Reds Bagnell Award

Maxwell Football Club President Ron Jaworski announced today that Robert Clark the Club’s long time Executive Director would be retiring from his position on September 1, 2009 after fifty years of service to the organization. Clark, a Maxwell Football Club member since 1959 has overseen the development of numerous programs that impacted football at all levels. Under his leadership the Maxwell Football Club has established a national presence with members in over 40 states.

Pittsburgh Steelers' president Dan Rooney grew up around sports. The eldest son of Steelers founder Art Rooney, Dan worked at every level with the team, starting as a ball boy and finally succeeding his father as chief executive in 1975.

Rooney continued to run the tam with the same warmth and personal touch that always characterized the Rooney family. Now one of the NFL's most influential owners, Rooney is the tenth recipient of the Maxwell Football Club's Reds Bagnell Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Game of Football.

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Joe Paterno turned 73 last month, but he shows no signs of slowing down, or stepping aside.

After posting his 20th bowl victory as head coach at Penn State, a 24-0 rout of Texas A&M, Paterno said: "I have absolutely no plans to retire. I'm going to coach until I feel I can no longer do a good job, or if my health doesn't allow me."

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On November 14, 1993, Don Shula was carried off the Veterans Stadium field by his Miami Dolphin players after a 19-14 win over the Eagles. That victory was No. 325 in Shula's career and made him the winningest coach in NFL history, surpassing the legendary George Halas.

"Don is like the Lou Gehrig of the NFL," said Ted Marchibroda, another veteran of NFL coaching. "But I don't think there will ever be a Cal Ripken to break his record."

Since joining ESPN cable network in 1979, Chris Berman has redefined sports broadcasting. With his booming voice and distinctive style, sprinkled with clever nicknames and rock-and-roll lyrics, Berman serves as ESPN's host for Sunday NFL Countdown; NFL PrimeTime, cable television's highest-rated studio show; and halftime of ESPN's Sunday Night Football; as well as "The Swami," predicting NFL games every Friday on SportsCenter. He also hosts ABC Sports' NFL Playoff telecasts, including Super Bowl XXXIV and next year's Super Bowl XXXVII.

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When Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys was closing in on the NFL record for career rushing yards, he had one request. On the day he passed the great Walter Payton, Smith said, he wanted Pat Summerall in the broadcast booth, putting the words to his milestone, a wish that was granted by the Fox network.

Such is the respect Summerall has built over his 50 years in professional football, a career which the Maxwell Club honors tonight by presenting Summerall with the 14th annual Francis J. "Reds" Bagnell Award for Contributions to the Game of Football.

Ask Art McNally about his career in football and he will show you The Book.

The Book is an old-fashioned accountant's ledger that McNally bought when he was moonlighting as a referee in Philadelphia shortly after his 1946 discharge from the Marine Corps. Every time he worked a game, he entered it in The Book. This went on for 22 years and more than 3,000 games.

The first entry: A sandlot football game between St. Anthony's and the Clymer Athletic Club at American and Luzerne streets. The date: October 13, 1946. McNally earned $5 that day.

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Vince Dooley is a legend in the state of Georgia. He was the head football coach at the University of Georgia from 1964 through 1988 and he led the Bulldogs to 20 bowl appearances, six Southeastern Conference championships and a national championship in 1980.

"Dooley will forever be the coach who brought Georgia out of the desert of the early 1960s and turned it into a perennial SEC contender," wrote Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com. "He won 201 games in 25 years. He won the 1980 national championship, the first year in a three-year run as dominant as any school has ever been."

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After leaving the White House, Lyndon Johnson became a fixture at the University of Texas football games. One autumn afternoon, the former President was approached by a reporter who asked how he became such a football fan.

“I’m not a football fan,” Johnson replied, “but I’m a fan of people and I’m a Darrell Royal fan because he is the rarest of human beings.”

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Ernie Accorsi grew up in Hershey, Pa., when it was the site of the Eagles summer training camp. That was half a century ago and Accorsi still remembers.

“I went to practice almost every day,” Accorsi said. “I couldn’t believe I was standing next to guys like Chuck Bednarik, Pete Pihos and Bucko Kilroy. I had their football cards and there they were right in front of me. I thought it was the greatest thing in the world. I loved being around it.”

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