 Jack Teele, c. 1971 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | (1930-06-17)June 17, 1930 Bloomington, Illinois, U.S. | ||
| Died: | September 14, 2017(2017-09-14) (aged 87) | ||
| Career information | |||
| High school: | Long Beach Polytechnic | ||
| College: | Long Beach City College Cal State, Long Beach | ||
| Career history | |||
| As an executive: | |||
| |||
Jack Earl Teele (June 17, 1930 – September 14, 2017) was an American football executive and sportswriter. He served as an executive for thirty-one seasons in the National Football League (NFL), including twenty-one with the Los Angeles Rams and ten with the San Diego Chargers, and two in the World League of American Football (WLAF) with the Barcelona Dragons.
Early life and education
Jack Teele was born on June 17, 1930, in Bloomington, Illinois. His family moved to Long Beach, California, in 1941. He was known for being one of the first students in the city to attend all levels of education there, having graduated from Garfield Elementary School, Washington Junior High, Long Beach Polytechnic High School, Long Beach City College, and Long Beach State University. He was a member of the Long Beach State men's basketball team, and played in their first ever season.
While a member of Long Beach City College in 1949, Teele started a sportswriting career with The Independent. After his graduation from college, he spent two years in the Army Intelligence, including thirteen months in Japan. He returned to United States in 1954, starting a local sports column in The Independent titled "Sports About Town". From 1958 to 1959, he covered the Los Angeles Rams in the newspaper.
Executive career
Los Angeles Rams
In 1960, Teele was hired by the Los Angeles Rams as the director of publicity, replacing Bert Rose who became general manager of the Minnesota Vikings.
In the mid-1960s, Teele coined the phrase "Fearsome Foursome", to refer the Rams defensive line consisting of Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, Lamar Lundy, and Rosey Grier. "Everywhere we went, people asked me about our defensive line," Teele said in 2013. "So I decided we had to have a name." He nicknamed them the "Fearsome Foursome", and the name "immediately stuck," he said.
In 1967, Teele had helped organize the first Super Bowl, booking the American Football League (AFL) champion Kansas City Chiefs into the Edgewater Hotel in Long Beach. He also secured the team practice space at Veterans Memorial Stadium, the sports field of Long Beach State University.
After serving nine seasons in the position of publicity director, owner Dan Reeves named him "assistant to the president", a position that had Teele second in command of the franchise, following the departure of general manager Elroy Hirsch. Although Reeves held the title of general manager, Teele was the team's executive officer. Reeves died prior to the 1971 season and after Carroll Rosenbloom acquired the team the following year, Teele was replaced by Don Klosterman.
Rosenbloom moved Teele to the position of "administrative assistant". In that role, he was in charge of the team's travel, room and food arrangements, and "myriad other details during training camp and the season." He remained in that position through the 1977 season, before being named vice president of administration in 1978. He served as vice president of administration from 1978 to 1980, before resigning in March 1981. He served with the Rams under three different owners, six head coaches, and "umpteen different quarterbacks" during his twenty-one year stint with the organization.
San Diego Chargers
Shortly after resigning as Rams vice president of administration, Teele accepted an offer from the San Diego Chargers as assistant to the owner. He served in that position from 1981 to 1982 before becoming assistant to the president in 1983. He was reported as team vice president in 1985. He returned to his role of assistant to the president in 1986, before being named Director of Administration in 1987. In 1989, he helped the Chargers acquire Hank Ilesic, and the North County Times reported his time "was well spent". He was fired by Chargers owner Alex Spanos in January 1991.
Barcelona Dragons
After being let go by the Chargers, Teele became the chief executive officer of the Barcelona Dragons, a team in the newly formed World League of American Football (WLAF). He later served as their general manager in 1992 before the league suspended. He subsequently retired.
Death
Teele died on September 14, 2017, at the age of 87.
References
- ^ "Pick Teele as Rams' Publicist". The Independent. August 16, 1960 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Guardabascio, Mike (September 14, 2017). "Jack Teele, 1930-2017: NFL, Rams executive from Long Beach helped organize first Super Bowl". Press-Telegram.
- "Teele Top Aide To Rams' Reeves". The Los Angeles Times. March 4, 1969 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Prothro selected head coach of the LA Rams". Star-News. January 3, 1971. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- Hall, John (July 30, 1971). "The First 15 Years". The Los Angeles Times – via Newspapers.com.
- "Says Rams Sold". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. June 27, 1972. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- Roberts, Rich (August 30, 1977). "Ram player cuts: Melodramas in which ending is always sad". The Independent – via Newspapers.com.
- Hall, John (December 26, 1977). "Rambling On". The Los Angeles Times – via Newspapers.com.
- "After 21 Years With the Rams, Vice President Jack Teele Resigns". The Los Angeles Times. March 14, 1981 – via Newspapers.com.
- Roberts, Rich (March 19, 1981). "Jack Teele Resigns ... a Ram Era Ends". The Los Angeles Times – via Newspapers.com.
- "Untitled". The Sacramento Bee. January 22, 1983 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Untitled". Clarion-Ledger. January 25, 1985 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Refunds?". Times-Advocate. September 22, 1987 – via Newspapers.com.
- Maffei, Joe (September 26, 1989). "Chargers happy Ilsec has green card". North County Times – via Newspapers.com.
- "Chargers Fire Exec. Jack Teele". The Los Angeles Times. January 30, 1991 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Football Follies: But Owners W-LAFF To The Bank". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. May 26, 1991 – via Newspapers.com.
| Los Angeles Rams general managers | |
|---|---|
| Formerly the Cleveland Rams (1936–1945) and St. Louis Rams (1995–2015) | |
# denotes de facto general manager |