Football coach, born the son of Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Bell. He graduated in 1916 from North Fort Worth High School, where he played on the Steers' unofficial state championship team in 1915. He received his B.S. degree from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky in 1916. He was head coach at Haskell Indian Institute in Lawrence, Kansas (1920-21), at Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin (1922-23), and at Texas Christian University (1923-28). He coached at Texas A&M from 1929 to 1933, when he moved to Dallas to coach at Southern Methodist University. His tenure at SMU was interrupted in 1941 by World War II, during which he served as a commander in the United States Naval Reserve (Aviation) from 1942 to 1945. In 1945 he returned to SMU, where he continued as head coach until 1949. He also served as director of athletics there from 1945 to 1964, retiring in 1964.
In Centre College he was a member of the "Praying Colonels" of World War I vintage. He helped establish this small Kentucky school's reputation. At TCU he played a significant role in guiding the school through its fledgling years in the Southwest Conference. During his first year at SMU he took the Mustangs to the Rose Bowl with a 12-0 record and lost to Stanford, 0-7. In 1940 he tied Texas A&M for the championship of the Southwest Conference. In his last game at SMU, in the Cotton Bowl on December 3, 1949, he brought the Mustangs, who were twenty-four-point underdogs, to a near-defeat of Notre Dame, which won the game by a late touchdown, 27 to 20. At SMU he coached such star players as Kyle Rote & Doak Walker. He was known as "Moanin' Matty", and remembered for the respect he gave each player, and for never using a word of profanity.
Matty was a Methodist, a member of the Dallas Athletic Club and the Shrine and Hella temples. He was president of the American Football Coaches Association in 1943-44 and was inducted into the National Football Hall of Fame in 1955; into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1960. His overall coaching record was 154-87-17; at SMU he was 88-39-7, and at TCU he was 33-17-5.
He and his wife, Peggy (Kendrick), had one daughter.
Re: Who's Who in Texas Today, 1st ed. (Austin: Pemberton Press, 1968)
Original Obit dated 2 Jul 1983 :
(added by K 46537737)
Madison "Matty" Bell, 84, coach of the legendary Southern Methodist University football teams of the late 1940s on which Doak Walker and Kyle Rote played, died Thursday at his home in Dallas.
He spent 23 seasons as a head football coach in the Southwest Conference - at Texas Christian University from 1923-28, at Texas A & M from 1929-33, and at SMU from 1935-41 and 1945-49.
His teams won or shared four conference championships and had an overall record of 139-78-16. He was made athletic director at SMU in 1950 and retired in 1964. He was elected to the National Sports Hall of Fame in 1955.
In Centre College he was a member of the "Praying Colonels" of World War I vintage. He helped establish this small Kentucky school's reputation. At TCU he played a significant role in guiding the school through its fledgling years in the Southwest Conference. During his first year at SMU he took the Mustangs to the Rose Bowl with a 12-0 record and lost to Stanford, 0-7. In 1940 he tied Texas A&M for the championship of the Southwest Conference. In his last game at SMU, in the Cotton Bowl on December 3, 1949, he brought the Mustangs, who were twenty-four-point underdogs, to a near-defeat of Notre Dame, which won the game by a late touchdown, 27 to 20. At SMU he coached such star players as Kyle Rote & Doak Walker. He was known as "Moanin' Matty", and remembered for the respect he gave each player, and for never using a word of profanity.
Matty was a Methodist, a member of the Dallas Athletic Club and the Shrine and Hella temples. He was president of the American Football Coaches Association in 1943-44 and was inducted into the National Football Hall of Fame in 1955; into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1960. His overall coaching record was 154-87-17; at SMU he was 88-39-7, and at TCU he was 33-17-5.
He and his wife, Peggy (Kendrick), had one daughter.
Re: Who's Who in Texas Today, 1st ed. (Austin: Pemberton Press, 1968)
Original Obit dated 2 Jul 1983 :
(added by K 46537737)
Madison "Matty" Bell, 84, coach of the legendary Southern Methodist University football teams of the late 1940s on which Doak Walker and Kyle Rote played, died Thursday at his home in Dallas.
He spent 23 seasons as a head football coach in the Southwest Conference - at Texas Christian University from 1923-28, at Texas A & M from 1929-33, and at SMU from 1935-41 and 1945-49.
His teams won or shared four conference championships and had an overall record of 139-78-16. He was made athletic director at SMU in 1950 and retired in 1964. He was elected to the National Sports Hall of Fame in 1955.
Football coach, born the son of Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Bell. He graduated in 1916 from North Fort Worth High School, where he played on the Steers' unofficial state championship team in 1915. He received his B.S. degree from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky in 1916. He was head coach at Haskell Indian Institute in Lawrence, Kansas (1920-21), at Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin (1922-23), and at Texas Christian University (1923-28). He coached at Texas A&M from 1929 to 1933, when he moved to Dallas to coach at Southern Methodist University. His tenure at SMU was interrupted in 1941 by World War II, during which he served as a commander in the United States Naval Reserve (Aviation) from 1942 to 1945. In 1945 he returned to SMU, where he continued as head coach until 1949. He also served as director of athletics there from 1945 to 1964, retiring in 1964.
In Centre College he was a member of the "Praying Colonels" of World War I vintage. He helped establish this small Kentucky school's reputation. At TCU he played a significant role in guiding the school through its fledgling years in the Southwest Conference. During his first year at SMU he took the Mustangs to the Rose Bowl with a 12-0 record and lost to Stanford, 0-7. In 1940 he tied Texas A&M for the championship of the Southwest Conference. In his last game at SMU, in the Cotton Bowl on December 3, 1949, he brought the Mustangs, who were twenty-four-point underdogs, to a near-defeat of Notre Dame, which won the game by a late touchdown, 27 to 20. At SMU he coached such star players as Kyle Rote & Doak Walker. He was known as "Moanin' Matty", and remembered for the respect he gave each player, and for never using a word of profanity.
Matty was a Methodist, a member of the Dallas Athletic Club and the Shrine and Hella temples. He was president of the American Football Coaches Association in 1943-44 and was inducted into the National Football Hall of Fame in 1955; into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1960. His overall coaching record was 154-87-17; at SMU he was 88-39-7, and at TCU he was 33-17-5.
He and his wife, Peggy (Kendrick), had one daughter.
Re: Who's Who in Texas Today, 1st ed. (Austin: Pemberton Press, 1968)
Original Obit dated 2 Jul 1983 :
(added by K 46537737)
Madison "Matty" Bell, 84, coach of the legendary Southern Methodist University football teams of the late 1940s on which Doak Walker and Kyle Rote played, died Thursday at his home in Dallas.
He spent 23 seasons as a head football coach in the Southwest Conference - at Texas Christian University from 1923-28, at Texas A & M from 1929-33, and at SMU from 1935-41 and 1945-49.
His teams won or shared four conference championships and had an overall record of 139-78-16. He was made athletic director at SMU in 1950 and retired in 1964. He was elected to the National Sports Hall of Fame in 1955.
In Centre College he was a member of the "Praying Colonels" of World War I vintage. He helped establish this small Kentucky school's reputation. At TCU he played a significant role in guiding the school through its fledgling years in the Southwest Conference. During his first year at SMU he took the Mustangs to the Rose Bowl with a 12-0 record and lost to Stanford, 0-7. In 1940 he tied Texas A&M for the championship of the Southwest Conference. In his last game at SMU, in the Cotton Bowl on December 3, 1949, he brought the Mustangs, who were twenty-four-point underdogs, to a near-defeat of Notre Dame, which won the game by a late touchdown, 27 to 20. At SMU he coached such star players as Kyle Rote & Doak Walker. He was known as "Moanin' Matty", and remembered for the respect he gave each player, and for never using a word of profanity.
Matty was a Methodist, a member of the Dallas Athletic Club and the Shrine and Hella temples. He was president of the American Football Coaches Association in 1943-44 and was inducted into the National Football Hall of Fame in 1955; into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1960. His overall coaching record was 154-87-17; at SMU he was 88-39-7, and at TCU he was 33-17-5.
He and his wife, Peggy (Kendrick), had one daughter.
Re: Who's Who in Texas Today, 1st ed. (Austin: Pemberton Press, 1968)
Original Obit dated 2 Jul 1983 :
(added by K 46537737)
Madison "Matty" Bell, 84, coach of the legendary Southern Methodist University football teams of the late 1940s on which Doak Walker and Kyle Rote played, died Thursday at his home in Dallas.
He spent 23 seasons as a head football coach in the Southwest Conference - at Texas Christian University from 1923-28, at Texas A & M from 1929-33, and at SMU from 1935-41 and 1945-49.
His teams won or shared four conference championships and had an overall record of 139-78-16. He was made athletic director at SMU in 1950 and retired in 1964. He was elected to the National Sports Hall of Fame in 1955.
Gravesite Details
Works cited: John Holmes, Texas Sport: The Illustrated History (Austin: Texas Monthly Press, 1984). Texas Sports Hall of Fame: Its Members and Their Deeds (Grand Prairie: Texas Sports Hall of Fame, 1981). Vertical Files, Barker Texas History Center
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