- Peter F. Bell
Infobox afl player | firstname = Peter
lastname = Bell
birthdate = Birth date and age|1976|3|1|df=y
birthplace =South Korea
originalteam =South Fremantle Football Club
heightweight = 175cm / 81kg
dead = alive
deathdate =
deathplace =
debutdate = Round 1, 1 April 1995
debutteam = Fremantle
debutopponent = Richmond
debutstadium =Melbourne Cricket Ground
playingteams = Fremantle (1995, 2001-2008)163 games, 130 goals
North Melbourne Football Club (1996-2000)123 games, 120 goals
coach = notcoach
coachingteams =
statsend = Round 14, 2008
careerhighlights =
*AFL Rising Star nominee 1996
*International rules series 1999, 2003
*All-Australian 1999, 2003
*North Melbourne Football Club : Premiership 1996, 1999;Syd Barker Medal (Best and Fairest ) 2000
*Fremantle:Doig Medal (Best and Fairest) 2001, 2003, 2004
*Ross Glendinning Medal 2006 (R21):"For information about the former St Kilda player named Peter Bell, seePeter R. Bell ."Peter F. Bell (born 1 March 1976) is aKorean Australian known as being anAustralian rules football er. He plays as a rover (or follower), is a former captain of theFremantle Football Club , and has twice been named a member of theAll-Australian Team . He is an acclaimed ball-winner and has had more than 30 possessions in a game on 39 occasions from his 228-game career.Early life
Bell was born in
South Korea , the son of a Korean mother and an American father. In 1979 he was adopted by an Australian couple. Bell spent his formative years inKojonup, Western Australia . He was educated atAquinas College, Perth [ [http://www.crikey.com.au/Politics/20060614-Famous-alumni-on-Lathams-hit-list.html Crikey - Famous alumni on Latham's hit list] ] and theUniversity of Western Australia , where he obtained a Bachelor of Law.First Fremantle Career
In late 1994, Bell, who was at that time playing with the
South Fremantle Football Club in theWest Australian Football League , became one of the first two players signed by Fremantle, which made its debut in theAustralian Football League the following year. He won thebest and fairest award at South Fremantle in 1994.Despite kicking two goals with his first two kicks in AFL football, Bell failed to make an impression on Dockers' coach
Gerard Neesham , who regarded him as too slow a runner to be a successful AFL player. Bell was selected for only two games in 1995. [http://www.australianrules.com.au/2002stories/bellcaptain.html]Kangaroos career
He was delisted at the end of that season, worked hard to improve his leg speed, and was picked up in the 1996
Pre-season draft , by North Melbourne, where he achieved regular selection and acclaim for his courageous, energetic and skilled performances under coachDenis Pagan . Bell was a premiership player with the Kangaroos in 1996 and 1999, and was named anAll-Australian on the bench in 1999. He scored four goals and had 31 possessions in the 1999 Grand Final to be one of the Roos best on the day. In 2000 he won the North Melbourne best and fairest award, theSyd Barker Medal .econd Fremantle Career
player that year, and was one of the very few shining lights in a season where the Dockers recorded just two victories. These two wins were in part due to outstanding performances from Bell, who gathered thirty-eight possessions and two goals against Hawthorn in round 18, and forty-four disposals and three goals against Adelaide in round 22. The following year he was appointed captain and in 2003 the club made the finals for the first time. Bell was once again an All-Australian, this time as a follower.
He continued his good form into 2004, winning another Doig Medal. However, Fremantle's team performances were not as good, and in both 2004 and 2005 they narrowly missed making the finals. 2006 started poorly, but Bell was a leading player in Freo's record setting 9-game winning streak to finish in the top 4 for the first time, and also a member of the team that beat Melbourne in the second semi final to record Fremantle's first ever finals game win.
Despite offering to hand over the captaincy to
Matthew Pavlich in 2003 [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/29/1048653902405.html] , he remained captain for five seasons until the end of the 2006. [http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=323394]At
Subiaco Oval , enthusiastic supporters ring a bell (a play on his name) whenever Peter Bell gets a possession. He also never runs through the pre-game banner, instead running around the side of the banner, as shown in the photo. He was president of theAFL Players Association from 2003 until the beginning of 2007. [http://www.aflpa.com.au/index.cfm?menuid=D2A9B935-F645-DA28-E7A91B80FFCC9E1E]Retirement
Peter Bell announced his immediate retirement on 7th July 2008 [ [http://www.afl.com.au/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsid=62841 Official Website of the Australian Football League > NEWS ARTICLE > Bell calls an end to a glittering career ] ] , having played his last game in the club's Round 14 loss to Essendon. He retired having played 286 games with
North Melbourne andFremantle .External links
*Fremplayer|ref=13239
*AflRleague|ref=P/Peter_Bell0.htmlReferences
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.