Gregory Leon Bell (born August 1, 1962) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

and

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). The Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural ...

, from 1984 to 1990. Bell played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

and was selected by the Bills in the first round of the

1984 NFL draft The 1984 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held May 1–2, 1984 NFL season, ...

. Before going to Notre Dame, he attended South High School in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

College statistics

*1980: 5 carries for 66 yards and one touchdown. *1981: 92 carries for 512 yards and 6 touchdowns. 11 catches for 135 yards. 13 kick returns for 371 yards and 1 touchdown. *1982: 24 carries for 123 yards and 1 touchdown. 3 catches for 20 yards. 3 kick returns for 50 yards. 1 punt return for 12 yards. *1983: 37 carries for 169 yards and 4 touchdowns. 6 catches for 65 yards and 1 touchdown. 5 kick returns for 108 yards. 10 punt returns for 55 yards.

Professional career

Bell was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 1984 NFL Draft. He was a one-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

er after his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

year in 1984 with the Bills after having a 1,100 rushing yards and a seven touchdown season. Bell had his best year after the

1988 NFL season The 1988 NFL season was the 69th regular season of the National Football League. The Cardinals relocated from St. Louis, Missouri, to the Phoenix, Arizona, area becoming the Phoenix Cardinals but remained in the NFC East division. The playof ...

with the Rams, in which he had 1,212 rushing yards and led the league with sixteen touchdowns. He had a similar season the year after in which Bell had 1137 rushing yards and fifteen touchdowns, again leading the league. To that point, no other running back had ever led the league in rushing touchdowns in consecutive seasons without entering the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

, and Bell attempted to hold out for a better contract. The Rams instead traded him to the Raiders, who had a loaded backfield consisting of

Marcus Allen Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the greatest goal li ...

Bo Jackson Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football, football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-star#Sports, All-Star in Major professio ...

, and

Napoleon McCallum Napoleon Ardel McCallum (born October 6, 1963) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. McCallum played college football for the Navy Midshipmen, and then played professionally ...

; Bell barely saw the field and was out of the NFL after that season.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Greg 1962 births Living people Players of American football from Columbus, Ohio American football running backs Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Buffalo Bills players Los Angeles Rams players Los Angeles Raiders players American Conference Pro Bowl players Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's track and field athletes NFL Comeback Player of the Year winners