| No. 55 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Center |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | (1937-11-23)November 23, 1937 Leechburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died: | December 17, 2024(2024-12-17) (aged 87) |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 230 lb (104 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College: | Yale,Rutgers |
| NFL draft: | 1959: 27th round, 320 (by theLos Angeles Rams)[1]th pick |
| AFL draft: | 1962: 2nd round, 13th pick |
| Career history | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats atPro Football Reference | |
Alexander Stanley Kroll (November 23, 1937 – December 17, 2024) was an American professionalfootball player and anadvertising agency executive atYoung & Rubicam, where he was CEO for ten years.
Kroll's father worked in one ofLeechburg, Pennsylvania's many steel mills. Growing up, Kroll had a large extended family that served as a support network. He was captain of the football team and ranked second in his class academically, Alex chose to attendYale University on an academic scholarship. He played on Yale's varsity football team, but a physical argument with a young associate professor got Kroll expelled during his sophomore year.[2]
He enlisted in theU.S. Army, serving two years in the military police and finished his undergraduate degree atRutgers University. While there, he captained the football team and played center on the school's first undefeated football team, making all sevenAll-American teams in 1961, while leading the team to a 17-1 record in his two seasons[3] and becoming a Henry Rutgers Scholar along the way.[2]
Kroll was a 1962 player for theAmerican Football League'sNew York Titans (later the Jets), playing center and offensive tackle.[4] In the off-season he worked as an advertising trainee withYoung & Rubicam (Y&R).
Alex Kroll spent his entire business career in advertising atYoung & Rubicam, where he rose from copywriter in 1963 to CEO in 1985, retiring as Chairman and CEO at the end of 1994. Kroll rose rapidly through the ranks in just his first seven years, becoming Executive Vice-President and Creative Director at the agency in 1970 at the age of 33.[5]
During his 10 years as CEO, Y&R's worldwide billings increased2+1⁄2 times, to $8 billion, and its offices more than doubled, to 331. Under his leadership, Y&R opened the first advertising agencies in Russia and China and built the largest agency network in Central and Eastern Europe. Bravo grew into America's largest Hispanic agency. And, Y&R acquired Landor, the world's leading identity and design company.
Kroll was Chairman both for theAmerican Association of Advertising Agencies and theAdvertising Council, the organization which produces most of the importantpublic service advertising in the United States. Under his leadership in 1997, the Council launched an initiative to direct donated media to highlight public causes.[citation needed]
Kroll stepped down from Young and Rubicam in 1994, but still kept busy after his retirement, as a senior adviser to the Bill Bradley Presidential Exploratory Committee in 1998, which was formed by former U.S. Senate DemocratBill Bradley of New Jersey.[6][7] The committee's intent was to explore a presidential candidacy with theFederal Election Commission.
He developed a program called "Play It Smart", which encourages football coaches to set academic goals for their students.[2] Kroll was featured in the 2009Showtime programFull Color Football.
On December 23, 1961, Alex Kroll married Phyllis Benford, whose father was a vice president atAllegheny Ludlum Steel Corporation, in a well-publicized ceremony inMiami Beach, Florida.[8] The couple had two sons and one daughter, whom they raised in West Redding, Connecticut, before moving to Charlotte, Vermont, years later.
Kroll lived next door to his daughter and two of his grandchildren until his death on December 17, 2024, at the age of 87.[9]
Kroll was a recipient of theHoratio Alger Award,[2] theNCAASilver Medal for Excellence, theWalter Camp Distinguished American Award, and theAmerican Jewish Committee's National Human Relations Award. He was a member of theCollege Football Hall of Fame and theAdvertising Hall of Fame.[10]