Alvin Bell
American football and basketball player, football official
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alvin Euclid "Pep" Bell (October 1, 1901 – June 1968)[1] was an American football and basketball player, who later was a football official for 36 years.
Quarterback (football)
Bell c. 1922 | |
| Vanderbilt Commodores | |
|---|---|
| Positions | Forward Quarterback (football) |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 1, 1901 Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Died | June 1968 (aged 66) Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Listed weight | 150 lb (68 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Little Rock |
| College | Vanderbilt University (1920–1923) |
| Career highlights | |
Championships
Honors
| |
Early years
Alvin Bell was born October 1, 1901, in Little Rock, Arkansas, to William Euclid Bell and Josephine Kirst.[2]
Playing years
Bell won 14 letters at Little Rock High School.[3] He set a then record with 8 touchdowns in a game in 1919.[4] Bell went to Vanderbilt University. His best sport was basketball, where he was selected All-Southern.[3] Bell was a starter the first time Vanderbilt met Tennessee in basketball in 1922.[5] He was said to have "played a hard floor game and started most of Vanderbilt's rallies." Bell also was captain for the 1923–24 team coached by Josh Cody and featuring Lynn Bomar and Gil Reese.[6] That team was beaten in the Southern Conference tournament in the quarterfinals by the eventual champion, Jack Cobb and Cartwright Carmichael led North Carolina, 37–20.[7] On the football team he was the backup quarterback to Doc Kuhn. At Vanderbilt, Bell was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.[8]
Official
Bell worked mainly in the Southwest Conference and Southeastern Conference, being referee-in-chief of both.[8] He officiated in four Sugar Bowl games, three Cotton Bowl games, one Orange Bowl, and eight Blue–Gray Games; and the 1936 U.S. Olympic basketball trials.[3][8] Bell was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame posthumously in 1978.[3]