Alexander Frank Bell (''né'' Alexander Edward Belli; August 12, 1915 – February 3, 1986), also known as Frank Bell, was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Villanova University from 1960 to 1966. He compiled a record of 35–30 and took the

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

to two bowl games—the

1961 Sun Bowl The 1961 Sun Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the Villanova Wildcats and the Wichita Shockers (now known as Wichita State). Background Wichita was the champion of the Missouri Valley Conference for the fourth time in seven ...

and

1962 Liberty Bowl The 1962 Liberty Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game played in Philadelphia on Saturday, December 15. The fourth edition of the Liberty Bowl, it featured the Oregon State Beavers and the Villanova Wildcats, both independent progr ...

. Villanova won the Sun Bowl, 17–9, over Wichita, but lost the Liberty Bowl, 6–0, against Oregon State.

Biography

Bell was a native of New Kensington, Pennsylvania. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Villanova from 1935 to 1937 as an end. Three years later he played for one season (1940) for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

of the National Football League (NFL) as a halfback. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II from 1942 to 1945. ''U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010''

Head coaching record

College

References

1915 births 1986 deaths American football ends Detroit Lions players Harvard Crimson football coaches Loyola Lions football coaches Villanova Wildcats football coaches Villanova Wildcats football players National Football League scouts High school football coaches in California High school football coaches in Pennsylvania People from New Kensington, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania {{1960s-collegefootball-coach-stub