To the editor:
Perhaps as soon as Thursday, East Tennessee State will announce they’ve sold the naming rights to their new football stadium.
I hope the sponsor agrees to include the name of John Robert Bell with their own.
Bell is the greatest figure in ETSU football history. The head coach of the undefeated 1969 Grantland Rice Bowl champions, Bell had such incredible character he made an impact on everyone he met.
Known for his kind demeanor and shunning of profanity, Bell coached Bucs’ first black player — Jonesborough’s John Russaw — through turbulent times of the 1960s when a bucket of water was dumped on Russaw at The Citadel.
At Georgia Tech, Bell and head coach Bobby Dodd defied Georgia Governor Marvin Griffin’s wishes for the Yellow Jackets to refuse to play in the 1955-56 Sugar Bowl against Bobby Grier, the first African-American to play in the game.
Bell was such a talented coach his personal tutoring turned fourth-string Georgia Tech lineman Bill Curry into a participant in three of the first five Super Bowls.
But even after playing for Vince Lombardi, Don Shula, Chuck Noll and Dodd; Curry, himself a successful coach at Alabama, refers to Bell as the best coach of all.
Local politicians sought out Bell’s endorsement. Radio stations wanted Bell’s insights on football broadcasts. He left ETSU only to take a position with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
True, there is a street named after Bell on campus alongside the Mini Dome he pushed for. There’s also one named after Jack Vest, an ETSU quarterback who officiated Super Bowl II, and his legacy is forgotten.
ETSU named their tennis facility after David Mullins, the athletic director when ETSU dropped football, creating a memorable scene bringing Bell to tears.
Doesn’t the most revered figure in ETSU football history deserve as much recognition as a man who oversaw the destruction of what he created?
Long range gains of identity will exceed the short-term benefits of remuneration for anonymity.

Marky Billson
Johnson City