Philadelphia Bell

World Football League (1974-1975)

Tombstone

Born: 1973 – WFL founding franchise
Folded: October 22, 1975

First Game: July 10, 1974 (W 33-8 vs. Portland Storm)
Last Game: October 18, 1975 (W 18-10 vs. Charlotte Hornets)

WFL Championships: None

Stadia

1974: JFK Stadium
Opened: 1926
Demolished: 1992

1975: Franklin Field
Opened: 1895

Marketing

Team Colors:

Ownership

Owners:

1974: Al Sica, John Bosacco, et al.
1975: John Bosacco

Attendance

Caveat: The WFL – and the Philadelphia Bell in particular – were notorious for reporting bogus attendance figures in 1974. More truthful reporting is partly behind the team’s massive drop in attendance from 1974 to 1975. So take these numbers with a grain of salt.

Tap (mobile) or mouse over chart for figures. Tilting your mobile device may offer better viewing.

Source: Kenn.com Attendance Project

Background

The Philadelphia Bell were one of twelve original franchises in the World Football League in 1974. The Bell made several efforts to poach high profile stars and draft picks from the National Football League during their brief lifespan. But the team was best known for “Papergate”, an attendance reporting and accounting scandal that helped to demolish the fledgling WFL’s credibility barely than a month into its debut season.

The Bell organization took shape along with the rest of the WFL over the winter of 1973-74. John B. Kelly, Jr., a local sports hero and the elder brother of actress Grace Kelly, served as the front man for the Bell ownership group. The team offered a reported 3-year, $500,000 contract offer to the 1973 Heisman Trophy winner, running back John Cappelletti of Penn State. Cappelletti, picked #11 overall in the NFL draft that winter, wisely chose to sign with the Los Angeles Rams for less money. The Bell biggest “name” signing in 1974 was linebacker/madman Tim Rossovich, the Eagles’ #1 draft pick back in 1968.

Ron Waller hired on to coach the Bell. Though Waller finished the 1973 NFL season as interim head coach of the San Diego Chargers, he spent much of his coaching career in the bush leagues. Waller stocked the Bell roster with skill position players from the defunct Pottstown (PA) Firebirds, a championship minor league club that he coached in the late 1960’s. Quarterback Jim “King” Corcoran and the running back tandem of John Land and Claude Watts were all Firebirds alums.

Papergate

The Bell debuted at 100,000-seat John F. Kennedy Stadium on July 10th, 1974. Waller’s squad drubbed the Portland Storm 33-8. But the big headline was the crowd. Bell officials announced a stunning attendance figure of 55,534. When the team returned two weeks later for its second home game against the New York Stars on July 25th, an even larger mob of 64,719 fans turned out. The TVS network broadcast the game nationwide. The Bell blew two go-ahead field goal attempts in the game’s final minutes and lost 17-15.

120,000 fans for the Bell’s first two home games! Local journos believed team officials must have papered the city with free tickets. Not so, claimed the team’s Executive Vice President Barry Leib when questioned after the New York game. Leib obfuscated, suggesting some tickets were discounted for group sale or distributed to corporate sponsors. Left unsaid was an implication that Philly fans bought the majority of the tickets at face values of $2, $5 and $8. The Bell were forced to disclose actual paid attendance figures when it came time to pay taxes on the sale of the tickets. The Bell sold fewer than 20,000 for the first two home games. Just 6,200 fans – less than 1/10th the announced crowd – paid for the New York game on July 25th.

On August 8th, 1974, one day before Richard Nixon’s resignation as President, the Bell held a press conference to apologize for the deception. The press dubbed the scandal “Papergate”. Sports Illustrated referred to the WFL as the “World Freebie League“. Bell President John B. Kelly, Jr. resigned from the club in mortification. Attendance crashed. Just 750 fans showed up for the Bell’s ninth home game on rainy Wednesday night in October. It was the smallest crowd in World Football League history.

Backing Into The Playoffs

On the field, the Bell underachieved. The offense, led by the Pottstown contingent, hummed. Corcoran threw for 3,631 yards and 31 touchdowns (albeit with 30 picks to match). John Land and Claude Watts combined for over 2,000 yards rushing. The defense was suspect though and the Bell entered the final week of the 1974 season with an 8-11 record. Philadelphia was scheduled to play the Chicago Fire at JFK Stadium on November 13, 1974. But Fire owner Tom Origer was through with the WFL. Rather than travel to Philadelphia, he forfeited the game and folded his franchise. With a 9-11 record, the Bell would miss the playoffs … until the Charlotte Hornets also decided they couldn’t afford to continue and withdrew. The Bell replaced Charlotte on the league’s playoff schedule. The team traveled to Orlando and lost to the Florida Blazers 18-3 in the divisional round on November 21, 1974.

First African-American Head Coach of Modern Era

The WFL re-grouped for a second season in the fall of 1975. Bell owner John Bosacco was one of only two original WFL owners with the stomach to carry on for a second campaign. The rest of the 1975 WFL investors were new guys who apparently never read the newspaper. The Bell moved from JFK Stadium to 60,000-seat Franklin Field. The team fired head coach Ron Waller during training camp in July 1975, just one week before the regular season opener. Bosacco promoted Willie Wood, the team’s defensive coordinator, to the head job three days before . Wood, a former All-Pro safety for the Green Bay Packers, became the first African-American head coach in pro football since Fritz Pollard in 1925.

Only 3,266 fans turned up at Franklin Field for the Bell’s 1975 home opener on July 19th.

The Bell had one of the most prolific offenses in the WFL in 1974. Corcoran, Land and Watts all returned in 1975. The Bell added former NFL All-Pro tight end Ted Kwalick and running back J.J. Jennings, one of the WFL “Tri-MVP’s” in 1974 with Memphis. But the offense went backwards under Wood’s direction. Land and Watts remained a fearsome ground force. Along with Jennings, they racked up nearly 1,500 yards in eleven games. The passing game, however, collapsed. Wood benched Corcoran in favor NFL journeyman Bob Davis, who quarterbacked the Florida Blazers to the WFL’s World Bowl title in 1974. Both signal callers saw action in 1975, but neither found consistent form.

The End

By October 1975 the writing was on the wall for the Philadelphia Bell and the WFL. After five home games at Franklin Field, the Bell averaged a league-worst 3,229 fans per game. National media outlets began to speculate that the WFL would terminate the club’s membership before the end of the season. Instead, the entire league voted to cease operations entirely on October 22, 1975 without completing its second season of play. The Philadelphia Bell’s final game was played at Franklin Field four days earlier on October 18, 1975. Just 1,293 fans showed up.