Pete Rozelle
Encyclopedia
Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle (rɵˈzɛl; March 1, 1926 – December 6, 1996) was the commissioner of the National Football League
(NFL) from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. Rozelle is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world.
and grew up in neighboring Lynwood, California
during the Great Depression. He graduated from Compton High School
in 1944, lettering in baseball and basketball. He was drafted into the Navy
in 1944 and served 18 months in the Pacific on an oil tanker. Rozelle began his career at the University of San Francisco
, working as a student publicist for the school's football team. He had already worked in public relations for the Los Angeles Rams front office and while in the athletic office at USF he marketed the Don's National Invitation Tournament
championship basketball season of 1949 into a national media event. He graduated from USF in 1950.
He held a series of public relations jobs in Southern California
, marketing the 1956 Olympics
in Melbourne
, Australia for a Los Angeles
based company. He joined the Los Angeles Rams
as its public relations
specialist. By 1957, Rozelle was offered the GM job with the Rams. He turned a disorganized, unprofitable team, lost in the growing LA market, into a business success.
's death in 1959, Rozelle was the surprise choice for his replacement as NFL commissioner. According to Howard Cosell
in his book I Never Played the Game, the owners took 23 ballots before settling on Rozelle as NFL Commissioner at a January 26, 1960 meeting. When he took office there were twelve teams in the NFL playing a twelve game schedule to frequently half-empty stadiums, and only a few teams had television contracts. The NFL in 1960 was following a business model that had evolved from the 1930s. NFL sources credit Rozelle with originating gate and television profit-sharing. However, it was the rival American Football League
which initiated both concepts at its formation in 1959. The revenue-sharing was a major factor in stabilizing the AFL and guaranteeing the success of its small-market teams. Rozelle recognized the value of such an arrangement, and following the lead of the rival AFL, Rozelle negotiated large television contracts to broadcast every NFL game played each season. In doing so, he not only deftly played one television network against the other, but also persuaded NFL team owners — most notably Carroll Rosenbloom
of the Baltimore Colts and George Preston Marshall
of the Washington Redskins — to agree to share revenues between teams. His business model, which emulated that of the AFL, was essentially a cartel that benefited all teams equally, from revenue sharing to the player draft.
, while the rival American Football League
(AFL) postponed its games out of respect for the fallen president. Rozelle soon came to regret his decision to have the NFL play, and frequently stated publicly that it had been his worst mistake. However, Rozelle and then-White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger
had been classmates at the University of San Francisco years before, and Rozelle had consulted with him. Salinger urged Rozelle to play the games. Rozelle felt that way, saying: "It has been traditional in sports for athletes to perform in times of great personal tragedy. Football was Mr. Kennedy's game. He thrived on competition." The Washington Redskins
sent the ball used in their win over the Philadelphia Eagles
in Philadelphia
to the White House
, thanking Rozelle for allowing the games to be played that weekend. Coach Bill McPeak
said that the players on the Redskins asked him to send the ball to the White House because they said that they were "playing...for President Kennedy and in his memory."
Rozelle's "aptitude for conciliation" with the league's owners and his work in expanding the NFL however, led to his receiving Sports Illustrated
magazine's 1963 "Sportsman of the Year
" award.
. After an NFL team (the Giants) had signed an AFL player (the Buffalo Bills
' Pete Gogolak
) in early 1966, American Football League
commissioner Al Davis
had shaken the NFL. Davis had immediately started signing NFL stars such as Roman Gabriel, John Brodie and Mike Ditka to contracts with AFL teams. Fearful of their league's collapse, NFL owners, without the knowledge of Rozelle, approached AFL owners (without the knowledge of Davis) and requested merger talks. AFL and NFL executives including Lamar Hunt
, founder of the AFL and owner of the Kansas City Chiefs
, completed a plan. Rozelle is erroneously credited with forging the merger. In October 1966, he did testify to Congress to convince them to allow the merger, promising that if they permitted it, "Professional football operations will be preserved in the 23 cities and 25 stadiums where such operations are presently being conducted."; and "Every franchise of both leagues will remain in its present location." The merger was allowed, but despite Rozelle's promises, numerous NFL teams have since moved, or used the threat of moving to have cities build or improve stadiums. Following the urging of American Football League commissioner Al Davis, Rozelle also agreed to the creation of the Super Bowl
and later supported the concept of Monday Night Football
. NFL sources have since aggrandized Rozelle's part in both the merger and Monday Night Football. Rozelle is also often erroneously credited with introducing the concept of shared television revenues to professional football. He did advocate it for the merged NFL; however he was simply embracing the concept which had been implemented by the AFL ten years before the merger.
organized, pushing player salaries higher even as it ended up in bankruptcy. Towards the end of the decade, labor unrest and litigation over issues such as the NFL Players Association and team movement to new markets foreshadowed Rozelle's decline as commissioner.
, pushed the NFL into an internecine struggle with Al Davis concerning the movement of the Oakland Raiders
franchise to Los Angeles. Other owners, such as Leonard Tose
of the Philadelphia Eagles
, sought to move their franchises elsewhere. Ultimately, the NFL lost its court case with Davis, and the Oakland franchise moved to Los Angeles. The sports world was very aware of the men's dislike for one another. In 1981, the Oakland Raiders won the Super Bowl. As commissioner, Rozelle handed the Super Bowl Trophy
over to Al Davis. Additionally, the United States Football League
formed, pushing player salaries higher, and ultimately embroiled the league in further legal troubles.
was a reason behind the AFL-NFL merger
) or for Rozelle to take off early to help her with schoolwork or to take her out on the town. Rozelle and Coupe divorced in 1967 (with Rozelle awarded full custody of Anne), and he remarried in 1974 to Carrie Cooke, daughter-in-law of sports impresario Jack Kent Cooke
, who owned the Washington Redskins
. This time, the two stayed together until his death on December 6, 1996 in Rancho Santa Fe, California
.
Under Rozelle the NFL thrived and had become an American icon, despite two players' strike
s and two different upstart leagues. He retired as commissioner on November 5, 1989. By the time of his resignation, the number of teams in the league had grown to 28, and team owners presided over sizable revenues from U.S. broadcasting networks.
Rozelle died of brain cancer at the age of 70 on December 6, 1996 in Rancho Santa Fe. The following month the NFL honored his legacy by wearing a decal on the back of the Green Bay Packers
and New England Patriots
helmets during Super Bowl XXXI
that had the NFL shield with Pete in cursive on it. Pete Rozelle is interred at El Camino Memorial Park in San Diego, California
.
in 1985. The institution's annual Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
was established in 1989. On January 27, 1991, at Super Bowl XXV
, the league first awarded the Pete Rozelle Trophy to the Super Bowl MVP.
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. Rozelle is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world.
Early life
Rozelle was born in South Gate, CaliforniaSouth Gate, California
South Gate is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The sixteenth largest city in Los Angeles County, it encompasses . South Gate is located just southeast of downtown Los Angeles It is part of the Gateway Cities region of southeastern Los Angeles County...
and grew up in neighboring Lynwood, California
Lynwood, California
Lynwood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 69,772, down from 69,845 at the 2000 census. Lynwood is located near South Gate and Compton in the southern portion of the Los Angeles Basin. Incorporated in...
during the Great Depression. He graduated from Compton High School
Compton High School
Compton High School is a high school in Compton, California, part of the Compton Unified School District.-School history:The school first opened in 1896 as Compton Union High School and then later reestablished as Compton Senior High School in the 1950s after the new community college campus opened...
in 1944, lettering in baseball and basketball. He was drafted into the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in 1944 and served 18 months in the Pacific on an oil tanker. Rozelle began his career at the University of San Francisco
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...
, working as a student publicist for the school's football team. He had already worked in public relations for the Los Angeles Rams front office and while in the athletic office at USF he marketed the Don's National Invitation Tournament
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...
championship basketball season of 1949 into a national media event. He graduated from USF in 1950.
He held a series of public relations jobs in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, marketing the 1956 Olympics
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia for a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
based company. He joined the Los Angeles Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
as its public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
specialist. By 1957, Rozelle was offered the GM job with the Rams. He turned a disorganized, unprofitable team, lost in the growing LA market, into a business success.
1960s
After Bert BellBert Bell
De Benneville "Bert" Bell was the National Football League commissioner from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he helped chart a path for the NFL to facilitate its rise in becoming the most popular sports attraction in the United States...
's death in 1959, Rozelle was the surprise choice for his replacement as NFL commissioner. According to Howard Cosell
Howard Cosell
Howard William Cosell was an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these...
in his book I Never Played the Game, the owners took 23 ballots before settling on Rozelle as NFL Commissioner at a January 26, 1960 meeting. When he took office there were twelve teams in the NFL playing a twelve game schedule to frequently half-empty stadiums, and only a few teams had television contracts. The NFL in 1960 was following a business model that had evolved from the 1930s. NFL sources credit Rozelle with originating gate and television profit-sharing. However, it was the rival American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
which initiated both concepts at its formation in 1959. The revenue-sharing was a major factor in stabilizing the AFL and guaranteeing the success of its small-market teams. Rozelle recognized the value of such an arrangement, and following the lead of the rival AFL, Rozelle negotiated large television contracts to broadcast every NFL game played each season. In doing so, he not only deftly played one television network against the other, but also persuaded NFL team owners — most notably Carroll Rosenbloom
Carroll Rosenbloom
Carroll Rosenbloom was an American entrepreneur and former owner of two professional football teams, the Baltimore Colts and the Los Angeles Rams....
of the Baltimore Colts and George Preston Marshall
George Preston Marshall
George Preston Marshall was the owner and president of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League from 1932 until his death in 1969.-Contributions:...
of the Washington Redskins — to agree to share revenues between teams. His business model, which emulated that of the AFL, was essentially a cartel that benefited all teams equally, from revenue sharing to the player draft.
JFK assassination
On November 24, 1963 the NFL played its full schedule of games (untelevised due to uninterrupted coverage of the assassination), only two days after President Kennedy's assassinationAssassination of John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
, while the rival American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
(AFL) postponed its games out of respect for the fallen president. Rozelle soon came to regret his decision to have the NFL play, and frequently stated publicly that it had been his worst mistake. However, Rozelle and then-White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger
Pierre Salinger
Pierre Emil George Salinger was a White House Press Secretary to U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson...
had been classmates at the University of San Francisco years before, and Rozelle had consulted with him. Salinger urged Rozelle to play the games. Rozelle felt that way, saying: "It has been traditional in sports for athletes to perform in times of great personal tragedy. Football was Mr. Kennedy's game. He thrived on competition." The Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
sent the ball used in their win over the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in Philadelphia
Franklin Field
Franklin Field is the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for football, field hockey, lacrosse, sprint football, and track and field . It is also used by Penn students for recreation, and for intramural and club sports, including touch football and cricket, and is the site of Penn's graduation...
to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, thanking Rozelle for allowing the games to be played that weekend. Coach Bill McPeak
Bill McPeak
William Patrick McPeak was an American football player and National Football League coach.-Playing career:...
said that the players on the Redskins asked him to send the ball to the White House because they said that they were "playing...for President Kennedy and in his memory."
Rozelle's "aptitude for conciliation" with the league's owners and his work in expanding the NFL however, led to his receiving Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
magazine's 1963 "Sportsman of the Year
Sportsman of the Year
Since its inception in 1954, Sports Illustrated magazine has annually presented the "Sportsman of the Year" award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." Both Americans and non-Americans are eligible, though in the past the...
" award.
The AFL
By 1965, the rival American Football League was firmly established, with a new NBC-TV contract, and a new superstar in Joe NamathJoe Namath
Joseph William "Joe" Namath , nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the...
. After an NFL team (the Giants) had signed an AFL player (the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
' Pete Gogolak
Pete Gogolak
Peter Kornel Gogolak is a retired American football placekicker in the National Football League for the New York Giants and in the American Football League for the Buffalo Bills. He is widely considered the chief figure behind the game's adoption of soccer style placekicking...
) in early 1966, American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
commissioner Al Davis
Al Davis
Allen "Al" Davis was an American football executive. He was the principal owner of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League from 1970 to 2011...
had shaken the NFL. Davis had immediately started signing NFL stars such as Roman Gabriel, John Brodie and Mike Ditka to contracts with AFL teams. Fearful of their league's collapse, NFL owners, without the knowledge of Rozelle, approached AFL owners (without the knowledge of Davis) and requested merger talks. AFL and NFL executives including Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt was an American sportsman and promoter of American football, soccer, basketball, and ice hockey in the United States and an inductee into three sports' halls of fame. He was one of the founders of the American Football League and Major League Soccer , as well as MLS predecessor the...
, founder of the AFL and owner of the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
, completed a plan. Rozelle is erroneously credited with forging the merger. In October 1966, he did testify to Congress to convince them to allow the merger, promising that if they permitted it, "Professional football operations will be preserved in the 23 cities and 25 stadiums where such operations are presently being conducted."; and "Every franchise of both leagues will remain in its present location." The merger was allowed, but despite Rozelle's promises, numerous NFL teams have since moved, or used the threat of moving to have cities build or improve stadiums. Following the urging of American Football League commissioner Al Davis, Rozelle also agreed to the creation of the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
and later supported the concept of Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
. NFL sources have since aggrandized Rozelle's part in both the merger and Monday Night Football. Rozelle is also often erroneously credited with introducing the concept of shared television revenues to professional football. He did advocate it for the merged NFL; however he was simply embracing the concept which had been implemented by the AFL ten years before the merger.
1970s
The 1970s saw Rozelle at the peak of his powers as a sports league commissioner. He presided over a decade of league expansion. Monday Night Football became a staple of American television viewing, and the Super Bowl became the single most watched televised event of the year. During this decade, the upstart World Football LeagueWorld Football League
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...
organized, pushing player salaries higher even as it ended up in bankruptcy. Towards the end of the decade, labor unrest and litigation over issues such as the NFL Players Association and team movement to new markets foreshadowed Rozelle's decline as commissioner.
1980s
The 1980s saw drug scandals and further struggle with powerful owners over team movement. Rozelle, again according to Monday Night Football commentator Howard CosellHoward Cosell
Howard William Cosell was an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these...
, pushed the NFL into an internecine struggle with Al Davis concerning the movement of the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
franchise to Los Angeles. Other owners, such as Leonard Tose
Leonard Tose
Leonard Hyman Tose was an owner of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1969–1985. He made a fortune in the trucking industry and was known for his lavish lifestyle...
of the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, sought to move their franchises elsewhere. Ultimately, the NFL lost its court case with Davis, and the Oakland franchise moved to Los Angeles. The sports world was very aware of the men's dislike for one another. In 1981, the Oakland Raiders won the Super Bowl. As commissioner, Rozelle handed the Super Bowl Trophy
Vince Lombardi Trophy
The Vince Lombardi Trophy is the trophy awarded each year to the winning team of the National Football League's championship game, the Super Bowl.-History:...
over to Al Davis. Additionally, the United States Football League
United States Football League
The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
formed, pushing player salaries higher, and ultimately embroiled the league in further legal troubles.
Personal life, retirement and death
Rozelle married his first wife, an artist named Jane Coupe, in 1949. The couple had one child, Anne, born in 1958: however, Jane's problems with alcohol meant that Rozelle (along with his lifelong secretary, Thelma Elkjer) was his daughter's primary caretaker, unheard of in that era. It was not uncommon to see Anne at owner's meetings (some joked that her love of Joe NamathJoe Namath
Joseph William "Joe" Namath , nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the...
was a reason behind the AFL-NFL merger
AFL-NFL Merger
The AFL–NFL merger of 1970 was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League and the American Football League...
) or for Rozelle to take off early to help her with schoolwork or to take her out on the town. Rozelle and Coupe divorced in 1967 (with Rozelle awarded full custody of Anne), and he remarried in 1974 to Carrie Cooke, daughter-in-law of sports impresario Jack Kent Cooke
Jack Kent Cooke
Jack Kent Cooke was a Canadian entrepreneur and former owner of the Washington Redskins , the Los Angeles Lakers , and the Los Angeles Kings , and built The Forum in Inglewood, California and FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.-Early career:Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Cooke moved with his family to...
, who owned the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
. This time, the two stayed together until his death on December 6, 1996 in Rancho Santa Fe, California
Rancho Santa Fe, California
Rancho Santa Fe known locally as ″The Ranch″, is one of the most exclusive and affluent communities in Southern California. It is also a census-designated place in San Diego County, California and an unincorporated bedroom community of San Diego County...
.
Under Rozelle the NFL thrived and had become an American icon, despite two players' strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
s and two different upstart leagues. He retired as commissioner on November 5, 1989. By the time of his resignation, the number of teams in the league had grown to 28, and team owners presided over sizable revenues from U.S. broadcasting networks.
Rozelle died of brain cancer at the age of 70 on December 6, 1996 in Rancho Santa Fe. The following month the NFL honored his legacy by wearing a decal on the back of the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
and New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
helmets during Super Bowl XXXI
Super Bowl XXXI
Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game played on January 26, 1997, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1996 regular season. The National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American...
that had the NFL shield with Pete in cursive on it. Pete Rozelle is interred at El Camino Memorial Park in San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Honors
While still serving as commissioner, Rozelle was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of FamePro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 1985. The institution's annual Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
The Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, created in 1989 and named for the late longtime NFL commissioner, is bestowed annually by the Pro Football Hall of Fame "for longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football". Unlike the Baseball Hall of Fame's comparable...
was established in 1989. On January 27, 1991, at Super Bowl XXV
Super Bowl XXV
Super Bowl XXV was an American football game played on January 27, 1991 at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1990 regular season. The National Football Conference Champion New York Giants defeated the American Football Conference ...
, the league first awarded the Pete Rozelle Trophy to the Super Bowl MVP.
Further reading
- Rozelle: Czar of the NFL by Jeff Davis
- Commissioner: The Legacy of Pete Rozelle by John Fortunato
- The League: The Rise and Decline of the NFL by David HarrisDavid HarrisDavid Harris may refer to:In politics and government:* David B. Harris, former Canadian Security Intelligence Service planner and terrorism consultant* David Harris , the Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee...
External links
- National Football League website
- Time Magazine, PETE ROZELLE: Football's High Commissioner
- Sporting News: Pete Rozelle becomes NFL Commissioner
- NARC Officer Tribute: Pete Rozelle
- ESPN Classic - Rozelle made NFL what it is today
- Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
- Pete Rozelle's Photo & Gravesite
- Excerpt: The Legacy of Commissioner Rozelle