Todd Bell Todd Anthony Bell ( November 28 , 1958 – March 16 , 2005 ) was an American football safety in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears during the early 1980s . College . After graduating from Middletown High School , in Middletown , Ohio as a very highly recruited and standout ball player , Bell went on to play for the Ohio State University as a four - year starter at defensive back . He played as a roverback , a hybrid of the strong safety and linebacker positions . His best remembered moment at Ohio State was a game - winning touchdown in his junior year against rival Michigan on November 17 , 1979 . When Ohio State linebacker Jim Laughlin blocked a punt by Michigan ' s Brian Virgil , Bell scooped up the football and ran it in 18 yards and a final score of 18 - 15 . This play sent Ohio State to the 1980 Rose Bowl and a shot at that year ' s national championship . Professional career . Bell was selected in the fourth round of the 1981 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears . He played with the Bears from 1981 to 1984 , earning a Pro Bowl nomination in his fourth year . Bell was known on the team for his hits on opposing team players , and for his off - the - field reputation as a prankster . Bell sat out the entire 1985 season due to a contract dispute with the team - and missed being part of one of the most dominating Super Bowl teams of all time . His replacement , Dave Duerson , also went on to be selected for the Pro Bowl that year . Bell returned in 1986 , but a hamstring injury and the contract dispute still lingered over his tenure with the Bears , and he signed a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Eagles in the off - season in 1988 . The Eagles converted him from strong safety to linebacker , and he played two years with the Eagles before he broke his leg in a 31 - 13 loss to the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football on October 2 , 1989 , which prematurely ended his career . Death . On March 16 , 2005 , Bell suffered a fatal heart attack while driving his car in Reynoldsburg , Ohio . He was 46 . His wife Daphne now speaks to people on learning how to detect if they are at risk of having a heart attack . Todd Anthony Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male . In 1997 Bell returned to The Ohio State University to accept a position as Coordinator of the Minority Continuing Education Opportunities Program in the Office of Continuing Education , then lodged in University College . There he worked with Dean Mac Stewart to give leadership to outreach with the central Ohio community . He fostered cooperation with local businesses to provide funding for their employees to start or return to college studies at OSU . He also worked with the personnel of local Boys & Girls Clubs to develop joint ventures to improve the environment of the neighborhoods near the central campus . In 2001 he moved to the Office of Minority Affairs where he coordinated a broad range of community - university programs . Notably , on campus he gave initial leadership to the development of the Black Male Initiative to improve the campus environment , academic achievement , and leadership development of African American males at The Ohio State University and he was part of the team that developed the African American Male Resource Center . When Bell died in 2005 , the center was renamed to The Todd Anthony Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male to honor his work at the university and with African American male students .