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1940 Presentational Clock Award Presented to Bert Bell
Displayed is a presentational clock given to Bert Bell by the players he coached on his final Philadelphia Eagles squad. Bell was later an innovative commissioner of the NFL. Bert had been a quarterback at the University of Pennsylvania, and he had also been an assistant coach at Penn, serving under John Heisman, for whom the Heisman Trophy is named. Bell became the co-founder and the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1936, and in five seasons the Eagles had a record of 10-44-2 under him. For the 1941 season, Bell became the coach of the Pittsburgh Pirates (later named the Steelers). Because his Eagles often lost out on the bidding for players to the financially stronger teams, such as the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers, Bell helped to formulate the NFL's first collegiate draft in 1936, a procedure designed to give the NFL better competitive balance by having the teams with weaker records draft in each round before the teams with better records, a draft done in inverse order of finish. In 1946 Bell became the Commissioner of the NFL, and under his leadership the league instituted night games and developed a unified television contract. The offered clock is made of cast metal. On the top of the base, the clock is engraved ""From the squad 1940," and on the bottom of the base is engraved "To Coach Bert Bell." The clock is 12" high, and its base measures 3.5x8.5". It weighs 5 lbs., 5.5 ounces. A likeness of Bell is kneeling on the top of the clock, dressed in a coaching outfit, replete with a whistle. The display numbers in the clock are loose, and the item does not run. The clock does show wear, and there is some loss of finish, some burnishing, and loss of patina. One of the decorative eagles is slightly loose. despite the minor defects, the clock has historical value because of Bert Bell's great influence on the NFL. As former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil said, "Before Bert Bell, the NFL was run out of a closet, almost. Most of what we associate with pro football began with Bert Bell."
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