Bert Bell

Bell continued to demonstrate his staunch character when he was unanimously elected on January 11, 1946 to succeed Elmer Layden to become the second NFL commissioner. In his first year as commissioner, Bell faced the problem of gambling in professional football. As the 1946 NFL title game between the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears was about to begin, Bell received word that Giants quarterback Frank Filchock and halfback Merle Hapes had been approached by gamblers to fix the score. Although neither player agreed to the fix, Bell suspended both players for not reporting the incident to authorities.

Another show of Bell's strength and determination was his negotiation of the NFL merger with the AAFC in 1949. The two organizations had been vying for a share of football's top talent and fans. The rivalry hurt the game as players' salaries rose and both sides lost millions of dollars. Bell successfully negotiated a merger of the two leagues to stop the fighting and help the game of football to prosper again. He oversaw other decisions under the merger, such as admittance of new members, divisions within the NFL, reassignment of AAFC players, and fair handling of the college draft.