Bell family love of game becomes national story of Auburn-Alabama rivalry
Story and photos by Carol Pappas
Photos courtesy of Bell family
Alabamians know there’s only two answers to this question: “Who’re you for?” As one old sports editor once wrote, “It needs no further explanation.”
“Auburn,” says one. “Alabama,” says the other. The replies come quickly and easily. Which answer depends on which way you lean. But make no mistake, you lean one way or the other. Have to. After all, this is Alabama.
No one knows that much better than the Bell family of Pell City. Around here, they would call it a mixed marriage of allegiances. Part of the family roots for the orange and blue of Auburn. Other parts pull for the red and white of the Crimson Tide.
Their passion for their teams runs as deeply as their roots in the family. So, it’s no small wonder that when CBS was looking for the perfect story to illustrate the intense rivalry known as the Iron Bowl, they uncovered a treasured tradition – just like the Bells did nearly four decades ago.
“In the late summer of 1982, my dad was a contractor, and he was digging footing for a home in Skyline,” a Logan Martin Lake subdivision, recalled Mack Bell. At the time, it was one of the first homes being built there. When his father’s backhoe dug its first scoop, they heard a loud metallic clank. “It was an old iron pot full of dirt,” he said. “It had been there for years,” estimated at 140 to 150 years old.
“Mom cleaned it up,” Bell said, and it eventually led to a decades-old tradition for this family split by alliances. What better way to commemorate the Iron Bowl than with, well, an iron bowl?
Every year, the Bell family has a Christmas party, and talk naturally leads to ‘the game.’ Mack’s side of the family is Alabama. Cousin Jimmy’s side is Auburn. That year, 1982, Bo (Jackson) went over the top and Auburn won the title of Iron Bowl champion for the first time in 10 years.
Mack told his father, Bill, “This Christmas, let’s give the iron bowl to Jimmy.” Bill did indeed present the bowl to his nephew but with a playful nod to their opposite allegiance, he told him, “Here’s your bowl, and you know where to put it.”
And thus began the tradition.
CBS enters the picture
The national network, CBS, aired the game in 2021. Producers wanted to put together a five-minute story as part of its pregame coverage to show viewers across the nation just how divided the rivalry is in Alabama.
Through research, they found an old newspaper story about the Bells’ iron bowl trophy, and they started trying to contact Jimmy. When he saw the New Jersey number coming up, he thought it was a scam. Voicemails to the contrary still didn’t convince him so he didn’t return the call.
Finally, CBS staff contacted the local newspaper that ran the original story and got in touch with Jimmy, saying, “Call this guy. He’s for real.”
Jimmy obliged but warned CBS not to come if they were going to portray the family as a bunch of rednecks from Alabama. Assurances satisfied the Bells, and a CBS crew arrived a couple of weeks before the game.
They spent hours filming, interviewing and re-enacting the awarding of the trophy and condensed it into a five-minute segment viewed across the nation. They even provided a Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings to recreate the meal. Bright lights, moving furniture and placing everything just so turned Bell’s house in Pell City’s Hunting Ridge into a real set for a television show.
“Three big cameras, lighting, monitors” – and the stage was set, but not before they changed all the light bulbs and took out the TVs to cut reflection. A drone flew over the house, capturing even more footage. “Obviously, it’s an experience we won’t ever have again,” Jimmy said.
Tradition continues
The experience they will have – over and over again, they hope, is the passing of the trophy from family member to family member.
In the beginning, they passed it around for three years with just the score noted. “Uncle Dick,” Mack’s uncle and Jimmy’s father, Dick Bell, presented a new version when it was his turn – a base with plaques commemorating the member of the family who received it along with year and score. The deceased have their plaques inside the base, which is open to the back to read in remembrance. The trophy tradition is now on its second base, ready for a third.
Dick Bell had saved wood from an old barn on the Scott farm, which had been built of heart pine, pegs and square nails. He had the first base made and saved the wood to continue the tradition after he was gone. Small brass plaques affixed to the base were for the names.
As for the potential for towering bases underneath that old iron bowl, Jimmy said, “I hope it looks like the Indy 500 trophy,” which is over five feet tall.
Whoever receives it each year has the honor of choosing the next recipient. “It’s a reason for us to get together,” said Mack. “It’s a secret until they get it.”
More family are coming to the party because of the interest in the trophy, Jimmy said. As for the recipient, “They’re happy until they realize they have to give the next party.” The family gets together a week or two after the ballgame for a gathering full of family, fellowship, fun … and football.
“It was a tradition we thought would last a year or two, but Dad and Uncle Dick spurred it on,” said Mack.
And, of course, talk naturally turns to the game. “Obviously, the subject of the ballgame comes up,” Jimmy said, calling the 2021 version “a heartbreaker,” when Auburn lost in quadruple overtime. “It works both ways,” he added, noting the Bell version of the series is even. He counted the plaques this year – 18 on each side.
They can rattle off memorable moments in those 36 games, just like ‘Who’re you for,’ they need no further explanation to fans around these parts. “Bo over the top,” Kick Six, 1989 – the first time it was played in Auburn and Tiffin’s kick.
Mack and Jimmy talk of their earliest memories, going to Legion Field without a ticket but getting in anyway. Jimmy remembers his grandfather stopping at the old Golden Rule in Irondale on the way to pick up a bagful of barbecue and Cokes. “As a young kid, that was a highlight.”
His wife, Yvonne, adds a biblical reference for the lifetime of traditions. “Train up a child, and he won’t depart from it.”
Mack’s wife, Mary, agreed. “We’ve got to keep the younger generation involved and continuing the tradition. “It’s third generation now, and the fourth is coming.”
Mack, now retired and many years removed from his days at the University of Alabama, has a simple analogy for whether it means more to beat Auburn or win the national championship. To him, you can’t have one without the other. “The road to the national championship – you’ve got to go through Auburn and the Iron Bowl. It’s the first round of the playoffs.”
Looking back on years and generations that have gone into this family tradition, Mack said, “It’s been a helluva ride. I never thought it would grow to this.”
He and Jimmy and the entire Bell family hope it never ends.
Toomer’s tree finds home, tradition in Pell City
Story by Carol Pappas
There’s another tradition surrounding Auburn and part of the Bell family. This time it involves a tree, but not just any tree. It’s a direct descendant of the famed oak trees at Toomer’s Corner in Auburn.
Following an Auburn victory, thousands of fans converge on the corner of College Street and Magnolia Avenue at what is known as Toomer’s Corner, across from the iconic Toomer’s Drugs, and they roll the trees with toilet paper to celebrate. The decades-old tradition becomes a sea of white waves dangling from the treetops – jubilant fans down below taking part in their creation.
In 2005, acorns from the stately trees were planted and nurtured by Forestry and Wildlife Sciences students, and a limited number of their seedlings were sold to raise funds for student scholarships. Jimmy bought three – one for his sister, Vicki Bell Merrymon, one for a friend and one for himself.
Jimmy’s tree died after being planted to close to his house and had to be moved. But Vicki’s tree thrived, now standing 30 feet tall in a field in front of her Hardwick Road home. The Merrymons may not be in Auburn for the traditional rolling, but when Auburn wins a big game, their tree gets rolled just the same.
“If we beat Alabama, we go out and roll it,” said Vicki. “We’ve rolled it some for basketball. You know, it’s Auburn.”
Grandson Owen has helped roll the tree when he was visiting. When he can’t be there, he and his family keep the tradition alive by rolling a tree in Chattanooga, Tenn., where they live.
Vicki and husband Dana’s most memorable rolling of the tree? When Auburn won the national championship in 2010. Playing in the Rose Bowl out west, it was late at night back in Alabama when Auburn was crowned champion. That night, Vicki said, “We rolled it in the dark with flashlights.”
Also check out our story Eric Bell: Auburn’s No. 1 Fan here!
