Nick Bell
Profile
Nick Bell was a running for the Iowa Hawkeye football team from 1988 to 1990, earning 1st Team Big Ten* honors in the 1990 season. Afterwards, Nick received a bunch of 1st round projections, before ultimately going in the 2nd round** of the 1991 NFL Draft*** to the Las Vegas Oakland Los Angeles Raiders, where he spent three years.
* Notables from team: Desmond Howard, Jeff Graham, Alonzo Spellman, Dixon Edwards. Hawkeyes include Matt Rodgers, Mike Titley, Rob Baxley (2nd), Jim Johnson, Matt Ruhland, Melvin Foster, John Derby (2nd), and Merton Hanks
** Of the 28 2nd Rounders, there were 3 Pro Bowlers, including Brett Favre, Chris Zorich, and Ricky Watters, who went two picks after Bell.
*** Iowa Players in this draft: Iowa (2nd: Nick Bell, 5th Merton Hanks, 10th Michael Titley, 11th: Tony Stewart, and 1st: Dan McGwire(?! A future post)), Northern Iowa (3rd: James Jones), Iowa State (4th: Marcus Robertson, 5th Gene Williams, 6th Blaise Bryant)
Historical Significance
Nick Bell was the first Hawkeye player which I can remember following from college to pro. Nick Bell to me was that first decent movie you saw as a kid and thought, "This is the greatest movie ever!" (Return of the Jedi for me in that accord). I read all the local stories about how he was going to be a 1st Round pick, and Pro Set even made a card with him as a potential #1 overall pick (to the 49ers). What disappointment it was that he was a 2nd rounder, and even more disappointing when he didn't crush it in the league. In retrospect, he gain 1000 yards once in his college career, and the league was starting to change by the time he arrived, the Ricky Watters types would start to take over. But even to this day he remains one of my favorites.
Just like the Tim Costo post, I realized that Nick Bell was the owner of the 1st major release card with a Hawkeye football player in his Hawkeye jersey. However, I can't determine with any certainty which card came first. So, as the self declared expert on a lowly viewed blog, I get to chose which of his cards will be deemed 1st. First, I'm tossing out all the cards with the logos painted over (Score, Ultra, etc). This leaves us with Bowman, Topps, Stadium Club and Upper Deck. Stadium Club definately came after Topps so it is out. Bowman has a weird pose, so its out. So its down to Topps and Upper Deck. Once again, with a little research, and discounting the impact of 1990 Star Pics, the author of this blog can declare that:
🔔1991 Upper Deck Nick Bell was the first Iowa Hawkeye football player in a Hawkeye uniform in a major set.🔔
Exciting, I know. You as one of the few lucky readers of this blog can take this gem of knowledge and gather up as many Nick Bell Upper Deck RCs as you can before the rest of the community discovers its historical significance.
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