TRIBUTES

Upton Bell

Former New England Patriots General Manager

I first met Senator Kennedy in 1963 when I worked for the Baltimore Colts.  He and his brother, Bobby, would come to the games and I was in charge of the box where the Kennedy family sat.  The owner of the Colts, Carroll Rosenbloom, was a close friend of the Senator's father and I spent the next year or so dropping things off to the White House and Senator Kennedy's brother Bobby's office along with Senator Kennedy's office.  Even then, it was a rich experience to see such a dynamic family, not only interact with each other but also, everybody around them.

I came to Boston in 1971 as the General Manager of the Patriots and have never left.  Through the years, in every endeavor, including the last 33 years on radio and television, I have encountered Senator Kennedy.  I have never met a person in my life who was so full of joy and genuine interest in the individual.  He made everybody feel important whether you were rich or poor, in or out of a job, or just ran into him on the street.

Two memories stick our in my mind with Senator Kennedy.  The first was back in the early 1990s just after he married Vicki.  He brought her to the studios at WTAG in Worcester where I had been doing a radio show for five or six years.  Vicki was sitting on my left and Senator Kennedy was sitting on my right and although Vicki had come from a political family, it was clear that this was a different experience for her.  I, as somebody who has spent most of his life in the public eye, fully understood the significance of the moment for him as well as her.  I can only say to her and his family, it was one of the best experiences I had on the radio but also one full of fun and laughter even though we had to cover some serious subjects.

The second time was just before 9/11.  It was my 25th year in radio and, unbeknownst to me, my producer had called many people from all walks of life to share two hours of reminisces with me.  I just learned from my producer this week that he had called Senator Kennedy's office here and in Washington and was told "although the Senator would love to do it, he was out practicing on his beloved boat, The Maya, and it would probably be impossible for him to do it at the hour prescribed." Lo and behold, in the middle of the show, my producer got a call from Teddy himself, on his boat The Maya, saying he wouldn't miss it and he was ready to go.  And, how did we celebrate?  As only the Senator could.  We sang a song and he sang a solo. Of all the people that were on my show that day, the only one that counted was the great skipper.

Just after Senator Kennedy was taken to the hospital in 2008, I called his office and sent him a book called, "The Best Game Ever" the story of the 1958 sudden death game between the Colts and the Giants. My reason was two fold:  I wanted him to read, if he could, the story of the most famous pro-football game ever played and also about my father who was Bert Bell, the Commissioner of Pro Football who actually instituted the sudden death rule that changed the history of the game.  Ironically, I had planned to send the Senator a copy of a book that's coming out on my father's and mother's life called "On Any Given Sunday".  He, being such a great family man, I think would have enjoyed reading about the sometimes wild and unpredictable life of a family in the spotlight.

My final thoughts have to do with a beautiful painting the Senator sent me of his boat, The Maya, and his inscription and funny note about not looking too closely because you might see the numbers.  I'm sure I and many other people have received some of his wonderful paintings but every time I feel down or ready to give up on something, I will look at that painting and know that it was never in his vocabularly to give up on anything.

Senator Kennedy meant laughter, heartbreak, determination and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and all you have to do is look at his family and you will see his monument.