Ricky Lynn Bell (April 8, 1955 – November 28, 1984) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

and

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Bell played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

, gaining 1,875 yards rushing in his junior season. The first overall pick in the 1977 NFL draft, Bell was inducted posthumously into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

in 2004.

Early life

Born in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Bell moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

at age eleven and starred in football at its John C. Fremont High School. Bell was the brother of Archie Bell, lead singer of the 1960s R & B group Archie Bell & the Drells and Jerry Bell, lead singer of the 1970s and 80s funk bands

New Birth To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is d ...

and the Dazz Band. He was also the brother of Neekeita and Lamesia Bell; there were seven brothers in the family.

College career

Originally a linebacker, Bell first attracted notice during his sophomore season at USC in 1974 as a great blocker and between-the-tackles runner, sharing the position of fullback with David Farmer for the national championship team (UPI) that defeated third-ranked Ohio State 18–17 in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. In

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, the Trojans won their first seven games. Without a passing game to balance the offense, they struggled to an 8–4 record, but was capped with a victory over

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

in the

Liberty Bowl The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic Cit ...

. During this season, Bell led the nation in rushing, gaining 1,875 yards, as he finished third in the voting for the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

and was a consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. In his senior season of

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, Bell led the Trojans team to an 11–1 record, crowned by a 14–6 victory over the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

in the Rose Bowl. Despite suffering nagging injuries that limited his playing time, Bell set the USC single-game rushing record of 347 yards against

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

at the new Kingdome; he was the runner-up for the Heisman, behind Tony Dorsett of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, the national champions. Bell was voted the player of the year in the Pacific-8 Conference in

. He was also awarded the 1976 W. J. Voit Memorial Trophy as the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast and was again a consensus

NFL career

Bell was the first overall pick in the 1977 NFL draft by the

. Bell signed a five-year contract for a reported $1.2 million, by far the richest contract ever signed by an NFL rookie.Greg Hansen
"Bucs Get Ricky Bell ... Dallas Gets Tony Dorsett","
''The Evening Independent,'' May 3, 1977. This draft choice was somewhat controversial because Tony Dorsett was being projected as an arguably better back than Bell. Bell's selection was not a surprise, however, because Tampa Bay was coached by John McKay, Bell's former head coach at USC through 1975. After a couple mediocre seasons, in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, Bell enjoyed his finest season, rushing for 1,263 yards and leading the Buccaneers to the championship of the

NFC Central The National Football Conference – Northern Division or NFC North is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed the "Black and Blue Division" for t ...

Division. He led the Buccaneers to their first playoff win in franchise history that season by rushing for 142 yards on 38 carries and scoring two

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. The team fell one game short of a trip to

Super Bowl XIV Super Bowl XIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1979 Los Angeles Rams season, Los Angeles Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...

, ending their season by losing to the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

for the NFC championship. In March 1982, Tampa Bay traded him to the

, but they put him on injured reserve before the season ended. With weight loss, open sores to go along with swollen hands and feet, Bell was sent to an arthritis specialist. In January 1983, he was diagnosed with

cardiomyopathy Cardiomyopathy is a group of primary diseases of the heart muscle. Early on there may be few or no symptoms. As the disease worsens, shortness of breath, feeling tired, and swelling of the legs may occur, due to the onset of heart failure. A ...

. He attempted to find alternatives to accepting the disease such as acupuncture, but he retired in August of

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

. To the general public, he put on a hopeful face, not letting people besides his immediate family know about the severity of the disease in terms of pain. He had been 225 pounds in his playing days but was around 180 at the time of his death.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Death

Bell died at age 29 of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

caused by

dermatomyositis Dermatomyositis (DM) is a Chronic condition, long-term inflammatory disorder, inflammatory Autoimmune disease, autoimmune disorder which affects the skin and the muscles. Its symptoms are generally a skin rash and worsening muscle weakness over ...

Mario Van Peebles Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is a Mexican-born American director and actor. He is best known for appearing in ''Heartbreak Ridge'' in 1986, and known for directing and starring in ''New Jack City'' in 1991, and ''USS Indianapolis: ...

portrayed Bell in the 1991 made-for-television movie '' A Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story''. Bell's remains were interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...

. He was survived by his wife, Natalia; his 10-year-old son, Ricky Jr., a 3-year-old daughter, Noell, his mother, Ruth, and brothers Archie, Lee, and Jerry Bell.

Honors

*Bell was elected to the