Michigan single-season records Gordon Granville Bell (born December 25, 1953) is an American former professional football player who was a running back, kickoff returner and punt returner who played for the Michigan Wolverines from 1973 to 1975, and professionally for the New York Giants (1976-1977) and St. Louis Cardinals (1978) of the National Football League (NFL).

As a senior in 1971, he lost the Ohio AAA high school back of the year award to Archie Griffin.

Though Bell's records have been surpassed in more recent years, he remains one of the all-time rushing leaders in Michigan history.

Despite his accomplishments, Bell played in the shadow of Big Ten Conference rival, Archie Griffin, who won back-to-back Heisman Trophies.

Bell played three years of professional football, but never made it into the starting lineup for an NFL team.

[2][3] In the 1970 season opener, 16-year-old Bell rushed for 324 yards and scored four touchdowns in a 54–6 win over Piqua High School.

"[4] In October 1970, Bell put on "one of the greatest one-man shows ever seen at Beavercreek," scoring three touchdowns and rushing for 233 yards in 30 carries.

[5] The Beavercreek coach said afterward that the game's turning point came the moment Bell walked onto the field.

[6] In the season opener, Bell broke off tackle and rushed 70 yards for a touchdown the first time he got the ball.

"[7] Bell again won first-team All-Ohio honors,[8] but he lost the Associated Press 1971 Ohio AAA high school back of the year award.

[1] He was a relatively small player, standing 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall, and weighing 178 pounds (81 kg; 12.7 st).

[15] The 1973 team finished with a record of 10–0–1, with the only imperfection coming at the end of the season with a 10–10 tie with Ohio State.

[12] He joined Ron Johnson and Billy Taylor as the only players in Michigan history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.

[17] Bell accomplished the feat despite being a part-time player, sharing the starting tailback job with sophomore Rob Lytle.

Bell was a senior in 1975 on a Michigan team that went 8–2–2 and finished the season ranked #8 in the final Associated Press poll.

After the game, Bell noted that he "couldn't cut as well as (he) would have liked," but he played through the injury realizing that, as a senior, "the coaches expect us to show the way.

"[12] On being named the UPI's Midwest Back of the Week, Bell noted, "It's really an honor to be recognized like that, but you have to have a lot of help out there.

Despite being favored by 18 points over Baylor, the Wolverines nearly lost and fell out of the top 10 in national ranking for the first time since September 1972.

[24] Bell may have been the one player to whom Bo's criticism did not apply, as he had a career-long 64-yard kickoff return against Baylor, scored both of Michigan's touchdowns, and rushed for 89 yards in 26 carries.

[15][24][25] The Wolverines rebounded into the top 10 with a 31–7 victory over Missouri in the fourth game of the season and strung together seven straight wins before facing Ohio State.

[32] The UPI noted: "Bell's clinching run came with 8:04 gone in the final quarter and saved Michigan from the embarrassment of a tie.

[13] In a close 21–15 win over Illinois, Bell scored two first-quarter touchdowns and carried the ball a career-high 35 times.

[15][33] Going into the Ohio State game, Bell was in a three-person contest for the Big Ten Conference rushing championship.

Bell led with an average of 134.1 yards per conference game to 125.1 for Billy Marek of Wisconsin, and 123.7 for Archie Griffin.

[15] Bell was Michigan's starting running back in the same years in which Archie Griffin won consecutive Heisman Trophies for Ohio State.

His school records included: Bell was selected by the New York Giants in the fourth round of the 1976 NFL draft.

[39] Bushnell noted that Bell had "spent most of the season standing on the sideline waiting to be inserted into the lineup for a few plays.

"[39] Bell also added, "Sure it's been hard for me to be a spot player, especially because my body isn't ideal for that type job.

"[39] The 1976 Giants, who started 0–7 under Bill Arnsparger before going 3–4 under John McVay, had a diversified offense in which Bell was second on the team with 25 receptions for 198 yards.

[47][48] During 1978, he was briefly on the Green Bay Packers roster during training camp,[49][50] and he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in November.