Ricky Bell

I never knew the late football star Ricky Bell, but bringing his story to the screen has had a profound impact on my life. Fresh out of school for the second time, I had gone through a series of entertainment industry jobs, learning to play the game, working with the suave, sophisticated agency vice presidents who reek Hollywood. I liked that. The glitz and glamour that is Hollywood satisfied all my self-proclaimed superficial shallow desires to wine, dine and wow the world.

Thirty-seven players from UCLA and USC have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, enough for the Bruins and Trojans to warrant their own wing. Twenty-eight hail from USC, nine from UCLA. Here's an alphabetical list of the players, with selected key performances from the crosstown rivalry game: USC PLAYER POSITION LETTERED INDUCTED Marcus Allen Running back 1978-81 2000 Jon Arnett Halfback 1954-56 2001 John Baker Guard 1929-31 1983 Ricky Bell.

Tears will flow, hearts will rend and noses will sniffle all over America tonight as CBS airs the made-for-TV movie "Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story." But the title notwithstanding, it will only be a small, somewhat fictive slice of the real Ricky Bell story. "We weren't doing the (complete) Ricky Bell story," said screenwriter Jeff Andrus, who spent a month last year researching the former USC football hero's life and tragic early death. "We were doing a narrow focus on his life."

Ricky Bell powered his way into USC football lore with a bull-like running style that broke the mold for Trojan tailbacks. On Saturday, the late Trojan runner will receive a permanent place in college football history when he is enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind. Bell, who died in 1984 at 29, is part of a 13-member Division I-A class that includes Notre Dame quarterback Joe Theismann, Oklahoma State running back Barry Sanders and Iowa coach Hayden Fry.

His friends remember him as a caring, sensitive person who battled for his life as courageously as he performed as an athlete. Ricky Bell, a former USC tailback and pro football player, died Nov. 28, 1984, at 29. The cause of death was an uncommon muscular disease of the heart called cardiomyopathy, which is related to dermatomyositis, an inflammation of the skin and muscles. Even though he endured pain, he never conceded to the disease that was ravaging his body.

Lou Gehrig would have liked Ricky Bell. He would have admired his style. He would have appreciated his rare gifts of grace and strength and durability. He would have respected his humility in victory and defeat. They were iron men of different generations, Gehrig and Bell, yet they seemed bound by a common thread. Gehrig, the Yankee first baseman, played 2,130 consecutive games. Bell, the tireless USC tailback, once carried the ball 51 times in a single game.

Ricky Bell powered his way into USC football lore with a bull-like running style that broke the mold for Trojan tailbacks. On Saturday, the late Trojan runner will receive a permanent place in college football history when he is enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind. Bell, who died in 1984 at 29, is part of a 13-member Division I-A class that includes Notre Dame quarterback Joe Theismann, Oklahoma State running back Barry Sanders and Iowa coach Hayden Fry.

Sports agent Mike Trope said Tuesday that he and about 25 of his clients in the NFL will donate approximately $100,000 to the Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (ICAN) to establish a neighborhood family center in South Central Los Angeles as a memorial to the late Ricky Bell. Trope said he has contributed $27,000 to the agency, and that he has received donations from a number of his clients, including a $5,000 check from the Rams' Johnnie Johnson.

I recently read that UCLA Coach Bob Toledo declared that DeShaun Foster was in "a class of his own" when compared to any of the other running backs he has been involved with over the years. When reminded that this group included Ricky Bell, Charles White and Marcus Allen, he went on to declare that Foster "is the best I've ever coached." Toledo is absolutely right. Foster is "in a class of his own." He stands outside, peering through the window, dreaming of what it might be like, but knowing he'll never get in. Michael Grabendike Riverside

This album by founding New Edition singers Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronald Devoe is worlds removed from their old kiddy fluff. Like former ally Bobby Brown, they have moved into hardcore hip-core territory, singing about such things as nymphets who linger backstage. In New Edition, the trio took a back seat to Brown and Ralph Tresvant. This album should put them in the driver's seat at last.

I recently read that UCLA Coach Bob Toledo declared that DeShaun Foster was in "a class of his own" when compared to any of the other running backs he has been involved with over the years. When reminded that this group included Ricky Bell, Charles White and Marcus Allen, he went on to declare that Foster "is the best I've ever coached." Toledo is absolutely right. Foster is "in a class of his own." He stands outside, peering through the window, dreaming of what it might be like, but knowing he'll never get in. Michael Grabendike Riverside

I never knew the late football star Ricky Bell, but bringing his story to the screen has had a profound impact on my life. Fresh out of school for the second time, I had gone through a series of entertainment industry jobs, learning to play the game, working with the suave, sophisticated agency vice presidents who reek Hollywood. I liked that. The glitz and glamour that is Hollywood satisfied all my self-proclaimed superficial shallow desires to wine, dine and wow the world.

Tears will flow, hearts will rend and noses will sniffle all over America tonight as CBS airs the made-for-TV movie "Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story." But the title notwithstanding, it will only be a small, somewhat fictive slice of the real Ricky Bell story. "We weren't doing the (complete) Ricky Bell story," said screenwriter Jeff Andrus, who spent a month last year researching the former USC football hero's life and tragic early death. "We were doing a narrow focus on his life."

His friends remember him as a caring, sensitive person who battled for his life as courageously as he performed as an athlete. Ricky Bell, a former USC tailback and pro football player, died Nov. 28, 1984, at 29. The cause of death was an uncommon muscular disease of the heart called cardiomyopathy, which is related to dermatomyositis, an inflammation of the skin and muscles. Even though he endured pain, he never conceded to the disease that was ravaging his body.

This album by founding New Edition singers Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronald Devoe is worlds removed from their old kiddy fluff. Like former ally Bobby Brown, they have moved into hardcore hip-core territory, singing about such things as nymphets who linger backstage. In New Edition, the trio took a back seat to Brown and Ralph Tresvant. This album should put them in the driver's seat at last.

The Ricky Bell Memorial Scholarship Fund, which began with donations when Bell died last November, is being expanded. Bell's widow, Natalie, announced Friday that the fund would be perpetuated through what is scheduled to be an annual golf event. The first fund-raising golf outing will be held July 12 at the Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena. Mike Garrett, a Heisman Trophy winner who, like Bell, attended USC, is serving as the honorary chairman of the scholarship fund.