Gordon Granville Bell (born December 25, 1953) is an American former professional football player who was a running back, kickoff returner and punt returner who played for the Michigan Wolverines from 1973 to 1975, and professionally for the New York Giants (1976-1977) and St. Louis Cardinals (1978) of the National Football League (NFL).
Bell was a two-time All-Ohio running back in high school and led Ohio's Troy High School to undefeated seasons in 1970 and 1971. As a 16-year-old junior, he rushed for 324 yards in a single game; for the year he had 1,593 yards rushing and scored 146 points. As a senior in 1971, he lost the Ohio AAA high school back of the year award to Archie Griffin.
Bell played tailback for Michigan teams that had a combined record of 28-3-3 from 1973 to 1975. As a junior in 1974, Bell was a part-time player who started only three of Michigan's eleven games, but he still managed to become only the third player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. In 1975, he set several single-season school records, including most all-purpose yards (1,714 yards), most 100-yard rushing games (eight), and most rushing attempts (273). At the time of his graduation from Michigan, Bell also ranked second in school history in career rushing yards and third in all-purpose yards. Though Bell's records have been surpassed in more recent years, he remains one of the all-time rushing leaders in Michigan history. Despite his accomplishments, Bell played in the shadow of Big Ten Conference rival, Archie Griffin, who won back-to-back Heisman Trophies. In some respects, Bell exceeded even Griffin's accomplishments, as Bell won the 1975 Big Ten rushing championship.
Bell played three years of professional football, but never made it into the starting lineup for an NFL team. In three NFL seasons, he had 1,444 all-purpose yards. His best NFL season was 1976, when he had 784 all-purpose yards.
Youth A native of Troy, Ohio, Bell had attended Ohio State Buckeyes games with his father from the age of six. In high school, he was one of the top football prospects in Ohio. As a junior at Troy High School in 1970, Bell gained over 1,593 yards, scored 146 points, led Troy High to its first unbeaten season (10-0) since 1957, and was named to the Associated Press 1970 All-Ohio Class AAA high school first team. In the 1970 season opener, 16-year-old Bell rushed for 324 yards and scored four touchdowns in a 54–6 win over Piqua High School. Afterward, Bell said, "All I can say is that my line was tremendous." Piqua's coach said, "Our kids were on Bell from the start, but they just couldn't bring him down." In October 1970, Bell put on "one of the greatest one-man shows ever seen at Beavercreek," scoring three touchdowns and rushing for 233 yards in 30 carries. The Beavercreek coach said afterward that the game's turning point came the moment Bell walked onto the field.
As a senior in 1971, Bell led Troy High to a 10–0 record. In the season opener, Bell broke off tackle and rushed 70 yards for a touchdown the first time he got the ball. He scored touchdowns in three of his first four carries, though one was nullified by a penalty. Bell rushed for 190 yards and three touchdowns in the season opener. The opposing coach said, "It was the same old story. We knew we had to stop Bell and yet we still couldn't do it. That boy is a great football player." Bell again won first-team All-Ohio honors, but he lost the Associated Press 1971 Ohio AAA high school back of the year award. The award instead went to a high school senior from Columbus, Archie Griffin. Bell and Griffin would continue their rivalry in college.
In 1971, Bell also won the Piqua YMCA high school weight-lifting contest in the 165-pound class.
University of Michigan
Overview Bell was recruited to the University of Michigan by assistant coach Gary Moeller. He was a relatively small player, standing tall, and weighing . He was sometimes referred to as Michigan's "mighty mite tailback." In addition to his speed, what set him apart from other backs was his ability to cut and find the smallest of holes. Bo Schembechler called Bell "the greatest cutback runner I've ever coached." In 1975, the Associated Press noted: "Bell is noted for his ability to cut on a dime, spurt through holes and hurdle tacklers. He's got fine speed and he's durable. Bell seems to get -- pardon the expression -- his bell rung on many tackles, only to bounce up as if nothing happened." Noted Michigan radio broadcaster Bob Ufer often referred to Bell as "little Gordie Bell." Ufer once humorously said, referring to Bell's ability to shift directions quickly, that Bell "could run fifteen minutes in a phone booth and never touch the sides."
In his career at Michigan, Bell gained 2,902 rushing yards in 535 carries, and scored 28 rushing touchdowns. In addition to running from scrimmage, Bell ran back 12 kickoffs for an average of 26.4 yards.
1973 season As a sophomore in 1973, Bell saw his first action against Iowa. He was given five carries and gained 50 yards (including a 24-yard gain) for a ten-yard per carry average. Bell did not start any games in 1973, but his playing time increased later in the season, including 19 carries against Minnesota for 73 yards and 15 carries against Indiana for 89 yards. For the season, Bell rushed for 464 yards in 88 carries. The 1973 team finished with a record of 10–0–1, with the only imperfection coming at the end of the season with a 10–10 tie with Ohio State. Despite tying for the Big Ten Conference championship, Big Ten athletic directors decided to send Ohio State to the Rose Bowl, and conference rules did not permit Michigan to play in another bowl game. Michigan ended up ranked number 6 in the final Associated Press poll.
1974 season
For the 1974 season, Bell rushed for 1048 yards which was, at that time, the third highest single-season total in school history. He joined Ron Johnson and Billy Taylor as the only players in Michigan history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Bell accomplished the feat despite being a part-time player, sharing the starting tailback job with sophomore Rob Lytle. In the 1974 campaign, Lytle started eight games to Bell's three, although Bell outrushed Lytle 1048 yards to 802. Bell had lost about in the summer before the 1974 season, dropping to . He said, "I did it on my own to help me run, to make me quicker."
Asked in 1974 about his alternating Lytle and Bell at the tailback position, Bo Schembechler said: "They're both good. They have equal ability and they both deserve to play.", Bell said at the time that he did not mind sharing playing time with Lytle because "we're both pretty fair backs. It's only fair that we share it." In an October 1974 win over Minnesota (by a score of 49–0), Bell and Lytle combined for 292 rushing yards—158 for Lytle and 134 for Bell.
In Michigan's 51–0 victory over Purdue in November 1974, Bell rushed for 166 yards in 22 carries for a 7.2 yards per carry average. He also set up a field goal and another touchdown with runs of 32 and 39 yards. Bell was named the UPI's Midwest offensive player of the week for the effort. When a reporter asked Bell for a comment, he said, "Coach doesn't want us to say anything this week. We've got to get ready for Ohio State."
After Bell and Lytle combined for 1,850 rushing yards in 1974, Schembechler said: "Bell and Lytle are the greatest combination in the country. Bell is the best cut runner I've ever had. Lytle is a great power runner. The tailback position is healthy to say the least."
1975 season In both 1975, Bell again shared the Michigan backfield duties with Rob Lytle. Bell was a senior in 1975 on a Michigan team that went 8–2–2 and finished the season ranked #8 in the final Associated Press poll. Bell rushed for 1,390 yards, added 314 yards on kickoff returns, and was voted the team's Most Valuable Player.
Michigan started the 1975 season ranked #3 in the country, and moved into the #2 spot with a 23–6 win over Wisconsin in the season opener. Despite being hampered by a muscle pull, Bell still rushed for 210 yards in 28 carries against Wisconsin. After the game, Bell noted that he "couldn't cut as well as (he) would have liked," but he played through the injury realizing that, as a senior, "the coaches expect us to show the way." On being named the UPI's Midwest Back of the Week, Bell noted, "It's really an honor to be recognized like that, but you have to have a lot of help out there. I thought Rick Leach was just super in the game. He sure didn't look like a freshman. And our offensive line did the job despite having so many sophomores in there." Bell's 210-yard performance against Wisconsin stood as the school record in a season opener for 28 years until Chris Perry rushed for 232 yards in the 2003 season opener against Central Michigan.
After the opener against Wisconsin, Bell and the Wolverines tied games against Stanford (19–19) and Baylor (14–14). Despite being favored by 18 points over Baylor, the Wolverines nearly lost and fell out of the top 10 in national ranking for the first time since September 1972. After the Baylor game, Schembechler said the team lacked leadership. Bell may have been the one player to whom Bo's criticism did not apply, as he had a career-long 64-yard kickoff return against Baylor, scored both of Michigan's touchdowns, and rushed for 89 yards in 26 carries. Bell's second touchdown against Baylor came with 6:50 remaining in the fourth quarter and saved the Wolverines from a defeat.
The Wolverines rebounded into the top 10 with a 31–7 victory over Missouri in the fourth game of the season and strung together seven straight wins before facing Ohio State. Bell rushed for 119 yards against Missouri and had 150 all-purpose yards. In a 16–6 win over Michigan State in week five, Bell scored Michigan's only touchdown on a 19-yard run in the fourth quarter. The Wolverines beat Northwestern Wildcats, 69–0, in week six. For the first time in Michigan history, the Wolverines had three backs who each rushed for at least 100 yards. As the starting back, Bell rushed for 100 yards and scored two touchdowns in the first quarter alone. With the game turning into a blowout, Schembechler pulled Bell after the first quarter, and Rob Lytle gained another 105 yards, before being replaced by Harlan Huckleby who gained 157 yards. Michigan tied the modern Big Ten record of 573 rushing yards in the game.Minnesota rushed for 832 against Northwestern in 1905 before the advent of the forward pass.
In a 28–21 win against Minnesota, Bell rushed for 174 yards on 31 carries for his fifth consecutive 100-yard game. He also scored two touchdowns, including a 23-yard run midway through the fourth quarter. The UPI noted: "Bell's clinching run came with 8:04 gone in the final quarter and saved Michigan from the embarrassment of a tie." Bell's performance in the Minnesota game gave him 2,488 career rushing yards, second in school history to Billy Taylor's record of 3,072 yards. In a close 21–15 win over Illinois, Bell scored two first-quarter touchdowns and carried the ball a career-high 35 times. Going into the Ohio State game, Bell was in a three-person contest for the Big Ten Conference rushing championship. Bell led with an average of 134.1 yards per conference game to 125.1 for Billy Marek of Wisconsin, and 123.7 for Archie Griffin.
Michigan ended the season with a 21–14 loss to Ohio State. Despite the loss, Bell won the battle of the backs, rushing for 124 yards on 21 carries and throwing for a touchdown pass, while Griffin was limited to 46 yards on 19 carries. Bell had 166 all-purpose yards against the Buckeyes, his last regular season game for Michigan. In his only bowl game appearance, Bell played in a 14–6 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners in Orange Bowl after the 1975 season. He gained 53 yards rushing and 90 all-purpose yards.
Comparisons to Archie Griffin