However, Bobby’s father, Pink, told him he had to prioritize his education first.īell, who played youth baseball in North Carolina, was one of the most versatile players on the Golden Lions football team. A Chicago White Sox scout was in town, saw Bobby play, and asked him to try out for the team. The Cleveland Golden Lions’ head football coach was John Weston, a man who convinced Bell and his teammates they could become achievers on and off the high school gridiron.īobby had his chance to achieve that goal in 1958 when he was just sixteen years old. It was Bell’s first time seeing a college yearbook-a truly eye-opening experience for him, per MPR News‘s Alex Friedrich.īobby Bell = the best all-around player to ever wear a uniform, IMOīobby Bell attended Cleveland High School in his hometown of Shelby, NC. Some of the college-age kids who returned to the houses he cleaned showed him their yearbooks.
Little did he know one of his jobs would motivate him to attend college someday. They also did not permit Bobby to use the same water fountain or eat at the same table as his white counterparts.īobby mowed lawns and cleaned houses so he could earn some money as a teenager. When he worked as a carhop at Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge, his superiors only allowed him to enter the restaurant through the back door. Louis Cardinals’ Joe Willis.Īside from playing baseball, Bobby also swam at Holy Oak Park and worked as a lifeguard at the park’s swimming pool area.īell experienced racial discrimination during his formative years in North Carolina. That was where Bell met his first love: baseball.Īs Bobby become more engrossed in the baseball diamond, he looked up to African American athletes such as the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Jackie Robinson and the St.
1983 kansas city chiefs roster pro#
However, Pink wanted his son to have his own identity, so he and his wife decided on “Bobby Lee Bell,” per The New York Times‘s Carol Pogash.Īlthough Pink Bell barely had an educational background, he told young Bobby that his fellow African Americans could give their white counterparts a serious run for their money in sports and education.Īccording to Bell’s Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement speech, a man named Willie Casper introduced him to athletics via the local boys’ club. His mother did housecleaning and ironing to help make ends meet.
was born to parents Pink and Zannie in Shelby, NC on June 17, 1940.īobby’s father picked cotton and worked at the local textile mill. This is Bobby Bell’s remarkable and inspiring football journey.īobby Lee Bell, Sr. Kansas City faced the Minnesota Vikings, the same team that had selected Bell 16th overall in the 1963 NFL Draft.īell eventually became the first Chiefs player to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the summer of 1983. The five-time First-Team All-AFL selection’s heroic goal-line stand against the defending Super Bowl champions New York Jets helped the Chiefs advance to Super Bowl IV. Prior to settling in at linebacker, Bell played various positions including quarterback and defensive lineman.īell was so versatile, legendary Chiefs head coach Hank Stram thought he was the only player who could play all positions and give his team a chance to win.īell helped turn Kansas City into a perennial Super Bowl contender in the mid-to-late 1960s. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)īobby Bell emerged as one of the greatest linebackers in pro football history during his iconic twelve-year career with the Kansas City Chiefs from 1963 to 1974.
0 kommentar(er)
