Title/Author:
“Present at the Creation: My Life in the NFL and the Rise of
America’s Game” by Upton Bell with Ron Borges
Tags:
Football (American), professional, memoir,
Colts, Patriots
Publish date:
November 1, 2017
Length:
416 pages
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (outstanding)
Review:
To say that Upton Bell
is a football lifer would be an understatement.
He is the son of former NFL commissioner Bert Bell, the man many
consider to be the one who ushered professional football into the modern
age. He saw his father die in the stands
at a football game. From that heartbreaking moment, he became a scout and
general manager in the league. His stories
about those times and more are captured in this wonderful memoir co-written
with Ron Borges.
Upton Bell was one to let
his opinions be known when he was a scout for the Baltimore Colts and he pulls
no punches in this book either. The
chapters on who he believes are the greatest coaches and greatest quarterbacks
in the history of the NFL were fantastic. He is fair and bases his opinions on
the eras that the men played or coached the game. He took into account how much different the
game is today than it was in the 1960’s when he was scouting for the Colts or
in the early 1970’s when he was the general manager of the New England
Patriots. I won’t give any spoilers away for his top ten in either category,
but they won’t come as a surprise and both cover a wide time frame.
The stories he shares
about his scouting days are excellent as well. They not only entertain the
reader, but also illustrate how different the profession was back then compared
to today. There were no combines, televised college drafts or social media at
the time, so scouts had to rely on their eyes and ears to find talent. Bell was
considered one of the best in the game. The reader will learn much about
scouting and also about running a football team. This is both as a general manager and also as
an owner, as Bell was also the owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the ill-fated
World Football League in 1974-75.
Of course, Bell’s life
outside of football, including his post-football media career, are told in the
book as well. But the knowledge of the
game, his connections to so many people inside the game and his experience all
make for a book that every football fan will want to read. It doesn’t matter if the reader prefers the
more physical football of the 1960’s or the sport today which encourages the
passing game. This book is certain to be enjoyed by fans of all stripes.
I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Book Format Read:
Hardcover
Buying
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