- Bobby Bell
"otherpeople2|Bob Bell"Infobox NFLretired
|caption=
position=LB / DE
number=78
birthdate=birth date and age|1940|6|17Shelby, North Carolina
debutyear=1963
finalyear=1974
AFLdraftyear=1963
AFLdraftround=7
AFLdraftpick=65
draftyear=1963
draftround=2
draftpick=16
college=Minnesota
teams=
*Kansas City Chiefs (1963-1974)
stat1label=Interceptions
stat1value=26
stat2label=Sacks
stat2value=40
stat3label=Touchdown s
stat3value=8
nfl=BEL593760
highlights=
* 9xPro Bowl selection (1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972)
* 9xAll-Pro selection (1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972)
*NFL 1970s All-Decade Team
* AFL All-Time Team
* 1962Outland Trophy
*North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame
HOF=24
CollegeHOF=60046Robert "Bobby" Lee Bell, Jr (born
June 17 ,1940 ) is a former collegiate and professionalAmerican football linebacker /defensive end . He is a member of thePro Football Hall of Fame , theCollege Football Hall of Fame , and was a winner inSuper Bowl IV against theMinnesota Vikings .High school career
He excelled in several sports at a then-segregated Cleveland High School where his first two years he played
six-man football at halfback. During his junior year, his school converted to playing an eleven-man team where Bell served asquarterback . He won All-State honors.College career
At the
University of Minnesota , he was named anAll-American and the winner of the 1962Outland Trophy and the nation's outstanding interior lineman. He joinedAlpha Phi Alpha , the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established forAfrican American s, via the Mu Chapter while at the University of Minnesota. During his years at Minnesota, he played with such greats asCarl Eller , a future Minnesota Viking. The Gopher team with Bell and Eller won the1962 Rose Bowl Championship. Bell was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame for the years 1960-62.Professional football career
He played for the
Kansas City Chiefs , first in theAmerican Football League from 1963 through 1969, and then in the NFL from 1970 through 1974. Bell was an AFL All-Star for six consecutive years, 1964 through 1969, and then an NFLPro Bowl er for three straight years (1970-1972).He was on two AFL Championship teams and a World Championship team. He was named to the All-Time All-AFL Team in 1970. He was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1980, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983. The Chiefs retired his uniform number 78. In 1999, he was ranked number 66 on "
The Sporting News "' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.One of Bell's finest moments came in the 1969 AFL divisional playoff game against the
New York Jets . In a critical goal line stand, his key coverage on Jetsrunning back Matt Snell stopped the drive and forced New York to kick a field goal. The 13-6 victory over the Jets propelledKansas City to its onlySuper Bowl triumph.Bell was noted for his one-of-a-kind athleticism at 6' 4" and 230 pounds and was reported to have run a 4.5
40-yard dash . 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. He was noted as one of the finest open-field tacklers in pro football history, and if he missed, he had the speed to make up for it.He was also a great blitzer from the linebacker position. Chiefs records show Bell had 40 career
quarterback sack s 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 on the right side (the defense's left). Since Bell was on the left, he usually covered more than he blitzed. He scored 9touchdown s in his career: 6 off interceptions (26 in his career), 2 more touchdowns offfumble recoveries, and one off anonside kick off return. CoachHank Stram said that, "He could play all 22 positions on the field, and play them well."After football
After his retirement, he opened "Bobby Bell's Bar-b-que" in Kansas City.
ee also
*Other American Football League players
External links
*"Pro Football Hall of Fame:" [http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=24 Member profile]
* [http://www.remembertheafl.com/1965ToppsChiefs.htm#BobbyBell Bell's Topps 1965 football card]
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