell's immediate understanding of the impact the game would have on the popularity of the sport.[183][184]

The death of Tim Mara in February 1959 unsettled Bell, who suffered a heart attack that month.[185] Bell converted to Catholicism in the summer of 1959 because of the lifelong urging of his wife,[186] Mara's death, and his enduring friendship with Rooney,[187] a practicing Catholic.[188][189] Bell had been advised by his doctor to avoid going to football games, to which he responded, "I'd rather die watching football than in my bed with my boots off."[185] In the fall, Bell and his children attended an Eagles game at Franklin Field on October 11. The Eagles held complimentary box seats for Bell and guests to watch the game. But Bell preferred to buy his own tickets and sit among the other fans.[190] Sitting behind the endzone during the fourth quarter of the game, Bell suffered a heart attack and died later that day at age sixty-four.[191] Bell's funeral, on October 14, 1959, was held at Narberth's St. Margaret Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor Cornelius P. Brennan delivered the eulogy. Dignitaries, close friends, and hundreds of admirers attended the mass. Among the many floral arrangements placed at Bell's funeral ceremony was one presented by members of the NFLPA.[192]Dominic Olejniczak, president of the Packers, and the 11 owners of the NFL were honorary pallbearers. Bell was interred at Cavalry Cemetery in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.[193]

Legacy and honors

On September 7, 1963, Bell was in the first enshrinement class for the Professional Football Hall of Fame.[194] He was inducted into the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000,[195] the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame charter class of 2004,[196] and Haverford's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010.[13] The Maxwell Football Club, which Bell founded in 1937,[197] has presented the best NFL player of the year with the Bert Bell Award since 1959.[198] The Bert Bell Benefit Bowl was played annually from 1960 through 1969.[194]

At Penn, due to his passion for the game, he was the unquestionable leader on the team and someone the team could rally around.[199]

Commissioners of sports were, idealistically, designed to be completely neutral in mediating disputes between players and owners, but in reality they tended to back the owners over the players.[200] Bell, however, was contemporaneously seen as ensuring the owners treated the players fairly.[201] As part-owner, or owner, of an NFL team, Bell never had an African American player on any of his teams. His son, Bert Jr., believed the mere discussion of whether his father was a racist was not warranted and believed his father's support of Emlen Tunnell in becoming an NFL player was sufficient evidence.[202] Bell's ability to mediate disputes between owners, such as with the schedule, was unequaled in the history of the NFL.[203] Years later, Rooney believed one of the best things the owners ever did was to let Bell make up the schedule.[204]

Bell, seeking to capitalize on the residual rivalry between the AAFC and the NFL, Bell then "exquisite dramatic" and business sense by scheduling the 1949 NFL champion Eagles against the former perennial AAFC champion Browns in the 1950 season opener.[205][206]

The average attendance in the NFL dropped again in the 1949 season to 23,196[207] and the league again did not show a profit.[208]

However, Bell's handling of the NFL's conflict with the AAFC was viewed as a triumph.[209]

The primary obstacle in a merger was in making the requests of Paul Brown, coach of the perennial AAFC champion Cleveland Browns requests amenable to the NFL owners.[210]

After negotiating a pension plan in 1959, little progress was made between the NFLPA and the NFL. Rozelle was not as willing a participant as entering into negotiations with the NFLPA as Bell had willing to be when Bell recognized the NFLPA before Congress in 1958.[211][212] The first NFL players' pension plan, the Bert Bell National Football League Retirement Plan, was approved on May 24, 1962.[213]

Bell was contemporaneously criticized as being too strict with his blackout policy when he refused to let sold-out games to be televised locally.[214][215] Nevertheless, Bell's balancing of television broadcast against protecting game attendance during the 1950s had left professional football as the "healthiest professional sport in America" at the time of his passing.[105] and he was the "...leading protagonist in pro football's evolution into America's major sport."[216] Bell had understood that the NFL needed a cooperative television contract with revenue-sharing but he was never able to overcome the obstacles to achieve it.[217]

Bell was not completely successful in preventing players[218] or owners[219] from betting on games. However, Bell's proactive measures in ensuring games were not tampered with by gamblers[220] created the foundation of an NFL policy that continues to this day.[221]

Bell's implementation of the draft did not show immediate results as perennial losers, such as the Eagles and Cardinals, standings' did not improve until 1947.[222] However, Bell's rationale for creating the NFL draft, to make the league more competitive, was "hailed by contemporaries and sports historians as a move that made the NFL more" popular[223] and was "the single greatest contributor to the NFL's prosperity." in the NFL's first eighty-four years.[224] Bell had often said, "On any given Sunday, any team in our league can beat any other team."[225]

See also

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.[226]
  • Bell, Bert (1957). The Story of Professional Football in Summary. Bala Cynwyd, PA: National Football League.

References

  1. ^ Didinger and Lyons: 6; cf. Claassen 163, Yost: 54
  2. ^ MacCambridge: 41; cf. Didinger and Lyons: 6, Rothe: 34, King: 20, Lyons: 1
  3. ^ Lyons: 1; cf. Didinger with Lyons: 6
  4. ^ cf. Lyons: 2, Yost: 67
  5. ^ Lyons: 3
  6. ^ MacCambridge, 2005: p. 41.; cf. Lyons: 1-3
  7. ^ Lyons: 2
  8. ^ "PENN FOOTBALL: ORIGINS TO 1901".
  9. ^ Sullivan: 23-24
  10. ^ a b Lyons: 2-3, 5.
  11. ^ Lyons: 3–4.
  12. ^ Lyons: 4; cf. King: 21.
  13. ^ a b "Bert Bell heads Haverford School Hall of Fame induction class". March 14, 2010.
  14. ^ Marquis: 286
  15. ^ a b Lyons: 5–7
  16. ^ Rothe: 34
  17. ^ Zeitlin, Dave (July 28, 2009). "The Man Who Modernized Pro Football".
  18. ^ Lyons: 6-7
  19. ^ MacCambridge 2009: 1080
  20. ^ Lyons: 7-8
  21. ^ MacCambridge 2009: 1440
  22. ^ Lyons: 10
  23. ^ Hibner: 25
  24. ^ MacCambridge 2009: 1080
  25. ^ Lyons: 11–15
  26. ^ Lyons: 16–20.
  27. ^ MacCambridge 2009: 1080
  28. ^ Lyons: 20; cf. Umphlett: 143-144
  29. ^ "All American Selection Quits Quaker College". New York Tribune. 1920-01-13. p. 12.; cf. Lyons: 20-21, MacCambridge 2005: 42, Willis: 310-311
  30. ^ "Widespread Baseball Probe Harmful for Pro Grid Sport; Bell Disbands Local Eleven". Evening Public Ledger. 1920-10-05. p. 18.; cf. Stanley Football Team Disbands
  31. ^ Lyons: 22–23.
  32. ^ Lyons: 25–27
  33. ^ Lyons: 30–32
  34. ^ "Bell Signed by Temple". New York Times. 1929-12-04. p. 42.; cf. Rothe: 34, Lyons: 28, Willis: 310
  35. ^ Lyons lists Warner becoming head coach in 1934. Lyons: 28; cf. MacCambridge, 2009: 1081
  36. ^ Lyons writes, against all common sense, it was Jack Mara, Tim's son, as the person he befriended. p. 29. Lyons, 2010, pp. 23, 29.
  37. ^ Lyons: 49.
  38. ^ Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 56, 95.
  39. ^ Westcott: 101; cf. Willis: 303-304, Algeo: 13-15, Ruck; Patterson, and Weber: 95)
  40. ^ Rooney; Halaas and Masich: 28
  41. ^ Lyons: 46-47; cf. Claassen: 336, MacCambridge 2005: 42, Peterson: 112, Westcott: 101
  42. ^ Lyons: 47; cf. MacCambridge, 2005: 42
  43. ^ Lyons writes the debt amounted to $11,000 (presently, $270,679). Lyons: 47; cf. Didinger and Lyons: 5, Peterson: 112-113, Westcott: 102, When the Frankford team folded, the NFL made it a precondition to approving the next NFL franchise in Philadelphia that the new franchise would have to guarantee 25% of Frankford's debt. [1]
  44. ^ Lyons: 48–50
  45. ^ Willis: 310–311; cf. Coenen: 237
  46. ^ Didinger; Lyons: 255
  47. ^ Lyons: 33–38, 41.
  48. ^ Willis: 327–328
  49. ^ Didinger; Lyons: 255
  50. ^ Gill, Bob. "The St. Louis Gunners" (PDF).
  51. ^ Lyons: 54
  52. ^ Lyons: 56; cf. MacCambridge 2005 43
  53. ^ Peterson: 119; cf. Williams: 41
  54. ^ Willis: 341–343; cf. Lyons: 57-58, DeVito: 84, Didinger and Lyons: 256
  55. ^ Williams: 41–42; cf. Peterson: 119
  56. ^ Lyons: 60
  57. ^ MacCambridge, 2005: 43; cf. Lyons: 63
  58. ^ MacCambridge 2005: 43; cf. Claassen: 335, Lyons: 63
  59. ^ Lyons: 63; cf. Claassen: 342
  60. ^ Lyons: 64
  61. ^ Didinger; Lyons: 256
  62. ^ Willis: 355
  63. ^ Lyons: 70
  64. ^ Didinger; Lyons: 257
  65. ^ Lyons: 72-73.
  66. ^ Didinger; Lyons: 258
  67. ^ Algeo: 16
  68. ^ Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 183-184; cf. Herskowitz: 149, Lyons: 81-82
  69. ^ Lyons: 87; Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 187
  70. ^ Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 303; cf. MacCambridge, 2005: 45
  71. ^ Lyons: 88; cf. MacCambridge, 2005: 45
  72. ^ "Rooney and Bell Views Differ After Early Look at Steelers". August 10, 1941.; cf. Claassen: 247, Lyons: 90, Leblanc: 62
  73. ^ Lyons: 90–91
  74. ^ Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 225; cf. MacCambridge, 2005: 45
  75. ^ Lyons: 92
  76. ^ Algeo: 29, 35, 46.
  77. ^ DeVito: 103
  78. ^ Rooney; Halaas and Masich: 71
  79. ^ MacCambridge, 2005,: 13; cf. Davis, 2005: 196–197
  80. ^ Davis, 2005: 199; cf. Piascik: 11, Littlewood 166, Staudohar: 56
  81. ^ Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 228; cf. Davis, 2005: 200–201
  82. ^ Lyons: 120; cf. Coenen: 182
  83. ^ Whittingham: 229
  84. ^ Claassen: 251-252
  85. ^ Littlewood: 133
  86. ^ Littlewood: 157–158
  87. ^ Peterson:, 149; cf. Piascik: 52-54, MacCambridge, 2005: 14
  88. ^ Littlewood: 161; cf. Carroll; with Gershman, Neft, and Thorn: 527
  89. ^ Peterson: 159.
  90. ^ Davis, 2005: 199; cf. MacCambridge, 2005: 15
  91. ^ Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 225; cf. Davis, 2005: 201
  92. ^ Williams: 41.
  93. ^ Lyons: 116–117; cf. MacCambridge 2005: 15
  94. ^ "Layden Quits; Bell New Czar". Milwaukee Sentinel. 1946-01-12.
  95. ^ Lyons, 2010, p. 114.
  96. ^ Lyons: 166-167
  97. ^ MacCambridge, 2005: 15-16; cf. Davis 2005: 201-202, Yost: 57-58: Lyons: 117-118
  98. ^ Rathet; Brown: 210
  99. ^ Willis, 2010, p. 302, 303, 308, 371, 383.
  100. ^ Yost: 61; cf. Sullivan: 26.
  101. ^ MacCambridge, 2005: 40; cf. Maule: 242, Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 248
  102. ^ Sullivan: 26; Ruck; Patterson and Weber: 248
  103. ^ "Merle Hapes, 75, Ex-Giant Fullback". New York Times. July 21, 1994.; cf. Coenen: 127, Peterson: 159-160, MacCambridge 2005: 48, Pervin: 15, Lyons: 130
  104. ^ Lyons: 130-131; cf. Pervin: 16, Davis 2005 p. 207
  105. ^ a b c Hirschberg, Al (1958-11-23). "He Calls the Signals in Pro Football". The New York Times Magazine. pp. 23+.
  106. ^ Lyons: 129
  107. ^ Lyons: 289; cf. DeVito: 83, Willis: 301, Maule: 242
  108. ^ Lyons: 131-132; cf: [2]
  109. ^ Lyons: 142
  110. ^ Lyons: 203–204; cf. MacCambridge 2005: 48-49
  111. ^ Yost: 60; cf. Daley: 193
  112. ^ Lyons: 134–135; cf. MacCambridge 2005: 48-49
  113. ^ Lyons: 129; cf. Davis 2005: 203-204
  114. ^ Coenen: 125-126
  115. ^ Coenen: 125
  116. ^ Lyons: 171
  117. ^ Lyons: 146
  118. ^ Piascik: 126
  119. ^ Coenen: 154
  120. ^ Ruck; Patterson and Weber, 2010, p. 290.
  121. ^ Lyons: 156–157
  122. ^ 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, Lyons: 154, Carrol with Gersham, Neft, and Thorn: 1197, Lyons: 154
  123. ^ Lyons: 154-155
  124. ^ Davis, 2005: 229
  125. ^ Lyons: 150, 163; MacCambridge, 2005, p. 52.
  126. ^ Brown with Clary: 194
  127. ^ Lyons, 2010, p. 147.
  128. ^ Lyons: 166-167
  129. ^ Peterson: 191-192; cf: Brown with Clary: 197
  130. ^ Coenen: 154; cf. Davis, 2005, p. 259-260, 266, 268–269, LaBlanc p. 10.
  131. ^ Coenen: 157.
  132. ^ Peterson: 197; cf. Hessions: 45, MacCambridge 2005: 70
  133. ^ a b Rader, 1984, pp. 86-87.
  134. ^ "Pro Teams End Draft; Give Bert Bell Raise". St. Petersburg Times. 1951-01-20. p. 19.; cf. Lyons: 174-175
  135. ^ Hall, Dan (1951-05-22). "Hallucinations". St. Petersburg Times. 17. Bell said the $95,000 received each year under terms of the agreement will be placed in the players' pool. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); cf. Rader: 86-87, Pro Football and DuMont Sign a $475,000 TV Pact, MacCambridge 2005: 73, 480; contra: The Pittsburgh Press, Patton and Lyons incorrectly state the 1951 NFL Championship Game rights were sold for $75,000. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XMJRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nmoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4260%2C1532124, Patton: 35, Lyons: 179
  136. ^ Davis, 2005: 271; cf. MacCambridge, 2005: 73
  137. ^ Coenen, 2005, p. 157–158.
  138. ^ Rader: 86; cf. Peterson: 197
  139. ^ a b Lyons, 2010, p. 196.
  140. ^ "Westinghouse to Sponsor Professional TV Football". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. May 14, 1953.
  141. ^ Coenen, 2005, p. 156, 162.
  142. ^ Peterson, 1997, p. 198.
  143. ^ Lyons, 2010, p. 199–200.
  144. ^ Patton, 1984, p. 55.
  145. ^ U.S. House Committee III, 1957, p. 2797.
  146. ^ Paul, 1974, p. 28-29.
  147. ^ Rader, 1984, p. 86.
  148. ^ Brown; with Clary, 1979, p. 230-232.
  149. ^ Patton, 1984, p. 48.
  150. ^ U.S. House Committee III, 1957, p. 2587. (cf. Summerall with Levin p. 36-37)
  151. ^ Brown; with Clary, 1979, p. 214.
  152. ^ Ratterman; with Deindorfer, 1962, p. 125.
  153. ^ Graham, Otto (October 11, 1954). "Football Is Getting Too Vicious". CNN.
  154. ^ Piascik, 2007, p. 155.
  155. ^ a b Maule, Tex (January 21, 1957). "I Don't Believe There Is Dirty Football". CNN.
  156. ^ King, 2005, p. 37.
  157. ^ Lyons, 2010, p. 282.
  158. ^ Patton writes NBC paid $100,000 for the rights to broadcast the NFL championship game. Patton, 1984, p. 37.
  159. ^ Rader writes CBS paid "slightly more than one million dollars" to broadcast regular season games. Rader, 1984, p. 87.
  160. ^ Maraniss, 1999, p. 168-169.
  161. ^ a b Coenen, 2005, p. 182.
  162. ^ a b Ruck; Patterson and Weber, 2010, p. 293.
  163. ^ Lyons, 2010, p. 255–256.
  164. ^ Burton, Rick (December 19, 1999). "Backtalk; From Hearst to Stern: The Shaping of an Industry Over a Century". The New York Times.
  165. ^ "Pro Football Would Welcome Probe, Says NFL Commissioner Bert Bell". February 26, 1957.
  166. ^ U.S. House Committee I, 1957, p. 1.
  167. ^ Lyons, 2010, p. 261.
  168. ^ a b Carroll, 1999, p. 199.
  169. ^ U.S. House Committee III, 1957, p. 2596.
  170. ^ Larsen, Lloyd (August 2, 1957). "Bell's Player Recognition Could be Real Winner for Pro Football". The Milwaukee Sentinel.
  171. ^ a b Rooney; Halaas and Masich, 2007, p. 78.
  172. ^ U.S. House Committee III, 1957, p. 2580a-2580at.
  173. ^ Ruck; Patterson and Weber, 2010, p. 294.
  174. ^ The players were granted $50 pay for exhibition games, a $5,000 minimum yearly salary, a continuation of their contracts if they became injured, and free medical care during the life of their contract. Staudohar, 1986, p. 63.
  175. ^ Gifford; with Richmond, 2008, p. 121.
  176. ^ Maule, 1964, p. 245.
  177. ^ Powers, 1984, p. 84.
  178. ^ Gifford uses literary license when he writes "The overtime rule had been instituted for this game..." p. 210 Gifford; with Richmond, 2008, p. 207-208, 210, 214.
  179. ^ Maule, Tex (January 19, 1959). "Here's Why It Was The Best Football Game Ever". CNN. (cf. Gifford; with Richmond p. 230)
  180. ^ Patton, 1984, p. 41.
  181. ^ Gifford; with Richmond, 2008, p. 213.
  182. ^ Powers, 1984, p. 88.
  183. ^ Gifford; with Richmond, 2008, p. 229.
  184. ^ "Greatest Game: Remembering '58 NFL finale". December, 13 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  185. ^ a b Lyons, 2010, p. 308.
  186. ^ Lyons: 142
  187. ^ Ruck; Patterson and Weber, 2010, p. 311.
  188. ^ Rooney; Halaas and Masich, 2007, p. 26.
  189. ^ Ruck; Patterson, and Weber, 2010, p. 84.
  190. ^ Lyons, 2010, p. 275.
  191. ^ Bernstein, Ralph (October 12, 1959). "Heart Attack Is Fatal To Bert Bell". Times Daily. Other authors alternately list his age at death (e.g., Ruck p. 313, Lyons p. 306) and his date of death (cf. Lyons p. 306 and at philly.com (2/24/2011)).
  192. ^ Lyons, 2010, p. 312.
  193. ^ Lyons, 2010, pp. 311-312.
  194. ^ a b Lyons, 2010, p. 315.
  195. ^ "Penn Athletics Hall of Fame".
  196. ^ "Inductees".
  197. ^ Rooney; Halaas and Masich, 2007, p. 238.
  198. ^ Pagano, Robert (1998-05). "Robert 'Tiny' Maxwell" (PDF). College Football Historical Society. I (IV): 1–3. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) (cf. Lyons p. 314)
  199. ^ "How Did it Strike You". Evening Public Ledger. 1922-11-17. p. 30.; cf. Colleges Already Preparing for Football by Cleaning Out Cash Registers and Polishing Up Stars
  200. ^ Staudohar, 1986, p. 9.
  201. ^ Riger; with Maule, 1960 p. 9.
  202. ^ Lyons: 142
  203. ^ MacCambridge, 2005, p. 39.
  204. ^ Paul, 1974, p. 263.
  205. ^ Peterson, 1997, p. 191-192.
  206. ^ Brown; with Clary, 1979, p. 197.
  207. ^ MacCambridge, 2005, p. 101.
  208. ^ Lyons: 171
  209. ^ MacCambridge, 2005, p. 53.
  210. ^ Lyons, 2010, p. 151.
  211. ^ 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.
  212. ^ 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.
  213. ^ "NFL Adopts Pensions for Five Year Vets". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. May 25, 1962.
  214. ^ "Wonderful World Of Sport". CNN. January 6, 1958. (cf. Coenen p. 167)
  215. ^ Smith, Lyall (October 4, 1954). "Detroit Free Press". CNN.
  216. ^ Ruck; Patterson and Weber, 2010, p. 222.
  217. ^ Patton, 1984, pp. 52–53.
  218. ^ Oriard, 2007, p. 13. (cf. Gifford with Richmond p. 29.)
  219. ^ Brown; with Clary, 1979, pp. 230-232.
  220. ^ Lyons, 2010, pp. 131–132. (cf. MacCambridge 2005 pp. 48-49.)
  221. ^ Yost, 2006, pp. 60–61.
  222. ^ Coenen, 2005, p. 90. (cf. MacCambridge 2005 p. 41)
  223. ^ Coenen, 2005, p. 89.
  224. ^ Yost, 2006, p. 55.
  225. ^ Lyons, 2010, p. 287. (cf. MacCambridge 2005 p. 107)
  226. ^ Smith, 1993, p. 156.

Bibliography

Primary materials

  • Lyons, Robert S. (2010). On Any Given Sunday, A Life of Bert Bell. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-59213-731-2

Secondary materials

  • When Pride Still Mattered, A Life of Vince Lombardi, by David Maraniss, 1999, ISBN 978-0-618-90499-0
  • Organized Professional Team Sports: Part 1. (password protected except at participating U.S. library) by United States House Committee on the Judiciary I, Subcommittee on Antitrust (1957).
  • Grim, District Judge (1953-11-12). "United States v. National Football League, 116 F. Supp. 319 - Dist. Court, ED Pennsylvania 1953".
  • Organized Professional Team Sports: Part 3. (password protected except at participating U.S. library) by United States House Committee on the Judiciary III, Subcommittee on Antitrust (1957).
  • Algeo, Matthew (2006). Last Team Standing. Philadelphia: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-81472-3
  • Bayoff, Frederic G.; with Morgan, Brad (1986). Lexis Press: Complete Index to Sports Illustrated, Volume I, 1954–1969. Ann Arbor, MI: Lexis Press. ISBN 0-317-47454-5
  • Berry, Robert C.; with Gould, William B. and Staudohar, Paul D. (1986). Labor Relations in Professional Sports. Dover, MA: Auburn House Pub. Co. ISBN 0-86569-137-1
  • 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. ISBN 0-06-270174-6
  • Carroll, John M. (1999). Red Grange and the Rise of Modern Football. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02384-6
  • 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. ISBN 1-57233-447-9
  • Crippen, Kenneth R. (2010). The Original Buffalo Bills: A History of the All-American Conference Team, 1946–1949. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4619-3
  • Daley, Arthur (1963). Pro Football's Hall of Fame. New York: Grosset and Dunlap.
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  • Davis, Jeff (2008). Rozelle: Czar of the NFL. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-159352-7
  • Davis, Jeff (2005). Papa Bear, The Life and Legacy of George Halas. New York: McGraw-Hill ISBN 0-07-146054-3
  • Demas, Lane (2010). Integrating the Gridiron: Black Civil Rights and American College Football. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-4741-1
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  • Didinger, Ray; with Lyons, Robert S. (2005). The Eagles Encyclopedia. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 1-59213-449-1
  • Gifford, Frank; with Richmond, Peter (2008). The Glory Game: How the 1958 NFL Championship Changed Football Forever. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-171659-1
  • Herskowitz, Mickey (1990). The Golden Age of Pro Football. Dallas: Taylor Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87833-751-2
  • Hession, Joseph (1987). The Rams: Five Decades of Football. San Francisco: Foghorn Press.
  • Hibner, John Charles (1993). The Rose Bowl, 1902–1929. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. ISBN 0-89950-775-1
  • 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. ISBN 0-8103-8861-8
  • Levy, Alan H. (2003). Tackling Jim Crow, Racial Segregation in Professional Football. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., Inc. ISBN 0-7864-1597-5
  • Littlewood, Thomas B. (1990). Arch: A Promoter, not a Poet: The Story of Arch Ward. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press. ISBN 0-8138-0277-6
  • MacCambridge, Michael (2005). America's Game. New York: Anchor Books. ISBN 978-0-307-48143-6
  • MacCambridge, Michael (2009). ESPN College Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Game. New York: ESPN Books, Inc. ISBN 1-4013-3703-1
  • McDonough, Will (1994). 75 Seasons: The Complete Story of the National Football League. Atlanta: Turner Publishing, Inc. ISBN 1-57036-056-1
  • 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
  • Mendelson, Abby (1996). Pittsburgh Steelers: The Official Team History. Dallas: Taylor Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87833-957-4
  • Patton, Phil (1984). Razzle-Dazzle: The Curious Marriage of Television and Professional Football. Garden City, NY: The Dial Press. ISBN 0-385-27879-9
  • 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. ISBN 978-0-7864-4268-3
  • Peterson, Robert W. (1997). Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-507607-9
  • Piascik, Andy (2009). Gridiron Gauntlet. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-58979-443-6
  • Piascik, Andy (2007). The Best Show in Football: The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-58979-360-6
  • Powers, Ron (1984). Supertube: The Rise of Television Sports. New York: Coward-McCann. ISBN 0-698-11253-9
  • Rader, Benjamin G. (1984). In its Own Image: How Television Has Transformed Sports. New York: The Free Press. ISBN 0-02-925700-X
  • Rathet, Mike; with Smith, Don R. (1984). Their Deeds and Dogged Faith. New York: Balsam Press. ISBN 0-917439-02-3
  • 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.
  • Roberts, Howard (1953). The Story of Pro Football. New York: Rand McNally & Company.
  • 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. ISBN 978-0-7867-2603-5
  • Ross, Charles K. (1999). Outside the Lines: African Americans and the Integration of the National Football League. New York: New York Publishing Company. ISBN 0-8147-7495-4
  • 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, NB: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-2283-0
  • Smith, Myron J. Jr. (1993). Professional Football: The Official Pro Football Hall of Fame Bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-28928-X
  • Staudohar, Paul D. (1986). The Sports Industry and Collective Bargaining. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press. ISBN 0-87546-117-4
  • Strode, Woody; with Young, Sam (1990). Goal Dust. Lanham, MD: Madison Books. ISBN 0-8191-7680-X
  • 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. ISBN 978-0-470-90908-9
  • Umphlett, Wiley Lee (1992). Creating the Big Game: John W. Heisman and the Invention of American Football. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-28404-0
  • Westcott, Rich (2001). A Century of Philadelphia Sports. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 1-56639-861-4
  • Whittingham, Richard (2002). What a Game They Played: An Inside Look at the Golden Era of Pro Football. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, Inc. ISBN 978-0-8032-9819-4
  • Williams, Pete (2006). The Draft: A Year Inside the NFL's Search for Talent. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-35438-1
  • Willis, Chris (2010). The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc. ISBN 978-0-8108-7669-9
  • Yost, Mark (2006). Tailgating, Sacks and Salary Caps. Chicago: Kaplan Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4195-2600-8

Further reading

Template:Philadelphia Eagles Pro Football Hall of Famers

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