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Overview
"Bert Bell, a native of Philadelphia, has been called the most powerful executive figure in the history of professional football. He was responsible for helping to transform the game from a circus sideshow into what has become the most popular spectator sport in America. In the first biography of this important sports figure, historian Robert Lyons recounts the remarkable story of how de Benneville "Bert" Bell rejected the gentility of a high society lifestyle in favor of the tougher gridiron and rose to become the founder of the Philadelphia Eagles and Commissioner of the National Football League." Bell, who arguably saved the league from bankruptcy by conceiving the idea for the annual player draft, later made the historic decision to introduce "sudden death" overtime - a move that propelled professional football into the national consciousness. He coined the phrase "on any given Sunday" and negotiated the league's first national TV contract. Lyons describes in fascinating detail Bell's relationships with leading figures ranging from such Philadelphia icons as Walter Annenberg and John B. Kelly to national celebrities and U.S. Presidents. He also provides insight into Bell's colorful personal life - including his hell-raising early years and his secret marriage to Frances Upton, a golden name in show business.
Synopsis
Bert Bell, a native of Philadelphia, has been called the most powerful executive figure in the history of professional football. He was responsible for helping to transform the game from a circus sideshow into what has become the most popular spectator sport in America. In the first biography of this important sports figure, historian Robert Lyons recounts the remarkable story of how de Benneville "Bert" Bell rejected the gentility of a high society lifestyle in favor of the tougher gridiron and rose to become the founder of the Philadelphia Eagles and Commissioner of the National Football League.
Bell, who arguably saved the league from bankruptcy by conceiving the idea for the annual player draft, later made the historic decision to introduce "sudden death" overtime-a move that propelled professional football into the national consciousness. He coined the phrase "on any given Sunday" and negotiated the league's first national TV contract. Lyons describes in fascinating detail Bell's relationships with leading figures ranging from such Philadelphia icons as Walter Annenberg and John B. Kelly to national celebrities and U.S. Presidents. He also provides insight into Bell's colorful personal life-including his hell-raising early years and his secret marriage to Frances Upton, a golden name in show business.
On Any Given Sunday is being published on the fiftieth anniversary of Bell's death.
Library Journal
Bell (1895–1959), founder of the Philadelphia Eagles and NFL commissioner after World War II, was a monumental figure in pro football history, taking the sport from near-minor league status to its standing as second only to baseball. He set the parameters for the NFL in dealing with such problems as gambling, rival leagues, revenue sharing, television, and local blackouts. He was also a fascinating, roguish character, a blueblood yet still a boisterous man of the people—in stark contrast to the more corporate face of the NFL today. Lyons's (coauthor, The Eagles Encyclopedia) work here could almost double as a history of the NFL up to 1960, lacking, however, a fuller treatment of the incomplete integration of the league in the 1950s and Bell's role in that. For all football fans.—J.M.