Pete Rozelle as One of the Most Influential People In American History
Muhammad Ali, Albert Einstein, and Bill Gates are all very influential people in American history. However, Pete Rozelle is also a very equally qualified candidate for the most influential. Rozelle did some things that most people thought could not be done. He was once the commissioner of the National Football League. Rozelle also invented the Super Bowl, and Monday Night Football. Some would say that is enough to get you nominated as the most influential person in modern day history. Rozelle however obviously didn't think so because in 1960 he merged the NFL and AFL into one big league. In the following paragraphs I will explain why I think Pete Rozelle is one of most influential people in history.
First of all, what does the word commissioner mean, and what does he do? Well people who were close to Rozelle had a very different opinion of him then what the coaches, players, and fans thought. Until Rozelle died in 1996 he was dwarfed in every way by owners, coaches, and players. They saw him pretty much as the hired help whose job was to order the stuffed mushrooms for the party after the game. Well that was not Rozelle at all. He was a shrewd promoter of his sport. Like stated earlier Rozelle invented the Super Bowl. Rozelle did not stop there however; he then sold the rights to the first game to both NBC and CBS forcing them to compete for viewers. Rozelle also invented Monday Night Football, the second longest running prime-time show on American television, after 60 Minutes.
Frank Supovitz, who was Senior Vice President of Events for the National Football League. His department, event production must score touchdowns on a lengthy roster of events, including the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, NFL Experience, NFL Draft, and the NFL International Series.
Paul Tagliabue was appointed the NFL's commissioner in 1989 succeeding Pete Rozelle. Many believed Pete Rozelle to be the standard of measure when considering a new commissioner. Pete Rozelle was believed to have had the vision and leadership to guide the NFL to a new level. Paul took over the NFL just as it concluded a decade of two work stoppages and the embarrassing "scab football". NFL owners began leaving their traditional franchise homes in search of newer stadiums and bigger pay markets. Paul was viewed as being out of touch because of his reactive nature, management-by-crisis style, inability to form cohesion among team owners, and his faulty public relations skills (Greenfield).
Coaching any sport is much harder than it seems. There are some jobs that almost anyone with the right education can do. Coaching is definitely not one of those jobs. One can get educated on drawing X's and O's on a paper for decades and still might be far from being a successful coach. Of course knowledge of the sport is very important too but to be successful in a job like coaching, one has to dedicate himself to his job; his job has to be his life. This is the major reason even those who hate Patriots still respect Bill Belichick and agree that he had unique abilities that make him so successful. His exceptional intelligence, his ability to break down and exploit game film, his singular discipline and his almost unmatched work ethic makes him probably the best coach in the NFL today and even one of the best in the history of the NFL.
Every person ever associated with football knows how the game is played. They know every rule, play, stat, and anything else that can be recorded. There was a certain one of these people, though, that stood out from the rest. This was a man by the name of Vince Lombardi. Most people generally know who Vince Lombardi was. They know him as the former, and most famous, coach of the Green Bay Packers back in the late fifties and early sixties. They also recognize him as the man the trophy awarded to the Super Bowl winner, the Lombardi Trophy, is named after. This is all common knowledge in the football world. Do any of these people know who Vince really was? Do they know what he did to the game of football? Do they know that he changed the game, forever? Not many can actually say they know what Vince Lombardi did to the game of football that left a lasting impression. There can be arguments made of other coaches that have made great lasting impressions in football. Some names including: Bud Grant, Mike Ditka, and Don Shula. If you look more in depth at this though, they haven’t left that big of a lasting impression of the game. None of them really changed the way the game of football is played. None of them did like Vince Lombardi. He was the first to truly take risks to change the game of football. Through hard work, dedication, and an understanding of the game, Vince Lombardi was truly the most influential person in footballs history.
Jim Thorpe was one of the first to change the game. He was an American Indian who was tremendously talented at football. He became the president of the league after he was done playing on a team. He named the league the NFL, which stands for National Football League. This name still stands today for the name of the league where the pros play.
To the average person, in the average American community, Jackie Robinson was just what the sports pages said he was, no more, no less. He was the first Negro to play baseball in the major leagues. Everybody knew that, but to see the real Jackie Robinson, you must de-emphasize him as a ball player and emphasize him as a civil rights leader. That part drops out, that which people forget. From his early army days, until well after his baseball days, Robinson had fought to achieve equality among whites and blacks. "Jackie acted out the philosophy of nonviolence of Martin Luther King Jr., before the future civil rights leader had thought of applying it to the problem of segregation in America"(Weidhorn 93). Robinson was an avid member of the NAACP and helped recruit members because of his fame from baseball. Jackie had leadership qualities and the courage to fight for his beliefs. Unwilling to accept the racism he had run into all his life, he had a strong need to be accepted at his true worth as a first-class citizen. Robinson was someone who would work for a cause - that of blacks and of America - as well as for himself and his team.
Throughout all the great civil rights leaders, I personally believe that Martin Luther King was the greatest of them all. What king achieved during the little over a decade that he worked in civil rights was remarkable. "There are few men of whom it can be said their lives changed the world" from wikipedia. Using Mohanda Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence King gained the power of many citizens respect which lead him in success in, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Birmingham Protest March, and breaking the barrier to allow black people vote rights.
Paul Jackson Pollock was an amazing alcoholic artist. Jackson Pollock was one of the most controversial Americans of the 1930s. He helped shape the way America is today, yet he is not on the “100 Most Influential Americans.” (https://www.theatlantic.com) However I believe he should be on the list, simply because Jackson Pollock changed how people see the world.
“The best way to predict the future is to create it”. Abraham Lincoln, one of the most influential leaders of all time, quoted this. Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. He was a man who would stop at nothing to do the right thing. Abraham achieved many extraordinary things through out his life. During his time as president Lincoln abolished slavery, supported the community by signing many acts, had many useful and great qualities and inspired many of us in a very positive way, which is why he should definitely be at the top of the most influential leaders of all time list.
How football began, the first American football game was played on November 6, 1869. The Rutgers vs. Princeton played the first game (Bennett). Walter Camp introduced the line of scrimmage and down and distance (Bennett). The first professional “league” was the Ohio League (Bennett). The American Football League (AFL) started in 1960 (Bennett). The first Super Bowl was in 1967 and the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chief (Brooks and King). The Houston Oilers defeated the Los Angles Charges in the first AFL championship (Brooks and King). Considered one of the greatest coaches, Vince Lombardi, died from cancer on September 3, 1970 at the age of 57 (Brooks and King). Seven days after Lombardi’s death, the National Football League honored him with the name of the Super Bowl trophy (Brooks and King). Franco Harris made the “Immaculate Reception” which lead to the first Pittsburgh Steelers victory for them (Brooks and King). In the 1970’s the Pittsburgh Steelers won four Super Bowls (Brooks and King). In 1978 the National Football League moved from 14 games a season to 16 games (Brooks and King). O.J. Simpson is the first player to rush over 2,000 yards (Brooks and King). In 1981 Ronald Regan said “Football is the last thing left in civilization where men can lite...
The title “Super Bowl” came about in the 1960’s. College post season games were called “bowl” games as they are still known today. This lead AFL founder Lamar Hunt to suggest that the championship game be renamed “Super Bowl”. Along with the name change in 1969, roman numerals were introduced to designate the individual games. The following year the NFL and AFC merged into one league with two conferences allowing for 13 teams. This allowed for the game to be played between the winners of the AFC (American Football Conference) and the NFC (National Football Conference). The winners off the game were then titled “NFL Super Bowl Champions”. Along with the merger and the conferences being added the Lombardi Trophy was added as the trophy for the Super Bowl champions to display after their winning of each super bowl. The trophy was named for Vince Lombardi, who inspired and led the Green Bay Packers to win b...
The most impactful individual in my life is my mother, Samantha Jarvis, and that is because, she is the one person I know will always be there for me and guide me when I need help. Its safe to say that I would not exist without her (and my dad) and while that is physically true, I also believe that I would not the person I am today without her. My mom has always encouraged me, even from a young age, to chase my passion for learning and find the answers to my questions. She is the one, I get most of morals, ideals, and work ethic from. My mom is one of those people who give a lot and expect nothing in return. She has been the sole provider of my family for the past 18 years due to my father having a broken back and being unable to work. She also the one that does the cleaning around the house, runs errands around town, takes time off work or skips lunch to take me or my sibling to therapy or, to the doctor’s office, and just about everything else.
The United Sates has had a short yet complex history in its two hundred and twenty-four years.
The man with the most impact that changed history was Thomas Paine. He created a pamphlet called Common Sense . Not only did he have an impact he had a somewhat negative life. His burial was very awful. Paines beliefs in religion was different from other people. That belief caused him to create a book the age of reason.
Alexander Graham Bell was a notable scientist and engineer that changed the world with his invention of the telephone. Without the telephone, everyone would not have a reliable communication device. Alexander Graham Bell is considered one of the most influential people in human history.