WGBH Forum Network; Robert S. Lyons: A Life of Bert Bell
Description:
Editor and sports writer Robert S. Lyons discusses his new biography, On Any Given Sunday: A Life of Bert Bell, joined by Bell's son Upton, himself a former football executive and currently a radio commentator.Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of his death, On Any Given Sunday is the first biography of Bert Bell, a central figure in the history of American football. Bell, a native of Philadelphia, has been called the most powerful executive figure in the football history. 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 On Any Given Sunday, 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 Bell's relationships with leading figures ranging from such Philadelphia icons as Walter Annenberg and John B. Kelly to national celebrities and US 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.
