Honoring Bert Bell, the first owner of the Philadelphia Eagles

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A nondescript gravesite at a cemetery in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania is the final resting place of Bert Bell, the founder of the Philadelphia Eagles.

The only reason we at Action News knew about this piece of Philadelphia sports history comes courtesy of Tom Madorna of Swarthmore.

And the only reason he knew about it was a chance meeting with one of Bell's sons several years ago.

"I met Bert Bell Junior in a restaurant in Margate, New Jersey and immediately he gave me a condensed version of the history of the Eagles in about 15 minutes," said Madorna.

Madorna said he placed a 2023 NFC Championship flag at that grave to honor the Eagles founding father who is buried alongside his beloved wife, Frances, and Burt Bell Junior, who died in 2021.

So, we decided to contact Bert's other son, Upton Bell, through Zoom.

Upton Bell, who was born and raised in the Delaware Valley but now lives in Massachusetts, says seeing the family gravesite with the Eagles banner right there brings in a sea of emotion.

"Thank you very much for that Eagles flag because in the end, Bert Bell will always be an Eagle," said Upton Bell.

Madorna adds, "Thank God that Upton is still alive to be able to tell us the stories. There are too many people left to go back to the 1930s."

Our conversation ended with a message from Upton to his dad, which was also a message for Eagles-Nation: "Daddy, the Eagles by three on Sunday. Count on it."

Bert Bell purchased a team called the Frankford Yellow Jackets in 1933 which he renamed the Philadelphia Eagles with money he borrowed from his wife who was a famous actress at the time.

The purchase price was $2,500.