Pete Rozelle, who served as commissioner of the NFL
from 1960-89, died Friday night at the age of 70. As NFL
commissioner, Rozelle oversaw the merger with the AFL,
obtained the most lucrative network TV contract in sports,
created "Monday Night Football, and introduced a system of
revenue sharing. Rozelle was remembered by the media over
the weekend. Here's a sampling:
BALTIMORE: The SUN's Vito Stellino: "To understand what
Rozelle meant to the game, it is only necessary to look at
how much poorer the sport is without his deft hands at
control" (Baltimore SUN, 12/8).
BOSTON: The GLOBE's Will McDonough: "He was one of the
most powerful men ever in sports but never wanted the glory
that went with it. ... with his soft, but firm touch, he
changed the lives of all sports fans in this land" (BOSTON
GLOBE, 12/8). Columnist Bob Ryan: "This is a man whose
legacy is he created a lifestyle, Sunday afternoon in
America" ("The Sports Reporters," 12/8).
BAY AREA: The S.F. CHRONICLE's C.W. Nevius: "His
influence will be felt for generations" (S.F. CHRONICLE,
12/8). In San Jose, Mark Purdy: "It is difficult to think of
a man who had more effect on professional sports in this
century" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 12/8).
CHICAGO: The TRIBUNE's Don Pierson: "Rozelle knew his
success and the NFL's ... depended first on the quality of
the product. ... To that end, he never lost sight of the
interest of the buyers" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/8).
DALLAS: The MORNING NEWS' Rick Gosselin: "He shaped the
post to his own contour. For that matter, he shaped an
entire league" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 12/8).
L.A.: The TIMES' Jim Murray: "It's impossible to fix
exactly Pete's impact on the game. ... Pete, so to speak,
took it out of the art houses and on to Broadway. ... If
football really wants a role model, they have one in Pete
Rozelle" (L.A. TIMES, 12/8).
MIAMI: The HERALD's Edwin Pope: "If Rozelle didn't
invent the NFL, he might as well have. He led it to runaway
popularity" (MIAMI HERALD, 12/8).
MINNEAPOLIS: The STAR TRIBUNE's Dan Barreiro: "He had
presided over the game's glory years, transforming football
from a cult following to a national religion" (Minneapolis
STAR TRIBUNE, 12/8).
NEW YORK: The DAILY NEWS' Mike Lupica: "There could be
no Stern, no Bettman, without Rozelle's lead ... There is no
question that Rozelle was the most influential sports
executive of them all" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/8). The POST's
Steve Serby: "He was the Lombardi of sports commissioners,
except he had so much Arthur Ashe in him" (N.Y. POST, 12/8).
NEWSDAY's Bob Glauber: "Rozelle gave football its blueprint
for prosperity, the plan that is the sporting world's
equivalent of American democracy" (NEWSDAY, 12/8).
NEWSWEEK: Frank Deford: "It wasn't just that Pete
Rozelle did his job so well. Rather, it was that he
redefined the job of sports commissioner so completely that,
truly, he created it" (NEWSWEEK, 12/16 issue).
PHILADELPHIA: The DAILY NEWS' Bill Conlin: "[Rozelle]
was also a visionary whose crystal ball was a colOr TV set
tuned to an NFL game. ... If you are a professional football
fan, Rozelle's legacy is a metronome that measure the
rhythms of your week" (PHILA. DAILY NEWS, 12/9).
SAN DIEGO: The UNION-TRIBUNE's Nick Canepa: "He was the
most influential and important person in the history of
sports. One word explains it all: television" (SAN DIEGO
UNION-TRIBUNE, 12/8).
WASHINGTON: Michael Wilbon: "[Rozelle] led pro football
to absolute preeminence in sports, which in turn
revolutionized the culture of sports and entertainment as we
know it. It's virtually impossible to exaggerate his place
in the history of modern sports" (WASHINGTON POST, 12/8).
