History
Art Rooney, George Halas, Charles Bidwell, Tim Mara, and Marshall are the names that laid the foundation for what we now know as The National Football League. But Bert Bell is the name that laid the foundation for these men to come together to be the brain trust of the NFL. Bert Bell, native Philadelphian, 1916 quarterback for the Penn Quakers who made the only trip in the schools history to the Rose Bowl - and the first commissioner of the National Football League, established the foundation of the NFL right in Narberth, Pennsylvania. Bell is known by history and those that knew and loved him as the godfather of the National Football League. He established the groundwork for the merger between the All America Football Conference, and then later on for the final merger between the American Football Conference and the National Football League. He had the vision in the mid 1950?s to create opportunities for football to get national exposure through television, which inevitably changed the course of the game ? laying the ground work for the media phenoms we see on television today. He owned the Philadelphia Eagles and had part ownership with Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers up until his death on October 11, 1959 at Franklin Field ? He had a massive heart attack while watching the Eagles play.
