Bert Bell

Never having played football professionally, Bell put his interest into coaching then later owning football teams. He served as an assistant or part-time coach at Penn and at Temple Universities, at one point serving under legendary coach John Heisman.

Bell married Ziegfeld Follies stage star Frances Upton. In 1933, since his wealthy father had cut him off from the family fortune, Bell borrowed $2,500 from his wife to buy the National Football League franchise Frankford Yellow Jackets. With co-owner Lud Wray, Bell renamed the team the Philadelphia Eagles and moved them to Center City where they played at Memorial Field and Franklin Field.

During the time he was owner of the Eagles, Bell made one of his most important contributions to football. In 1935, noticing that he was not attracting top talent to his team, Bell proposed an annual draft for selecting top-ranked college players. His strategy of allowing the teams who finished last the season before to have first selection of skilled players was made to continue the survival of the teams and the league.

Bert Bell

According to The History of the National Football League, "Bell's most notable achievement as an owner was convincing his fellow owners to adopt a draft of college players beginning in 1936. Without a doubt, it was one of the most important ideas ever adopted by the NFL because, when used intelligently, it has maintained the NFL's competitiveness throughout the last six decades."

Left with the old Yellow Jackets' debts, Bell was known to run the team out of a downtown restaurant and give the bartender tickets to sell. Bell ardently promoted the team in sports departments of the city's newspapers and by personally selling tickets. The unsuccessful team lost its first three games and never won more than five games in a season. By the end of its first three seasons, the team racked up financial losses of $80,000 and was put up for auction. Bell bought sole rights to the Eagles from Wray for $4,500, then became its coach.

In 1940, Art Rooney, a Pittsburgh native who had played professional baseball, became co-owner of the Eagles with Bell. In a franchise switch, the Steelers moved to Philadelphia to become the Eagles, and the Bell-Rooney Eagles went to Pittsburgh to become the Steelers. Bell remained head coach of the Steelers until 1941 when he resigned after two games.