Theo Bell, who earned two Super Bowl rings as a reserve receiver with the Steelers, died Wednesday morning at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, Fla., after a yearlong battle with kidney disease and scleroderma. He was 52.
His wife, Joan, said the cause of death was scleroderma, a disorder that causes hardening of the skin and damage to internal organs and blood vessels.
Mr. Bell was with the Steelers from 1976-80 and was on the Super Bowl teams in 1979 and 1980. He missed the 1977 season because of a foot injury. In his years with the Steelers, he had 41 catches for 905 yards and four touchdowns, with 29 of those receptions for 748 yards and two touchdowns in 1980.
Mr. Bell ranks second in Steelers history with 139 punt returns for 1,259 yards, behind Rod Woodson in both categories.
The Steelers drafted Mr. Bell in the fourth round in 1976 out of the University of Arizona. He was born and raised in Bakersfield, Calif.
Mr. Bell was involved in a high-profile criminal trial in Pittsburgh in 1981 during which several Steelers players testified as character witnesses.
The charges stemmed from an incident with a 21-year-old woman at a North Hills motel. A jury convicted him of simple assault but acquitted him of charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and unlawful restraint.
Mr. Bell was sentenced to a year's probation.
Mr. Bell, who was 6 feet tall and weighed 185 pounds, left the Steelers in 1981, joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent. He caught 95 passes for 1,470 yards and four touchdowns in five seasons with them before retiring in 1985.
Mr. Bell then founded a program in Tampa that teaches the value of education and targeted middle-school children.
"Those kids are going to remember Theo for the rest of their lives," former Tampa Bay quarterback Doug Williams told the Tampa Tribune. "When things get tough for them, they will be able to look back at how Theo handled himself in tough times. He was the kind of guy you wanted to have in your locker room. Every time he caught the ball, he looked like a kid in the candy store."
That's how Joe Gordon, former public relations director of the Steelers, remembered Mr. Bell.
"You couldn't help but like Theo. He was always an upbeat guy with a bounce to his step and a lot of enthusiasm," Mr. Gordon said. "He was a real friendly guy who always had something to say. As a player, he was a valuable part of those Steeler teams as a punt returner. He was fearless."
Funeral services for Mr. Bell will be held in Tampa on Monday at 1 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of College Hill.
Al Herrmann Jr., Post-GazetteTheo Bell is tackled by two San Diego Chargers in a Dec. 23, 1980, game.
Click photo for larger image.