A Chat with a Bearded Man in a Red Jersey

Kansas City is fortunate to have a member of the very first Chiefs Super Bowl team still living in the area.  Bobby Bell, now 80 years old, played for the Chiefs from 1963 to 1974.  In this interview conducted specifically for Lakeview Village by Kansas City television personality Joel Nichols, Bobby visits with Joel while in his “man cave,” surrounded by football awards and memorabilia – there are many!  Bobby was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame, Rose Bowl Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There are many more awards sprinkled throughout his career and beyond, too many to mention here.

Listen in on this 20-minute interview to find out how he ended up with the Kansas City Chiefs after rumors swirled in the draft that year that Bobby Bell was going to play for the Minnesota Vikings.  Find out how he got to the Chiefs instead and who was instrumental in making that happen at the last minute.

This noted athlete also talks about his upbringing in Shelby, North Carolina, the impact of his parents, memories of the first time he traveled alone on an airplane and the first time he spent Christmas away from home as a young professional athlete.

Bobby shares tidbits of interest like what position he played in college before he was an offensive lineman, and his salary the first year as a professional football player back in 1962. He shares a conversation he had with Patrick Mahomes when the young quarterback first arrived in Kansas City.  He shares a special surprise he pulls on his long-time friends, teammates and Hall of Famers to stay connected through the years.  And hear about his newest holiday tradition that before the pandemic filled the hearts of those at the Kansas City Chiefs.