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.

Alvin Bell

Bell c. 1922
Vanderbilt Commodores
Position	Forward Quarterback (football)
Personal information
Born	(1901-10-01)October 1, 1901 Little Rock, Arkansas
Died	June 1968 (1968-07) (aged 66) Little Rock, Arkansas
Listed weight	150 lb (68 kg)
Career information
High school	Little Rock
College	Vanderbilt University (1920–1923)
Career highlights and awards
Championships 3 Southern (football) (1921, 1922, 1923) Honors All-Southern Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame

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]

References