.JPG) Bell in 2014 | |||||||||||||
| No. 78 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker Defensive end | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | (1940-06-17)June 17, 1940 (age 84) Shelby, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 228 lb (103 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Cleveland (Shelby, North Carolina) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Minnesota (1960–1962) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1963: 2nd round, 16th pick | ||||||||||||
| AFL draft: | 1963: 7th round, 56th pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career AFL/NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Bobby Lee Bell Sr. (born June 17, 1940) is an American former professionalfootballlinebacker anddefensive end who played for theKansas City Chiefs of theAmerican Football League (AFL) and theNational Football League (NFL). He is a member of thePro Football Hall of Fame, theCollege Football Hall of Fame, the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, and was a member of the Chiefs' team that wonSuper Bowl IV against theMinnesota Vikings.Paul Zimmerman described him as the first, and prototype, size and speed linebacker.
Bell was born on June 17, 1940, in the segregated city ofShelby, North Carolina.[1][2] When he was six years old, he was asleep in the family home, owned by the textile mill employing his father, when it caught fire. His mother, Zannie Lee Bell, broke free from those trying to restrain her from going into the collapsing building, where she crawled on the floor to his bedroom and pulled him out to safety. Bell had a scar on his head from this incident the rest of his life. Bell's father, Pink Lee Bell, worked in various jobs at the town's textile mill.[2][3]
Bell excelled in several sports at a then-segregatedCleveland High School in Shelby, where he was coached by John Weston in football.[4] He was scouted by theChicago White Sox for baseball at 16 years old, but his father wanted him to finish school. In his first two years of high school, he playedsix-man football, playing under center at the position ofhalfback. During his junior year, his school converted to playing as an 11-man football team, where Bell playedquarterback. He would receive All-State honors in football at both halfback and quarterback.[3][4][5]
CoachJim Tatum of theUniversity of North Carolina was interested in Bell to play football, but the school was segregated. Tatum contacted coachMurray Warmath at theUniversity of Minnesota, where Warmath had been recruiting black players. Tatum recommended Bell, and Bell went to Minnesota. At Minnesota, it was the first time he shared a classroom or dining table with whites. Bell was originally a quarterback, but Warmath switched him to the defensive line. Bell would also play offensive tackle and center.[3][4] Warmath said of Bell, "'He would have been a standout at any position; he was of maximum value to us at tackle.'"[1]
He was a two-time first teamAll-American (1961 and 1962) and the winner of the 1962Outland Trophy, which is given to the nation's most outstanding interior lineman. In 1962, he was also named Lineman of the Year by the United Press and the Columbus Touchdown Club as well as Player of the Year by Coach & Athlete Magazine. He also finished third inHeisman Trophy voting.[4][1]
TheGophers with Bell had a record of 22-6-1, were the 1960National Champions, played in the1961 Rose Bowl, and won the1962 Rose Bowl.[4][1] In 1991, Bell was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.[1]
Bell was offered the key to the city of Shelby in 1962, after all his success, but asked instead if he could walk into the front door of the ice cream parlor across the street to get an ice-cream cone. Shelby was still a segregated city, and he was refused.[2]
Bell joined Minnesota's basketball team as a walk-on, becoming its first black player.[3]
He joinedAlpha Phi Alpha fraternity, via the Mu Chapter, while at the University of Minnesota.[6] Bell left Minnesota 13 credits short of a degree, to play for the Chiefs. At the age of 74, he completed his college degree at Minnesota by finishing the three remaining courses he required. He graduated on May 14, 2015, some 50 years after leaving college to play professional football. He did it to honor his father, who believed that blacks could compete equally with whites in sports and education if given a chance. Before going to Minnesota, Pink Lee Bell had given his son a gold watch, so he would never be late for class.[3] Bell wore that watch 55 years later during his graduation ceremony.[7]
Bell was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL in the second round (16th overall),[5] and in the seventh round of the AFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. He surprisingly chose to join the Chiefs, where he would go on to play for 12 years, first in theAmerican Football League from1963 through1969, and then in the NFL from1970 through1974. He met with Chiefs ownerLamar Hunt over ice cream on Minnesota's campus, and they agreed to a no-cut guaranteed contract, something the Vikings would not do; in addition to agreeing to a longer term of years than the Vikings offered.[4][7]
In 1964, Bell was All AFL as a defensive end, but in 1965, futurePro Football Hall of Fame coachHank Stram moved Bell tooutside linebacker. Bell was then All AFL or All NFL as a linebacker every year from 1965 to 1971. Bell was anAFL All-Star for six consecutive years,1964 through1969, and then an NFLPro Bowler for four straight years (1970,1971,1972,1973).[4] He was AFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1969.[8][7] Bell never missed a regular season game, playing in 168 during his professional career.[5]
Bell was the one of the first black outside linebackers in professional football.[2][7] The 1965 AFL all star game was moved from New Orleans to Houston because the black and white players would not have been allowed to dine together in the same New Orleans restaurant.[3]
He was on two AFL Championship teams (1966 and 1969) and a World Championship team, losingSuper Bowl I and winning Super Bowl IV.[9] He was named to the first teamAll-Time All-AFL Team in 1970, along with teammatesJerry Mays, future hall of famerJohnny Robinson,Fred Arbanas,Ed Budde,Jim Tyrer,Paul Lowe andJerrel Wilson on the first team, and future hall of famersBuck Buchanan andLen Dawson on the second team.[10][11] He was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1980, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983,[4] the first Chief to receive that honor.[2] He was selected to theNFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, which also included teammates Buck Buchanan,Willie Lanier (who would become a lifelong friend[7]), andJan Stenerud.[12] In 1999, he was ranked number 66 onThe Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, one above teammate Buck Buchanan.[13] He was number 74 onthe Athletic's 2021 list of the best 100 football players of all time.[7]
The Chiefs retired his uniform number 78.[14] A total of six defensive players on the Chiefs Super Bowl IV championship team were selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Bell, Buchanan,Curly Culp, Willie Lanier,Emmitt Thomas and Johnny Robinson).[15][16] Quarterback Len Dawson and kicker Jan Stenerud from that team are also in the hall of fame.[17][18] He played alongside hall of fame middle linebacker Willie Lanier,[19] and was part of one of the all-time linebacker trios with Lanier andJim Lynch.[20] He was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1995, and named one of its Legends in 2006.[8]
One of Bell's finest moments came in the1969 AFL divisional playoff game against theNew York Jets. In a criticalgoal line stand, his key coverage on Jetsrunning backMatt Snell stopped the drive and forced New York to kick afield goal. Jets quarterbackJoe Namath was stunned Bell was in coverage and said it would have otherwise been a touchdown and Jets victory .[4][7] The 13–6 victory over the Jets propelledKansas City to its firstSuper Bowl triumph. During a regular-season game against Denver (11/27), the Broncos, trailing 24–17 late in the game, attempted an onside kick that was recovered by Bell, who promptly returned that kick for a 53-yard touchdown.[21]
Bell was noted for his one-of-a-kind athleticism. At 6' 4" and 220 or 230 pounds, with a 28-inch waist and pyramid-like build, he was also reported to have run a 4.4 or 4.540-yard dash.[3][7] Some consider Bell the greatest all-around athlete to have played football.[5] Bell was possibly the most physically gifted linebacker in professional football history, for his speed at such a size made him ideal at outside linebacker.[citation needed] He was noted as one of the finest open-field tacklers inprofessional football history.[4] He has been called the first great "size and speed" linebacker and the "prototype speed linebacker". He had been a lineman, but was moved to outside linebacker for his speed to combat theOakland Raiders' use of running backClem Daniels as a pass receiver out of the backfield.[22]
He was also a greatblitzer from the linebacker position.[7] Bell played left side linebacker in Stram's "stack defense".[5] Chiefs records show Bell had 40 careerquarterback sacks[23][4] and he might have had more if he had played right linebacker, not the left linebacker. In that era, more often than not the right-side linebacker got the call to "dog" or blitz since more often than not thetight end would be lined up right, on the defense's left.[citation needed] Bell scored 9touchdowns in his career: 6 offinterceptions (tied for most in NFL history for a linebacker withDerrick Brooks),[24] 2 more touchdowns offfumble recoveries, and one off anonside kickoff return.[4] In his hall of fame induction speech for Bell, coach Stram described Bell as the only player who could play any position on a winning football team.[4] Stram said that, "He could play all 22 positions on the field, and play them well."[25] In addition to all that, Bell had been a center in college and played long snapper for the Chiefs.[7] He was regarded as one of the greatest long snapper centers for field goals and points-after-touchdowns in NCAA and AFL/NFL history.[citation needed]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| PFWNFL Defensive Player of the Year | |
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Sck | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Int | Yds | Y/I | Lng | TD | FR | Yds | Y/F | TD | |||
| 1963 | KC | 14 | 11 | 4.5 | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 1964 | KC | 14 | 14 | 7.5 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 1965 | KC | 14 | 14 | 7.0 | 4 | 73 | 18.3 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 1966 | KC | 14 | 14 | 2.5 | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 |
| 1967 | KC | 14 | 12 | 3.5 | 4 | 82 | 20.5 | 32 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 1968 | KC | 14 | 14 | 2.5 | 5 | 95 | 19.0 | 50 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 1969 | KC | 14 | 14 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 1970 | KC | 14 | 14 | 2.0 | 3 | 57 | 19.0 | 45 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 1971 | KC | 14 | 14 | 1.5 | 1 | 26 | 26.0 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 1972 | KC | 14 | 14 | 3.5 | 3 | 56 | 18.7 | 61 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 1973 | KC | 14 | 14 | 0.5 | 1 | 24 | 24.0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 1974 | KC | 14 | 10 | 0.0 | 1 | 28 | 28.0 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Career | 168 | 159 | 40.0 | 26 | 479 | 18.4 | 61 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Sck | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | |||
| 1966 | KC | 2 | 2 | 1.5 |
| 1968 | KC | 1 | 1 | 0.0 |
| 1969 | KC | 3 | 3 | 1.0 |
| 1971 | KC | 1 | 1 | 0.0 |
| Career | 7 | 7 | 2.5 | |
After his retirement, he openedBobby Bell's Bar-b-que inKansas City, Missouri, which he operated for nearly thirty years.[3][7] He was a motivational speaker for many years.[7]
On August 22, 2016, The Tournament of Roses announced Bobby Bell,Ricky Ervins,Tommy Prothro, andArt Spander would be inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame as the Class of 2016.[26][27] The Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony then took place on January 1, 2017, outside the Rose Bowl Stadium, one day before the kickoff of the 103rd Rose Bowl game on Monday, January 2, 2017.[28]
There is an historical marker for Bell in Shelby.[29] On August 28, 2021, there was a Bobby Bell Day in Shelby, that included unveiling a sign for Bobby Bell Boulevard, dedicating a muraled wall of a building with his images, and renaming the City Pavilion the Bobby Bell Pavilion.[2]
The Bobby Bell Award is presented annually as part of theThomas A. Simone Annual Memorial Football Awards to a high school player in the greater Kansas City, Missouri area for outstanding small class defensive lineman/linebacker.[30]
