S Todd Bell (All B1G, Pro Bowl, R.I.P.)

[nicknc33]

Rest in peace

 

[osugrad21]

Link

OSU naming center after football star Todd Bell

Business First of Columbus - March 16, 2006


Ohio State University will honor former Buckeyes football player Todd Bell by naming an on-campus resource center in his memory.
The Todd Anthony Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male will be dedicated March 22, the university said in a press release. Located in Brown Hall, the center has a mission of understanding and promoting academic achievement, professional leadership and personal development through specialized programs for African-American male undergraduates.

The center's goals, said OSU Vice Provost Mac Stewart, include helping students graduate and developing them for leadership and productive citizenry. It also conducts research that addresses the disparity among African-American males who graduate from high and those who attend and graduate from college.
An Ohio State graduate, Bell served as community affairs coordinator for OSU's Office on Minority Affairs. He was named director of the resource center just prior to his death in March 2005.
The Middletown, Ohio, native was a four-year letter winner from 1977 to 1980 and an All-America defensive back for the Buckeyes. He went on to play in the National Football League, earning Pro Bowl honors while a member of the Chicago Bears.
The building dedication will be followed by a luncheon fundraiser for the resource center March 23. OSU Athletics Director Gene Smith will be the featured speaker at that event, which will begin at 11:30 a.m. in the Hyatt Regency ballroom. The luncheon will kick off a lecture series, "Ethics in American Sports," in Bell's honor. Tickets, at $35 each, can be bought by calling 614-292-4355.

 

[JCOSU86]

Todd was a senior when I was a freshman. Very sad to hear indeed. Thoughts to his family.

 

[sandgk]

Report on Bell Inaugural Lecture

From the Middletown Journal --
LINK

COLUMBUS: Bell's legacy lives on at center


COLUMBUS — One year ago, Todd Bell’s sudden death left family and friends shocked and saddened.


Those close to Bell not only lost a loved one, but a role model, too. Yet even after his death, Bell’s legacy continues to have an impact.
More than 500 people packed the Hyatt Regency Ballroom for a luncheon Thursday at the inaugural Todd A. Bell Lecture Series “Ethics in American Sports,” delivered by Ohio State University athletic director Gene Smith.
“You never forget how people made you feel,” Smith said. “Todd Bell made people feel great.”
The lecture series came one day after The Ohio State University dedicated the Todd Anthony Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male — a unit within Ohio State’s Office of Minority Affairs, where Bell worked until his death.
Proceeds from the lecture series went toward creating a permanent endowment to underwrite the Bell Center, which was created to help black students with mentoring opportunities, personal development and academic assistance.
“Todd had a beautiful life,” said Bell’s mother, Monaray. “He was a wonderful person.”
Bell generally is considered to be one of the greatest athletes to come from Middletown.
He starred at Middletown High School in football and track. Though he would go on to play college and professional football, his most notable high school accomplishment came in track when he broke Jesse Owens’ 43-year-old Ohio long-jump record at the Mansfield Mehock Relays in 1976.
After garnering high school All-American honors in football, Bell attended Ohio State in 1977 and was a two-time all-Big Ten defensive back.
The Chicago Bears drafted him in 1981, and he made the Pro Bowl in 1984. But because of a contract dispute, Bell sat out the 1985 season, in which the Bears won the Super Bowl. He retired in 1990.
In 1997, Bell returned to work at his alma mater. But last year, he suffered a fatal heart attack March 16 while driving in Reynoldsburg. He was 47.
“It’s still unreal to have a modern-day role model pass away the way he did,” said Cris Carter — the master of ceremony — who also played football at Middletown, OSU and in the NFL.
Bell’s wife Daphne took time at the luncheon to talk about her recent fight to combat heart disease. She has teamed with the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital to help people detect heart problems before they become fatal. Many at the luncheon wore flickering heart pins in honor of Bell.
“I’m here for one reason — to sound the alarm,” Daphne Bell said.
Several members of the Middletown City Council and Middletown High School attended the luncheon.
“He showed us a lot of things, so we wanted to give back,” said Middletown junior Tyler Amos, whom Bell had worked with in the long jump when Amos was in eighth grade.
“People respected Todd,” said Sonny Gordon — a Middletown High and OSU football alum — who grew up admiring the elder Bell. “He was the light.”

 

[Buckskin86]

Todd Bell

As a Buckeye

Four-year letter-winner (1977 to '80) who twice made All-Big Ten as a rover, a hybrid linebacker/defensive back. His big moment was the TD return of Jim Laughlin's blocked punt against Michigan in 1979.

As a pro

Bell played in 103 career games with the Bears (1981 to '84) and Eagles (1988 and '89) and made the Pro Bowl in '84. His career ended after he suffered a broken leg in 1989.

The skinny

Bell sat out the 1985 season in a contract dispute with the Bears, who rolled to the Super Bowl that season. He died in March 2005 at age 46 after suffering a heart attack.

OSU ON SUNDAY | The Columbus Dispatch

 

[jimotis4heisman]

http://www.dispatch.com/live/conten...-some-hearts-are-heavy-not-merry.html?sid=101

For the first time in five years, Daphne Bell has a Christmas tree.
It has taken her that long to resolve the contradiction between a season full of glad tidings and her sadness over the loss of her mother, her father and her husband, football player Todd Bell.
Until she had worked through her grief, the trappings of Christmas - twinkling lights, festive parties, even sappy TV commercials - were too much for her.
"I wished the holidays away," said Bell, whose experiences inspired her to write a book on grieving.
"I wanted them to go away."
...

 

[Buckskin86]

15. TODD BELL, MIDDLETOWN, 1977: In football, he was a Parade All-American and all-state honoree by both the AP and UPI. He was a three-time state long jump champion. He jumped 25 feet, 5 inches, breaking the state record held by Jesse Owens for 43 years. The jump, recorded in 1976, stood as the state record for 20 years and still stands as an area record. Bell was a four-year starter at defensive back at Ohio State and later became a Pro Bowler with the Bears.

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbc...10304&Category=SPT0301&ArtNo=103050801&Ref=PH

 

[brodybuck21]

 

[brodybuck21]

Former Buckeye Todd Bell Dies Of Heart Attack
ByBUCKNUTS.COM STAFF Mar 16, 2005
0

COLUMBUS, Ohio: Former Ohio State football player Todd Bell died this morning of an apparent heart attack while driving his car in Columbus. Todd played defensive back for the Buckeyes from 1977 to 1980 and was a four-year starter. He was an All-Big Ten selection as a junior and senior.
Bell, who also competed on the OSU track team, had his best year as a junior, recording 87 tackles. He scored two touchdowns that year, including the winning score in an 18-15 win at Michigan where he scooped up a blocked punt and ran it into the end zone. The win sent the 11-0 Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl, where they lost a 17-16 decision to USC, costing them the national championship. In that game, the athletic Bell ran down Heisman Trophy winner Charles White from behind and stripped him of the ball to prevent a touchdown - a play that ranks as one of the great plays in Ohio State football lore.
Bell was from Middletown High School and was one of the most highly recruited football players in the nation as a senior.


https://247sports.com/college/ohio-...eye-Todd-Bell-Dies-Of-Heart-Attack-104181846/



cant believe its been that long!