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However, Ian Hacking noted that traditional Dutch book arguments did not specify Bayesian updating: they left open the possibility that non-Bayesian updating rules could avoid Dutch books. For example, Hacking writes "And neither the Dutch book argument, nor any other in the personalist arsenal of proofs of the probability axioms, entails the dynamic assumption. Not one entails Bayesianism. So the personalist requires the dynamic assumption to be Bayesian. It is true that in consistency a personalist could abandon the Bayesian model of learning from experience. Salt could lose its savour."
In fact, there are non-Bayesian updating rules that also avoid Dutch books (as discussed in the literature on "probability kinematics" following the publication of Richard C. Jeffrey's rule, which is itself regarded as Bayesian). The additional hypotheses sufficient to (uniquely) specify Bayesian updating are substantial and not universally seen as satisfactory.
Decision theory approach.
A decision-theoretic justification of the use of Bayesian inference (and hence of Bayesian probabilities) was given by Abraham Wald, who proved that every admissible statistical procedure is either a Bayesian procedure or a limit of Bayesian procedures. Conversely, every Bayesian procedure is admissible.
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Personal probabilities and objective methods for constructing priors.
Following the work on expected utility theory of Ramsey and von Neumann, decision-theorists have accounted for rational behavior using a probability distribution for the agent. Johann Pfanzagl completed the "Theory of Games and Economic Behavior" by providing an axiomatization of subjective probability and utility, a task left uncompleted by von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern: their original theory supposed that all the agents had the same probability distribution, as a convenience. Pfanzagl's axiomatization was endorsed by Oskar Morgenstern: "Von Neumann and I have anticipated ... [the question whether probabilities] might, perhaps more typically, be subjective and have stated specifically that in the latter case axioms could be found from which could derive the desired numerical utility together with a number for the probabilities (cf. p. 19 of The Theory of Games and Economic Behavior). We did not carry this out; it was demonstrated by Pfanzagl ... with all the necessary rigor".
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Ramsey and Savage noted that the individual agent's probability distribution could be objectively studied in experiments. Procedures for testing hypotheses about probabilities (using finite samples) are due to Ramsey (1931) and de Finetti (1931, 1937, 1964, 1970). Both Bruno de Finetti and Frank P. Ramsey acknowledge their debts to pragmatic philosophy, particularly (for Ramsey) to Charles S. Peirce.
The "Ramsey test" for evaluating probability distributions is implementable in theory, and has kept experimental psychologists occupied for a half century.
This work demonstrates that Bayesian-probability propositions can be falsified, and so meet an empirical criterion of Charles S. Peirce, whose work inspired Ramsey. (This falsifiability-criterion was popularized by Karl Popper.)
Modern work on the experimental evaluation of personal probabilities uses the randomization, blinding, and Boolean-decision procedures of the Peirce-Jastrow experiment. Since individuals act according to different probability judgments, these agents' probabilities are "personal" (but amenable to objective study).
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Personal probabilities are problematic for science and for some applications where decision-makers lack the knowledge or time to specify an informed probability-distribution (on which they are prepared to act). To meet the needs of science and of human limitations, Bayesian statisticians have developed "objective" methods for specifying prior probabilities.
Indeed, some Bayesians have argued the prior state of knowledge defines "the" (unique) prior probability-distribution for "regular" statistical problems; cf. well-posed problems. Finding the right method for constructing such "objective" priors (for appropriate classes of regular problems) has been the quest of statistical theorists from Laplace to John Maynard Keynes, Harold Jeffreys, and Edwin Thompson Jaynes. These theorists and their successors have suggested several methods for constructing "objective" priors (Unfortunately, it is not always clear how to assess the relative "objectivity" of the priors proposed under these methods):
Each of these methods contributes useful priors for "regular" one-parameter problems, and each prior can handle some challenging statistical models (with "irregularity" or several parameters). Each of these methods has been useful in Bayesian practice. Indeed, methods for constructing "objective" (alternatively, "default" or "ignorance") priors have been developed by avowed subjective (or "personal") Bayesians like James Berger (Duke University) and José-Miguel Bernardo (Universitat de València), simply because such priors are needed for Bayesian practice, particularly in science. The quest for "the universal method for constructing priors" continues to attract statistical theorists.
Thus, the Bayesian statistician needs either to use informed priors (using relevant expertise or previous data) or to choose among the competing methods for constructing "objective" priors. |
Bert Bell
De Benneville "Bert" Bell (February 25, 1895 – October 11, 1959) was an American professional football executive and coach. He was the fifth chief executive and second commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he introduced competitive parity into the NFL to improve the league's commercial viability and promote its popularity.
Whereas Bell had become the chief executive in a sport that was largely seen as second-rate and heading a league still plagued by franchise instability, by his death the NFL was a financially sound sports enterprise and seriously challenging Major League Baseball for preeminence among sports attractions in the United States. Bell was posthumously inducted into the charter class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Bell played football at the University of Pennsylvania, where as quarterback, he led his team to an appearance in the 1917 Rose Bowl. After being drafted into the US Army during World War I, he returned to complete his collegiate career at Penn and went on to become an assistant football coach with the Quakers in the 1920s. During the Great Depression, he was an assistant coach for the Temple Owls and a co-founder and co-owner of the Philadelphia Eagles.
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With the Eagles, Bell led the way in cooperating with the other NFL owners to establish the NFL draft in order to afford the weakest teams the first opportunity to sign the best available players. He subsequently became sole proprietor of the Eagles, but the franchise suffered financially. Eventually, he sold the team and bought a share in the Pittsburgh Steelers. During World War II, Bell argued against the league suspending operations until the war's conclusion.
After the war, he was elected NFL commissioner and sold his ownership in the Steelers. As commissioner, he implemented a proactive anti-gambling policy, negotiated a merger with the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), and unilaterally crafted the entire league schedule with an emphasis on enhancing the dramatic effect of late-season matches. During the Golden Age of Television, he tailored the game's rules to strengthen its appeal to mass media and enforced a policy of blacking out local broadcasts of home contests to safeguard ticket receipts. Amid criticism from franchise owners and under pressure from Congress, he unilaterally recognized the NFLPA and facilitated in the development of the first pension plan for the players. He survived to oversee the "Greatest Game Ever Played" and to envision what the league would become in the future.
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As commissioner, Bell oversaw the integration of the NFL. Although Fritz Pollard was the first African American to play in the NFL, appearing with three teams from 1922 to 1926, a “gentleman’s agreement” among the owners kept the sport segregated for another 20 years. In 1946, four black players began playing in the NFL.
Early life (1895–1932).
Bell was born De Benneville Bell, on February 25, 1895, in Philadelphia to John C. Bell and Fleurette de Benneville Myers. His father was an attorney who served a term as the Pennsylvania Attorney General. His older brother, John C. Jr., was born in 1892. Bert's parents were very wealthy, and his mother's lineage predated the American Revolutionary War. His father, a Quaker of the University of Pennsylvania (class of 1884) during the early days of American football, accompanied him to his first football game when Bell was six years old. Thereafter, Bell regularly engaged in football games with childhood friends.
In 1904, Bell matriculated at the Episcopal Academy, the Delancey School from 1909 to 1911 and then the Haverford School until 1914. About this time, his father was installed as athletics director at Penn and helped form the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). At Haverford, Bell captained the school's football, basketball, and baseball teams, and "was awarded The Yale Cup [for being] 'The pupil who has done the most to promote athletics in the school.'" Although he excelled at baseball, his devotion was to football. His father, who was named a trustee at Penn in 1911, said of Bell's plans for college, "Bert will go to Penn or he will go to hell."
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University of Pennsylvania (1914–1919).
Bell entered the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in the fall of 1914. He majored in English and joined the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity. In a rare accomplishment for a sophomore, he was named the starting quarterback by Penn coach George H. Brooke. He also was a defender, punter, and punt returner. After the team's 3–0 start, Bell temporarily shared possession of his quarterbacking duties until he subsequently reclaimed them later in the season, as Penn finished with a record of 3–5–2.
Prior to Penn's 1916 season, Bell's mother died while he was en route to her bedside. He started the first game for the Quakers under new coach Bob Folwell, but mixed results left him platooned for the rest of the season. Penn finished with a record of 7–2–1. However, the Quakers secured an invitation to the 1917 Rose Bowl against the Oregon Ducks. Bell had the best offensive gain for Penn during their 0–14 loss to Oregon, a 20-yard run, but was replaced late in the game at quarterback after throwing an interception. In the 1917 season, Bell led Penn to a 9–2 record.
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Following the 1917 season, Bell registered with a Mobile Hospital Unit of the United States Army for World War I and was deployed to France in May 1918. As a result of his unit participating in hazardous duty, it received a congratulatory letter for bravery from General John J. Pershing, and Bell was promoted to first sergeant. After the war, Bell returned to the United States in March 1919. He returned to Penn as captain of the team in the fall and again performed erratically. The Quakers finished 1919 with a 6–2–1 record. Academically, his aversion to attending classes forced him to withdraw from Penn without a degree in early 1920. His collegiate days ended with his having been a borderline All-American, but this period of his life had proven that he "possessed the qualities of a leader."
Early career (1920–1932).
Bell assembled the Stanley Professionals in Chicago in 1920, but he disbanded it prior to playing any games because of negative publicity received by Chicago due to the Black Sox Scandal. He joined John Heisman's staff at Penn as an assistant coach in 1920, where he remained for several years. At Penn, he was well regarded as a football coach, and after its 1924 season, he drew offers for, but declined, head-coaching assignments at other universities. At least as early as 1926, his avocation was socializing and frequenting Saratoga Race Course, where he counted as friends Tim Mara, Art Rooney, and George Preston Marshall. In 1928, Bell tendered his resignation at Penn in protest over the emphasis on in-season scrimmages during practices by Lud Wray, a fellow assistant coach. Bell's resignation was accommodated prior to the start of the 1929 season.
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Bell was then an employee of the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia. At one point, he tried his hand as a stock broker and lost $50,000 () during the Wall Street Crash of 1929. His father bailed him out of his deprivation, and he returned to working at the Ritz. From 1930 until 1932, he was a backfield coach for Temple in Philadelphia. In 1932, Marshall tried to coax Bell into buying the rights to an NFL franchise, but Bell disparaged the league and ridiculed the idea. When Pop Warner was hired to coach Temple for the 1933 season, Warner chose to hire his own assistants, and Bell was let go by Temple.
NFL career.
Philadelphia Eagles (1933–1940).
By early 1933, Bell's opinion on the NFL had changed, and he wanted to become an owner of a team based in Philadelphia. After being advised by the NFL that a prerequisite to a franchise being rendered in Philadelphia was that the Pennsylvania Blue Laws would have to be mollified, he was the "force majeure" in lobbying to getting the laws deprecated. He borrowed funds from Frances Upton, partnered with Wray, and he procured the rights to a franchise in Philadelphia, purchasing the Frankford Yellow Jackets which he christened as the Philadelphia Eagles, inspired by Franklin Delano Roosevelt's use of the American eagle symbol in choosing that name.
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After the inaugural 1933 Philadelphia Eagles season, Bell married Upton at St. Madeleine Sophie Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia. Days later, his suggestion to bestow the winner of the NFL championship game with the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy was affirmed. In 1934, the Eagles finished with a 4–7 record, The Eagles' inability to seriously challenge other teams made it difficult to sell tickets, and his failure to sign a talented college prospect led him to adduce that the only way to bring stability to the league was to institute a draft to ensure the weakest teams had an advantage in signing the preeminent players. In 1935, his proposal for a draft was accepted, and in February 1936, the first draft kicked off, at which he acted as Master of Ceremonies. Later that month, his first child, Bert Jr., was born.
In the Eagles' first three years, the partners exhausted $85,000 (), and at a public auction, Bell became sole owner of the Eagles with a bid of $4,500 (). Austerity measures forced him to supplant Wray as head coach of the Eagles, wherein Bell led the Eagles to a 1–11 finish, their worst record ever. In December, an application for a franchise in Los Angeles was obstructed by Bell and Pittsburgh Steelers owner Rooney as they deemed it too far of a distance to travel for games. During the Eagles' 2–8–1 1937 season, his second child, John "Upton", was born. In the Eagles' first profitable season, 1938, they posted a 5–6 record. The Eagles finished 1–9–1 in 1939 and 1–10 in 1940.
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Pittsburgh Steelers (1940–1945).
In December 1940, Bell conciliated the sale of Rooney's Steelers to Alexis Thompson, and then Rooney acquired half of Bell's interest in the Eagles. In a series of events known as the "Pennsylvania Polka", Rooney and Bell exchanged their entire Eagles roster and their "territorial rights" in Philadelphia to Thompson for his entire Steelers roster and his rights in Pittsburgh. Ostensibly, Rooney had provided assistance to Bell by rewarding him with a 20% commission on the sale of the Steelers. Bell became the Steelers head coach and Rooney became the general manager.
During the training camp of Pittsburgh's inaugural season with the nickname Steelers, Bell was buoyant with optimism about the team's prospect, but he became crestfallen after Rooney denigrated the squad and flippantly remarked that they looked like the "[s]ame old Steelers" (SOS). After losing the first two games of the 1941 season, Rooney compelled Bell to resign as head coach. Bell's coaching career ended with a 10–46–2 record, his 0.179 winning percentage is second-lowest in NFL history to only Phil Handler's 0.105 for coaches with at least five seasons. And at 36 games under .500 he held the record for futility until John McKay passed him in 1983 and Marion Campbell passed him in 1988. His first daughter and last child, Jane Upton, was born several months after the season's conclusion.
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By 1943, 40% of the NFL rosters had been drafted into the United States Armed Forces for World War II. The resulting difficulty in fielding a full-strength squad led some owners to recommend the league should shut down until the war ended. Bell auspiciously argued against this as he feared they might not be able to resume operations easily after the war, and since Major League Baseball was continuing unabated, then they should also.
Throughout Bell's affiliation with the Steelers, he suffered monetarily and Rooney bought an increasing allotment of the franchise from him. Compounding Bell's problems, Arch Ward organized the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1944 to displace the NFL's sovereignty in professional football. Ward's AAFC promptly began luring players to join the league, which resulted in salaries being driven up drastically. In Bill Dudley's contract proceedings with the Steelers, he attributed Bell's anxiety during the negotiations to the rivalry from the AAFC. Furthermore, by the end of 1945, the Steelers were in their most economically perilous situation in its history.
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NFL commissioner (1946–1959).
Election, Hapes-Filchock, and the NFL schedule (1946–1948).
Elmer Layden was appointed the first NFL commissioner in 1941, but Ward appeared as dictating his hiring. Layden tendered his resignation for personal reasons January 1946. Bell, who was not well respected in Pittsburgh, was elected to replace him. He received a three-year contract at $20,000 per year (), and transacted a sale of his stake in the Steelers to Rooney, albeit for a price Bell did not construe was full-value. He was then immediately placed at the center of a controversy wherein the owners denied Dan Reeves permission to relocate the Cleveland Rams to Los Angeles. Bell moderated a settlement, and, as a result, the Los Angeles Rams were formed. As a precondition to the Rams leasing the Los Angeles Coliseum, they signed Kenny Washington, which marked the beginning of the end of racial segregation on the field, but also caused "'all hell to break loose'" amidst the owners.
The drawing up of a regular-season schedule had been a perennial source of contention among the NFL owners since the league's inception. The crux of the problem was the scheduling of games meant weighing the interest of owners who, early in the season, wanted their franchises to confront teams that drew the largest crowds, versus owners who wanted to play the weaker franchises to pad their team's win–loss record. The resultant impasse coerced the owners, in 1946, to confer upon Bell the sole discretion in developing the league's schedule. He utilized this responsibility to, early in the season, pit the weaker teams against other weak teams, and the strong teams against other strong teams. His goal was to augment game attendances by keeping the difference in team standings to a minimum as deep into the season as possible.
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On the eve of the 1946 championship game, Bell was notified that Merle Hapes and Frank Filchock of the New York Giants had been implicated in a bribing scandal. Filchock was sanctioned by Bell to play in the game but Hapes was suspended. At the next NFL owners' meeting, Bell was worried the repercussions from this event would lead to his firing. However, he was pleasantly surprised to learn that his contract would be elevated to five years at $30,000 per year. Reinvigorated with renewed support, he persuaded the owners to allow him to put sudden-death overtime into the playoffs.
Subsequently, he wrote an anti-gambling resolution into the league constitution, which empowered him with the ability to permanently ban any NFL associated personnel for betting on a game or for withholding information on a game being possibly fixed. Furthermore, to obstruct gamblers from getting inside information, he secreted the names of officials he would assign to games, and he directed each team to promulgate a precursory injury report which listed anyone who might not participate in a game. Eventually, he lobbied to get every state in the US to criminalize the fixing of sporting events and put employees on the payroll of the NFL to investigate potential betting scams.
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AAFC–NFL merger (1948–1950).
The NFL's struggle against the AAFC generated stress on wages, attendance, marketing, and by 1949, it had prevented the NFL for showing a profit for three consecutive years. Bell and representatives from both leagues met to attempt a merger, but their efforts were fruitless. In an unrelated matter, he apprised the owners that attendance records had shown televising games locally had a negative impact on the sale of home tickets. Nevertheless, he actualized the NFL's first television contract—the 1949 championship game. Simultaneously, he dealt with a lawsuit from Bill Radovich, who had been blacklisted for leaving the Lions and gaining employment with the AAFC. Bell and the owners were advised by John C. Jr. that this lawsuit was potentially not winnable, and the ramifications from the outcome of the case weighed heavily on Bell.
One of the primary impediments in an AAFC–NFL merger was the supposed violation of "territorial rights" claimed by Marshall. Eventually, Bell gathered enough support to effectuate a compromise with the AAFC. In late 1949, the leagues merged, as three AAFC teams (the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Colts) joined the NFL; a fourth AAFC team (Los Angeles Dons) merged with the Los Angeles Rams, and the other AAFC teams disbanded. Bell stayed on as commissioner with his contract extended from five to ten years Seeking to capitalize on the publicity of the residual AAFC–NFL rivalry, he utilized "exquisite dramatic" and business sense and allocated the 1950 opening game to a contest between the 1949 champion Eagles versus the perennial AAFC champion Browns. Feeling financially secure after the merger, he purchased his first home for himself and his family in Narberth, Pennsylvania.
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Marketing of the NFL (1950–1956).
In 1950, Bell originated a blackout rule into the NFL which forbid all teams to televise their home games within a 75-mile radius of their stadium – except for the Rams. Consequently, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) opened an investigation into a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Rams attendance for 1950 dropped off by 50%, and this signaled a potential financial disaster. In 1951, he licensed the DuMont Television Network to air the championship games for the next five years, and he stipulated that teams were free to develop their own television contracts independently.
However, preceding the 1951 season, he reimposed the blackout rule on all teams in the league. The DOJ filed suit over this and Bell publicly retorted, "You can't give fans a game for free on TV and also expect them to go to the ballpark"; nevertheless, the suit was ordered to trial for January 1952. After the 1951 season ended, he gained unilateral control over the setting of a television strategy for the NFL. He negotiated a deal with DuMont, which granted it the rights to nationally broadcast one regular-season game every week, and he directed that the income from this contract was to be shared equally between all the teams. In the DOJ's case, the judge ruled that the blackout policy was legal, but both Bell, and the franchises collectively, were enjoined from negotiating a TV contract; Bell was ecstatic. Later that year, Bell forced one of the owners of the Cleveland Browns to sell all of his shares in the team after Bell determined the owner had bet on Browns' football games. Although he hated to fly, at some indeterminate point, he visited the training camps of every team and lectured on the danger gamblers posed to the league.
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Bell authorized a Pro Bowl to be held at the end of each season in order to showcase the talents of the best players. But in the early 1950s, on the field activities sometimes denigrated to borderline "assault and battery" with teams' star players being viciously targeted by opposing players. He answered charges the league was too savage by saying, "'I have never seen a maliciously dirty football player in my life and I don't believe there are any.'" Nevertheless, he ordered broadcasts to follow a strict rule of conduct whereby TV announcers would not be permitted to criticize the game, and neither fights, nor injuries, could be televised by virtue in his belief that announcers were "'salesman for professional football [and] we do not want kids believing that engaging in fights is the way to play football.'"
Bell was criticized for censoring TV broadcasts, a charge he dismissed as not pertinent because he believed he was not impeding the print media but only advertising a product. After CBS and NBC gained the rights to broadcast the games in 1956, he advised the franchises to avoid criticizing the games or the officials, and forewarned that TV would give "'us our greatest opportunity to sell the NFL and everyone must present to the public the greatest games ... combined with the finest sportsmanship.'" This relationship with television was the beginning of the NFL's rise to becoming America's most popular sport.
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Compromise with the NFLPA (1956–1957).
In Radovich v. National Football League, the Supreme Court ruled in Radovich's favor and declared the NFL was subject to antitrust laws, and the implication was that the legality of the draft and reserve clause were dubious. Bell pressed a case in the media that the NFL should be exempted from antitrust regulations and proffered the league was a sport and not a business. He invited an investigation from Congress with respect to the court's ruling. The House Judiciary committee, chaired by Emanuel Celler—who believed the draft was illegal and should be abolished, convened in July 1957 to discuss the ramifications of the Radovich decision. Red Grange and Bell testified at the committee's solicitation and argued the draft was essential to the sport's success. Representatives of the NFLPA contradicted these statements and said the draft and the reserve clause were anti-labor, and it seemed as if Congress was going to accept their position. Faced with Congressional opposition, Bell formally recognized the NFLPA and declared he would negotiate with its representatives.
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However, Bell was speaking only for himself and without the auspices of the owners. At the next owners' meeting, Rooney admonished they either had to recognize the NFLPA or remove Bell as commissioner. In order to do this, they had to agree in a vote that required a "super-majority". Bell unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the owners to permit the NFLPA to act as a bargaining agent for the players. However, he did reach a compromise with the owners to get them to acquiesce to some of the NFLPA's requests for salary standards and health benefits.
Final days (1958–1959).
For the 1958 season, the duration of timeouts was extended from 60 to 90 seconds and Bell mandated officials call a few "TV timeouts" during each game — a change which triggered criticism from sportswriters. The 1958 championship game became the first NFL championship game decided in overtime, and it was considered to be the greatest football game ever played. The game further increased football's marketability to television advertising, and the drama associated with overtime was the catalyst. Years later, after witnessing Bell openly crying after the game, Raymond Berry attributed it to Bell's realization of the impact the game would have on the prevalence of the sport.
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The death of Mara in February unsettled Bell and he experienced a heart attack later that month. He converted to Catholicism that summer because of the lifelong urging of his wife, Mara's death, and his enduring friendship with Rooney, a practicing Catholic. Bell was advised by his doctor to avoid going to football games, to which he quipped, "I'd rather die watching football than in my bed with my boots off." Bell and his children attended an Eagles game on October 11 at Franklin Field against the Steelers (both his old teams). The Eagles held complimentary box seats for him and guests to watch the game, but he preferred to buy his own tickets and sit with the other fans. Sitting towards the end of the field near the end zone during the fourth quarter of the game, he suffered a fatal heart attack and died later that day at the nearby university hospital. League Treasurer Austin Gunsel was named interim NFL commissioner for the rest of the season.
Afterwards, he was remembered as "a man of buoyant joviality, with a rough and ready wit, laughter and genuine humility and honesty, clearly innocent of pretense and [pretension]." His funeral was held at Narberth's St. Margaret Roman Catholic Church and Monsignor Cornelius P. Brennan delivered the eulogy, as close friends and admirers attended the mass. Dominic Olejniczak and all the extant owners of the NFL franchises were pallbearers. Bell was interred at Calvary Cemetery in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, northwest of Philadelphia.
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Bell had named Baltimore Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom as his executor. Bell had been Rosenbloom's backfield coach at Penn in the early 1950s, and later had convinced Rosenbloom to purchase the Colts after becoming commissioner. Rosenbloom owned the Colts in 1958 when they won the greatest game ever played, and brought greater national attention to the NFL. After Bell's death, Rosenbloom hired Bell's sons Upton and Bert Jr. to work for the Colts.
Legacy and honors.
Bell was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame, the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, and Haverford's Athletic Hall of Fame. The Maxwell Football Club, which he founded in 1937, has presented the best NFL player of the year with the Bert Bell Award since 1959. The Bert Bell Benefit Bowl was exhibited in his honor from 1960 through 1969. A statue of Bell will be unveiled on October 25, 2024, at the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field. The historical maker to Bell in Narberth, Pennsylvania is within blocks of his family's home at 323 Haverford Avenue.
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Although he did not have the wherewithal to prevent the wholesale betting on games, he was proactive in ensuring games were not tampered with by gamblers, and he created the foundation of the contemporary NFL anti-gambling policy.
Bell was criticized as being too strict with his refusal to let sold-out games to be televised locally. Nevertheless, his balancing of television broadcasts against protecting game attendance made the NFL the "healthiest professional sport in America", and he was the "leading protagonist in pro football's evolution into America's major sport." He had understood that the league needed a cooperative television contract with revenue-sharing, but he failed to overcome the obstacles to achieve it. He was portrayed by sportswriters as ensuring the owners treated the players fairly, and his decision to recognize the NFLPA in the face of adversity from owners was a "master stroke" in thwarting Congressional intervention. After he initiated terms for a pension plan with the players in 1959, little progress was made with the NFLPA, however, the first players' pension plan – the Bert Bell National Football League Retirement Plan – was approved in 1962.
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Bell's implementation of the draft did not show immediate results, but it was "the single greatest contributor to the [league]'s prosperity" in its first eighty-four years. His original version of the draft was later ruled unconstitutional, but his anchoring of the success of the league to competitive balance has been "hailed by contemporaries and sports historians".
Bell's belief in the efficacy of parity for the financial health of the league is best summarized by his most famous quotation, made to the press in November 1952 to explain an uptick in stadium attendance: |
Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan Costas (born March 22, 1952) is an American sportscaster who is known for his long tenure with NBC Sports, from 1980 through 2019. He has received 28 Emmy awards for his work and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from 1988 until 2016. He is currently employed by Warner Bros. Discovery, where he does commentary on CNN. He is also employed by MLB Network, where he makes special appearances and once hosted an interview show called "Studio 42 with Bob Costas".
Early life and education.
Costas is the son of a Greek father, John George Costas, and an Irish mother, Jayne Costas (née Quinlan). He grew up in Commack, New York, and attended Commack High School South.
He attended the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, but dropped out in 1974. Costas got his first radio experience as a freshman at WAER, a student run radio station. In the mid-1980s, he established the Robert Costas Scholarship at the Newhouse School, of which the first recipient was Mike Tirico in 1987.
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Broadcasting career.
Early career.
While studying communications in college, Costas began his professional career in 1973, at WSYR-TV (now WSTM-TV) and WSYR-FM radio in Syracuse. He called for the minor league Syracuse Blazers of the Eastern Hockey League.
After leaving school in 1974, he joined KMOX radio in St. Louis. He covered games of the American Basketball Association (ABA). Costas would call Missouri Tigers basketball and co-host KMOX's "Open Line" call-in program. He did play-by-play for Chicago Bulls broadcasts on WGN-TV during the 1979–1980 NBA season.
NBC Sports.
In 1980, Costas was hired by NBC. Don Ohlmeyer, who at the time ran NBC's sports division, told 28-year-old Costas he looked like a 14-year-old.
For many years, Costas hosted NBC's National Football League (NFL) coverage and National Basketball Association (NBA) coverage. He also did play-by-play for NBA and Major League Baseball (MLB) coverage. With the introduction of the NBC Sports Network, Costas also became the host of the new monthly interview program "Costas Tonight".
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Boxing.
On March 30, 2015, it was announced that Costas would join forces with Marv Albert (blow-by-blow) and Al Michaels (host) on the April 11, 2015, edition of NBC's primetime "PBC on NBC" boxing series. Costas was added to serve as a special contributor for the event from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. He would narrate and write a feature on the storied history of boxing in New York City.
Golf.
Costas hosted NBC's coverage of the U.S. Open golf tournament from 2003 to 2014.
Major League Baseball.
For baseball telecasts, Costas teamed with Sal Bando (1982), Tony Kubek (from 1983 to 1989), and Joe Morgan and Bob Uecker (from 1994 to 2000). One of his most memorable broadcasts occurred on June 23, 1984 (in what would go down in baseball lore as "The Sandberg Game"). Costas, along with Tony Kubek, was calling the Saturday baseball "Game of the Week" from Chicago's Wrigley Field. The game between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals in particular was cited for putting Ryne Sandberg (as well as the 1984 Cubs in general, who would go on to make their first postseason appearance since 1945) "on the map". In the ninth inning, the Cubs, trailing 9–8, faced the premier relief pitcher of the time, Bruce Sutter. Sandberg, then not known for his power, slugged a home run to left field against the Cardinals' ace closer. Despite this dramatic act, the Cardinals scored two runs in the top of the tenth. Sandberg came up again in the tenth inning, facing a determined Sutter with one man on base. Sandberg then shocked the national audience by hitting a second home run, even farther into the left field bleachers, to tie the game again. The Cubs went on to win in the 11th inning. When Sandberg hit that second home run, Costas said, "Do you believe it?!" The Cardinals' Willie McGee also hit for the cycle in the same game.
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While hosting Game 4 of the 1988 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics on NBC, Costas angered many members of the Dodgers (especially the team's manager, Tommy Lasorda) by commenting before the start of the game that the Dodgers quite possibly were about to put up the weakest-hitting lineup in World Series history. That comment ironically fired up the Dodgers' competitive spirit, to the point where a chant of "Kill Costas!" began among the clubhouse, while the Dodgers eventually rolled to a 4–1 series victory.
Besides calling the 1989 American League Championship Series for NBC, Costas also filled in for a suddenly ill Vin Scully, who had come down with laryngitis, for Game2 of the 1989 National League Championship Series alongside Tom Seaver. Game2 of the NLCS took place on Thursday, October 5, which was an off day for the ALCS. NBC then decided to fly Costas from Toronto to Chicago to substitute for Scully on Thursday night. Afterward, Costas flew back to Toronto, where he resumed work on the ALCS the next night.
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Costas anchored NBC's pre- and post-game shows for NFL broadcasts and the pre and post-game shows for numerous World Series and Major League Baseball All-Star Games during the 1980s (the first being for the 1982 World Series). Costas did not get a shot at doing play-by-play (as the games on NBC were previously called by Vin Scully) for an All-Star Game until 1994 and a World Series until 1995 (when NBC split the coverage with ABC under "The Baseball Network" umbrella), when NBC regained Major League Baseball rights after a four-year hiatus (when the broadcast network television contract moved over to CBS, exclusively). It was not until 1997 when Costas finally got to do play-by-play for a World Series from start to finish. Costas ended up winning a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Personality, Play-by-Play.
In 1999, Costas teamed with his then-NBC colleague Joe Morgan to call two weekday night telecasts for ESPN. The first was on Wednesday, August 25 with the Detroit Tigers playing against the Seattle Mariners.
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On August 3, 2019, Costas alongside Paul O'Neill and David Cone called both games of a double-header between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox for the YES Network. Costas was filling in for Michael Kay, who was recovering from vocal cord surgery.
On August 20, 2021, reports emerged that TBS was nearing an agreement with Costas to host their coverage of that year's NLCS This became true when TBS announce his role on October 7, 2021.
On October 31, 2024, Costas announced that he was officially retiring from Major League Baseball play-by-play calling after 44 years. This means that his final Major League Baseball broadcast as a play-by-play announcer was Game 4 of the 2024 American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals, airing on TBS.
NASCAR.
In November 2017, it was announced that Costas would co-anchor alongside Krista Voda on NBC's pre-race coverage leading into the NASCAR Cup Series finale from Homestead. In addition to hosting pre-race coverage, Costas would conduct a live interview with incoming NBC broadcaster Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was running his final race.
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National Basketball Association.
Costas served as NBC's lead play-by-play announcer for their National Basketball Association (NBA) broadcasts from 1997-2000. In that time frame, Costas called three NBA Finals including the 1998 installment (which set an all-time ratings record for the NBA) between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz. Costas was paired with Isiah Thomas and Doug Collins on NBC's NBA telecast. Following the 2000 NBA Finals, he was replaced by Marv Albert as the lead play-by-play announcer, who incidentally, the man he directly replaced on the "NBA on NBC" in the first place.
Costas had previously presided as host of NBC's pre-game show, "NBA Showtime", while also providing play-by-play as a fill-in when necessary. Costas later co-anchored (with Hannah Storm) NBC's NBA Finals coverage in 2002, which was their last to-date (before the NBA's network television contract moved to ABC).
Professional football.
Costas began as a play-by-play announcer, working with analyst Bob Trumpy. In 1984, he would replace Len Berman as studio host. Among his NFL colleagues was O.J. Simpson, who had called 30 Rockefeller Plaza asking to speak to Costas during Simpson's infamous police chase through the freeways of Los Angeles. However, Costas was several blocks away at Madison Square Garden covering Game 5 of the 1994 NBA Finals. Costas learned of the attempted contact when visiting Simpson in prison later that year. Costas remained NFL studio host until 1992, when he was replaced by Jim Lampley.
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NBC Sports allowed Costas to opt out from having to cover the XFL. He publicly denigrated the league throughout its existence and remains a vocal critic of the XFL and its premise.
In 2006, Costas returned to NFL studio hosting duties for NBC's new "Sunday Night Football", hosting its pre-game show "Football Night in America".
Costas is nicknamed "Rapping Roberto" by New York City's "Daily News" sports media columnist Bob Raissman. Al Michaels also called him "Rapping Roberto" during the telecast between the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Giants on September 10, 2006, in response to Costas calling him "Alfalfa".
Olympics (1988–2016).
Costas has frontlined many Olympics broadcasts for NBC. They include Seoul in 1988, Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000, Salt Lake City in 2002, Athens in 2004, Torino in 2006, Beijing in 2008, Vancouver in 2010, London in 2012, Sochi in 2014 and Rio in 2016. He discusses his work on the Olympic telecasts extensively in a book by Andrew Billings entitled "Olympic Media: Inside the Biggest Show on Television". A personal influence on Costas has been legendary ABC Sports broadcaster Jim McKay, who hosted many Olympics for ABC from the 1960s to the 1980s.
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During the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Opening Ceremonies, Costas's remarks on China's teams' possible drug use caused an uproar among the American Chinese and international communities. Thousands of dollars were raised to purchase ads in "The Washington Post" and Sunday "The New York Times", featuring an image of the head of a statue of Apollo and reading: "Costas Poisoned Olympic Spirit, Public Protests NBC". However, Costas's comments were made subsequent to the suspension of Chinese coach Zhou Ming after seven of his swimmers were caught using steroids in 1994. Further evidence of Chinese athletes' drug use came in 1997 when Australian authorities confiscated 13 vials of Somatropin, a human growth hormone, from the bag of Chinese swimmer Yuan Yuan upon her arrival for the 1997 World Swimming Championships. At the World Championships, four Chinese swimmers tested positive for the banned substance Triamterene, a diuretic used to dilute urine samples to mask the presence of anabolic steroids. Including these failed drug tests, 27 Chinese swimmers were caught using performance-enhancing drugs from 1990 through 1997; more than the rest of the world combined.
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Along with co-host Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer, Costas's commentary of the 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremonies came under fierce criticism, with Costas being described as making "a series of jingoistic remarks, including a joke about dictator Idi Amin when Uganda's team appeared" and the combined commentary as being "ignorant" and "banal".
Following the Olympics, Costas appeared on Conan O'Brien's talk show and jokingly criticized his employer for its decision to air a preview of the upcoming series "Animal Practice" over a performance by The Who during the London closing ceremonies. "So here is the balance NBC has to consider: The Who, 'Animal Practice'. Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend—monkey in a lab coat. I'm sure you'd be the first to attest, Conan, that when it comes to the tough calls, NBC usually gets 'em right," Costas said, alluding at the end to O'Brien's involvement in the 2010 "Tonight Show" conflict.
An eye infection Costas had at the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics forced him, on February 11, 2014, to cede his Olympic hosting duties to Matt Lauer (four nights) and Meredith Vieira (two nights), the first time Costas had not done so at all since the 1998 Winter Olympics (as the rights were not held by NBC).
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Thoroughbred racing.
From 2001 until 2018, Costas co-hosted the Kentucky Derby. In 2009, he hosted Bravo's coverage of the 2009 Kentucky Oaks. After Costas officially departed from NBC Sports, his role on NBC's thoroughbred racing coverage was essentially filled-in by Rebecca Lowe, beginning with the 2019 Kentucky Derby.
Departure from NBC Sports.
On February 9, 2017, Costas announced during "Today" that he had begun the process of stepping down from his main on-air roles at NBC Sports, announcing in particular that he would cede his role as primetime host for NBC's Olympics coverage to Mike Tirico (who joined the network from ESPN in 2016), and that he would host Super Bowl LII as his final Super Bowl. However, Costas ultimately dropped out of the coverage entirely.
"USA Today" reported that he would similarly step down from "Football Night in America" in favor of Tirico. Costas explained that he was not outright retiring and expected to take on a role at NBC Sports similar to that of Tom Brokaw, being an occasional special correspondent to the division. He explained that his decision "opens up more time to do the things that I feel I'm most connected to; there will still be events, features, and interviews where I can make a significant contribution at NBC, but it will also leave more time for baseball (on MLB Network), and then, at some point down the road, I'll have a chance to do more of the long-form programming I enjoy." Costas told "USA Today" his gradual retirement was planned in advance, and that he did not want to announce it during the 2016 Summer Olympics or the NFL season because it would be too disruptive, and joked: "I'm glad that Sochi wasn't the last one. You wouldn't want your pink-eye Olympics to be your last Olympics."
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Costas's final major on-air broadcast for NBC was hosting the 2018 Belmont Stakes, where Justify won the Triple Crown.
On January 15, 2019, it was announced that Costas had officially departed from NBC Sports after 40 years.
On August 11, 2024, Costas made a rare guest appearance on NBC's coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics for a segment previewing the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, joining Tirico and Al Michaels in a discussion of notable moments from past Olympics hosted by the United States.
Talk show hosting.
Costas hosted the syndicated radio program "Costas Coast to Coast" from 1986 to 1996, which was revived as "Costas on the Radio". "Costas on the Radio", which ended its three-year run on May 31, 2009, aired on 200 stations nationwide each weekend and syndicated by the Clear Channel–owned Premiere Radio Networks. During that period, Costas also served as the imaging voice of Clear Channel–owned KLOU in St. Louis, Missouri, during that station's period as "My 103.3". Like "Later", Costas's radio shows have focused on a wide variety of topics and have not been limited to sports discussion.
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Later with Bob Costas aired on NBC from 1988 to 1994. Costas decided to leave "Later" after six seasons, having grown tired of the commute to New York City from his home in St. Louis and wishing to lighten his workload in order to spend more time with his family. He also turned down an offer from David Letterman, who moved to CBS in 1995, to follow him there and become the first host of "The Late Late Show", which was being developed by Letterman's company to air at 12:30 after the "Late Show with David Letterman".
In June 2005, Costas was named by CNN president Jonathan Klein as a regular substitute anchor for Larry King's "Larry King Live" for one year. Costas, as well as Klein, made clear that Costas was not trying out for King's position on a permanent basis. Nancy Grace was also named a regular substitute host for the show. On August 18, 2005, Costas refused to host a "Larry King Live" broadcast where the subject was missing teenager Natalee Holloway. Costas said that because there were no new developments in the story, he felt it had no news value, and he was uncomfortable with television's drift in the direction of tabloid-type stories.
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Beginning in October 2011, Costas was a correspondent for "Rock Center with Brian Williams". He gained acclaim for his November 2011 live interview of former Pennsylvania State University assistant coach Jerry Sandusky concerning charges of sexual abuse of minors, in which Sandusky called in to deny the charges.
Costas hosted a monthly talk show "Costas Tonight" on NBC Sports Network.
HBO Sports.
In 2001, Costas was hired by HBO to host a 12-week series called "On the Record with Bob Costas".
In 2002, Costas began a stint as co-host of HBO's long-running series "Inside the NFL". Costas remained host of "Inside the NFL" through the end of the 2007 NFL season. He hosted the show with Cris Collinsworth and former NFL legends Dan Marino and Cris Carter. The program aired each week during the NFL season.
Costas left HBO to sign with MLB Network in February 2009.
On April 23, 2021, it was announced that Costas would be returning to HBO to host a quarter-yearly interview show called "Back on the Record".
MLB Network.
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At the channel's launch on January 1, 2009, Costas hosted the premiere episode of "All Time Games", a presentation of the recently discovered kinescope of Game5 of the 1956 World Series. During the episode, he held a forum with Don Larsen, who pitched MLB's only postseason perfect game during that game, and Yogi Berra, who caught the game.
Costas joined the network full-time on February 3, 2009. He hosted a regular interview show titled "MLB Network Studio 42 with Bob Costas" as well as special programming and provides play-by-play for select live baseball game telecasts. In 2017, Costas called Game1 of the American League Division Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Houston Astros on MLB Network. The Astros went on to win 8–2. Costas and his color commentator Jim Kaat received criticism for their "bantering about minutia" and misidentification of plays. Costas also went on to become an internet meme after using the term the "sacks were juiced" to describe the bases being loaded.
NFL Network.
As aforementioned, Costas hosted "Thursday Night Football" on NBC and NFL Network in 2016, having returned to broadcasting after a brief absence. He was replaced by Liam McHugh in 2017.
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CNN and TNT Sports.
In July 2020, it was announced that Costas would join CNN as a contributor. According to CNN, Costas would provide commentary "on a wide range of sports-related issues as the industry adapts to new challenges posed by the coronavirus and the frequent intersection of sports with larger societal issues." Costas, who would continue working on MLB Network, said of joining CNN: “CNN’s willingness to devote time and attention to sports related topics, makes it a good fit for me.”
On August 20, 2021, Andrew Marchand of the "New York Post" reported that TBS — a sister property via CNN parent WarnerMedia — was nearing an agreement with Costas which would have him hosting the network's National League Championship Series coverage. On October 7, 2021, Turner Sports announced that Costas would be joining TBS for their postseason baseball coverage starting on October 16.
As of the 2022 MLB season, Costas provided play-by-play for TBS's Tuesday night baseball package during the regular season. He was the studio host for TBS's ALCS postseason coverage and also provided play-by-play for TBS's ALDS postseason coverage between the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees. This marked the first time since the 2000 ALCS on NBC that Costas provided play-by-play for a postseason baseball series in its entirety.
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Costas provided the play-by-play commentary on TBS for the 2024 American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals, receiving criticism for his monotonic delivery and perceived lack of interest in the events on the field. Following the series, Costas announced his retirement from calling MLB games.
Other appearances.
Costas provided significant contributions to the Ken Burns, PBS miniseries "Baseball" as well as its follow-up "The 10th Inning". He also appears in another PBS film, "A Time for Champions", produced by St. Louis's Nine Network of Public Media.
Notable calls.
June 23, 1984: Costas called NBC's "Game of the Week" with Tony Kubek, where Ryne Sandberg hit two separate home runs in the 9th and 10th innings against Bruce Sutter to tie the game. This game is known as "The Sandberg Game".
Costas's call of the first home run:
Into left center field, and deep. This is a tie ball game!
Costas's call of the second home run:
Costas: 1–1 pitch. [Sandberg swings]
Kubek: OHHH BOY!
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Costas: [Over Kubek] And he hits it to deep left center! Look out! Do you believe it, it's gone! We will go to the 11th, tied at 11.
October 28, 1995: Costas called Game 6 of the 1995 World Series, where the Atlanta Braves finally won their first ever World Series championship since moving to Atlanta in 1966.
Left-center field, Grissom on the run. The team of the '90s has its World Championship!
October 26, 1997: Costas called Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, where Édgar Rentería hit a walk off single to give the Florida Marlins their first World Series championship. Costas's call:
The 0–1 pitch. A liner, off Nagy's glove, into center field! The Florida Marlins, have won the World Series!
June 14, 1998: Costas called Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson's final game with the Chicago Bulls where Jordan hit a 20-foot jumpshot to put the Bulls up 87–86 with 5.2 seconds remaining. The Bulls would win the game by that score, giving them their sixth championship and third consecutive. Costas's call:
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Jordan with 43. Malone is doubled. They swat at him and steal it! Here comes Chicago. 17 seconds. 17 seconds, from Game 7, or from championship #6. Jordan, open, CHICAGO WITH THE LEAD! Timeout Utah, 5.2 seconds left. Michael Jordan, running on fumes, with 45 points.
June 4, 2000: Costas called Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals for NBC's NBA coverage. Kobe Bryant threw an alley oop pass to Shaquille O'Neal to give the Lakers a six-point lead with 41.3 seconds remaining. Costas's call of the play:
Portland has three timeouts left, the Lakers have two. Bryant... TO SHAQ!
September 25, 2014: Costas called Derek Jeter's final game at Yankee Stadium for MLB Network, where he hit an RBI single to win the game. Costas's call:
A base hit to right! Here comes Richardson, they're waving him home! The throw, it's close but he scores! On a walk off hit by Derek Jeter!
Interests.
Love of baseball.
Costas is a devoted baseball fan. He's been suggested as a potential commissioner and wrote "Fair Ball: A Fan's Case for Baseball" in 2000. For his 40th birthday, then Oakland Athletics manager Tony La Russa allowed Costas to manage the club during a spring training game. The first time Costas visited baseball legend Stan Musial's St. Louis eatery, he left a $3.31 tip on a ten dollar tab in homage to Musial's lifetime batting average (.331). Costas delivered the eulogy at Mickey Mantle's funeral. In eulogizing Mantle, Costas described the baseball legend as ""a fragile hero to whom we had an emotional attachment so strong and lasting that it defied logic"." Costas has even carried a 1958 Mickey Mantle baseball card in his wallet. Costas also delivered the eulogy for Musial after his death in early 2013.
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Costas was outspoken about his disdain for Major League Baseball instituting a playoff wild card. Costas believed it diminishes the significance and drama of winning a divisional championship. He prefers a system in which winning the wild card puts a team at some sort of disadvantage, as opposed to an equal level with teams who outplayed them over a 162-game season. Or, as explained in his book "Fair Ball", have only the three division winners in each league go to the postseason, with the team with the best record receiving a bye to the League Championship Series. Once, on the air on HBO's "Inside the NFL", he mentioned that the NFL regular season counted for something, but baseball's was beginning to lose significance. With the advent of the second wild card, Costas has said he feels the format has improved, since there is now a greater premium placed on finishing first. He has suggested a further tweak: Make the wild card round a best two of three, instead of a single game, with all three games, if necessary, on the homefield of the wild card of the better record.
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He also has disdained the Designated Hitter rule, saying baseball would be a better game without it.
Costas serves as a member of the advisory board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League, and Negro league players through financial and medical difficulties.
Political views.
Costas considers himself left of center but has said that he has voted for Republican candidates at times as well. On May 26, 2007, Costas discussed the presidency of George W. Bush on his radio show, stating he liked Bush personally, and had been optimistic about his presidency, but said the course of the Iraq War, and other mis-steps have led him to conclude Bush's presidency had "tragically failed" and considered it "overwhelmingly evident, even if you're a conservative Republican, if you're honest about it, this is a failed administration." The following summer, Costas interviewed Bush during the president's appearance at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
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Controversies.
Fastest man in the world.
On August 1, 1996, the night of Michael Johnson's 200 m Olympic win, Costas stated on-air during Olympics coverage of the 1996 Olympics that Johnson's gold-medal performance in the 200 m (19.32 seconds) was faster than Donovan Bailey's 100 m performance (9.84 seconds) five days earlier in that 19.32 divided by two is 9.66. Bailey later dismissed Costas' comments as "a person who knew nothing about track talking about it with a lot of people listening"; nonetheless, the sportscaster's remarks touched a nerve.
The unofficial "world's fastest man" title typically goes to the Olympic 100 metre champion.
The 200 metre time almost always yields a "faster" average speed than a 100-metre race time, since the initial slow speed at the start is spread out over the longer distance. In other words, the second 100 metres is run with a "flying start", without the slow acceleration phase of the first 100 metres and without the greater than 0.10 s reaction time of the start. In fact, each 200 metre gold medalist from 1968, when fully electronic timing was introduced, to 1996 had a "faster" average speed at the Olympics, save one, yet there had been no controversy over the title of "world's fastest man" previously, until Bob Costas' remarks during the 1996 Olympics.
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Amid continuous verbal sparring between the pair of athletes, this led to an unsanctioned 150-metre race between Bailey and Johnson in Toronto.
Gun culture controversy.
During a segment on the "Sunday Night Football" halftime show on December 2, 2012, Costas paraphrased Fox Sports columnist Jason Whitlock in regard to Jovan Belcher's murder-suicide the day prior, saying the United States' gun culture was causing more domestic disputes to result in death, and that it was likely Belcher and his girlfriend would not have died had he not possessed a gun.
Critics interpreted his remarks as support for gun control. Many (including former Republican presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Herman Cain) felt Costas should not have used a program typically viewed as entertainment to publicize political views on sensitive topics. Lou Dobbs criticized his remarks for supporting the abolition of the Second Amendment by quoting a sports writer, while Andrew Levy remarked that he had been given a civics lecture by someone who had "gotten rich thanks in part to a sport that destroys men's bodies and brains". However, reporter Erik Wemple of "The Washington Post" praised Costas for speaking out for gun control on the broadcast, commenting that the incident's connection to the NFL provided him with an obligation to acknowledge the incident during the halftime show, stating that "the things that [NFL players] do affect the public beyond whether their teams cover the point spread. And few cases better exemplify that dynamic as powerfully as the Belcher incident."
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During the following week, Costas defended his remarks in an appearance on MSNBC's program "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell", where he said the remarks were related to the country's gun culture, and not about gun control as critics had inferred. Costas did suggest that more regulation be placed on America's gun culture:
Now, do I believe that we need more comprehensive and more sensible gun control legislation? Yes I do. That doesn't mean repeal the Second Amendment. That doesn't mean a prohibition on someone having a gun to protect their home and their family. It means sensible and more comprehensive gun control legislation. But even if you had that, you would still have the problem of what Jason Whitlock wrote about, and what I agree with. And that is a gun culture in this country.
2014 Winter Olympics.
During his coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics, Costas was criticized by some conservative members of the media, including Michelle Malkin and Glenn Beck, for allegedly praising Russian president Vladimir Putin's role in defusing tensions surrounding Syria and Iran. Other conservative media commentators, including Bill O'Reilly and Bernard Goldberg, defended Costas's remarks as factually correct and pointed out that Costas had also voiced considerable criticism of both Russia and Putin while broadcasting from Sochi. During an interview on Fox News, Goldberg said "...the idea that Costas somehow portrayed Vladimir Putin as a benign figure is ridiculous." Costas defended himself on O'Reilly's broadcast on March 3, reiterating that he criticized Putin immediately preceding and following the statements that were questioned. O'Reilly then aired a portion of an Olympic commentary in which Costas was pointedly critical of the Russian leader. Costas also indicated that Senator John McCain, who had been among those who had initially criticized Costas, had called Costas to apologize after hearing the full segment in context.
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Football's future.
While visiting the University of Maryland in November 2017 for a roundtable discussion on various sports topics, Costas said the sport of football was in a decline, with evidence mounting that the repetition of concussions "destroys people's brains" and he would not allow a son with athletic talent to play it. Costas had been scheduled to work Super Bowl LII, his eighth as a host (despite stepping down from "Football Night in America" in favor of his successor Mike Tirico, Costas was to return while Tirico prepped to lead NBC's coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics, set to begin a few days later). However, the network announced shortly before the game that Liam McHugh would instead join Dan Patrick as a co-host, leading to speculation that NBC removed Costas from the NFL's biggest game over his comments. Costas originally denied such, saying it made more sense for McHugh, who had been hosting Thursday night games on NBC, to serve in that capacity. However, he later admitted in an interview with ESPN's "Outside the Lines" that the comments were indeed the basis of his removal, ultimately resulting in his departure from the network after forty years.
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Personal life.
Costas was married from 1983 to 2001 to Carole "Randy" Randall Krummenacher. They had two children, son Keith (born 1986) and daughter Taylor (born 1989). Costas once jokingly promised Minnesota Twins center fielder Kirby Puckett that, if he was batting over .350 by the time his child was born, he would name the baby Kirby. Kirby was hitting better than .350, but Bob's son initially was not given a first (or second) name of Kirby. After Puckett reminded Costas of the agreement, the birth certificate was changed to "Keith Michael Kirby Costas".
On March 12, 2004, Costas married his second wife, Jill Sutton. Costas and his wife now reside primarily in Newport Beach, California. Although Costas was born and raised in the New York area, he has often said he thinks of St. Louis as his hometown.
Costas's children have also won Sports Emmys: Keith has won two as an associate producer on MLB Network's "MLB Tonight", and Taylor as an associate producer on NBC's coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics.
In popular culture.
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Films.
In 1994, Costas appeared as the play-by-play announcer for the World Series (working alongside Tim McCarver) in the movie "The Scout". In 1998, he appeared as himself along with his rival/counterpart Al Michaels from ABC in the movie "BASEketball". Costas voiced an animated car version of himself named Bob Cutlass in the movies "Cars" (2006) and "Cars 3" (2017). He also appeared as himself in the 2001 movie "Pootie Tang", where he remarks that he saw "the longest damn clip ever".
Costas's voice appeared in the 2011 documentary film "Legendary: When Baseball Came to the Bluegrass", which detailed the humble beginnings of the Lexington Legends, a minor league baseball team located in Lexington, Kentucky.
In 2021, Costas played himself in "Here Today" directed by Billy Crystal.
Popular culture.
Costas has been alluded to several times in popular music. The songs "Mafioso" by Mac Dre, "We Major" by Domo Genesis and "The Last Huzzah" by Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, all refer to Costas. He was also mentioned in a Ludacris song after Costas mentioned the rapper on the late night talk show "Last Call with Carson Daly".
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In June 2013, Costas provided the voice of God in the Monty Python musical "Spamalot" at The Muny Repertory in St. Louis.
Television guest roles.
Apart from his normal sportscasting duties, Costas has also presented periodic sports blooper reels, and announced dogsled and elevator races, on "Late Night with David Letterman".
In 1985, Costas appeared on "The War to Settle the Score", a pre-"WrestleMania" program that the World Wrestling Federation aired on MTV.
In 1993, Costas hosted the "pregame" show for the final episode of "Cheers". Costas once appeared on the television program "NewsRadio" as himself. He hosted an award show and later had some humorous encounters with the crew of WNYX. He also had a recurring guest role as himself on the HBO series "Arli$$".
Costas has been impersonated several times by Darrell Hammond on "Saturday Night Live". Costas was "supposed" to appear in the fourth-season premiere of "Celebrity Deathmatch" (ironically titled "Where is Bob Costas?") as a guest-commentator, but about halfway through the episode it was revealed that John Tesh had killed him before the show to take his place. This was likely in response for Tesh not being invited back to NBC for its gymnastics coverage at the 2000 Olympics.
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In 1999, Costas appeared as a guest on "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" during its sixth season.
On June 13, 2008, Costas appeared on MSNBC's commercial-free special coverage of "Remembering Tim Russert (1950–2008)".
On January 30, 2009, Costas guest-starred as himself on the television series "Monk" in an episode titled "Mr. Monk Makes the Playoffs"'. He mentions to Captain Stottlemeyer about how Adrian Monk once helped him out of a problem several years ago with regards to a demented cat salesman. He apparently sold Costas a cat that allegedly tried to kill him with a squeeze toy. (In fact when he signs off he says, "The cat was definitely trying to kill me.")
Costas guest-voiced as himself in 2010 "Simpsons" episode, "Boy Meets Curl", when Homer and Marge make the U.S. Olympic curling team. Costas also guest-voiced as himself on the "Family Guy" episode "Turban Cowboy" in an interview with Peter after he wins the Boston Marathon by hitting everyone with his car.
On February 11, 2010, Stephen Colbert jokingly expressed his desire to stab Costas with an ice pick at the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver so Colbert could take over as host. Costas later made a cameo appearance on the February 25, 2010, edition of Colbert's show.
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In January 2013, Costas appeared as himself in the "Go On" episode "Win at All Costas" with Matthew Perry, wherein Ryan King auditions with him for a TV show.
Real footage of Costas from NBC's pregame show before Game5 of the 1994 NBA Finals was used in the second episode of "".
Costas appeared on the September 22, 2017, episode of "Real Time with Bill Maher" to discuss issues such as concussions and the role of political activism in professional sports (namely by Colin Kaepernick).
Video games.
In 2002, Costas was the play-by-play announcer, alongside Harold Reynolds, for "Triple Play 2002" during the ballgame for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
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Bamberg
Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: "Bambärch") is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in 2022. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby "" castle. Cited as one of Germany's most beautiful towns, with medieval streets and buildings, the old town of Bamberg with around 2,400 timber houses has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.
From the 10th century onwards, Bamberg became a key link with the Western Slavic peoples, notably those of Poland and Pomerania. It experienced a period of great prosperity from the 12th century onwards, during which time it was briefly the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. Emperor Henry II was buried in the old town, alongside his wife Kunigunde. The town's architecture from this period strongly influenced that in Northern Germany and Hungary. From the middle of the 13th century onwards, the bishops were princes of the Empire and ruled Bamberg, overseeing the construction of monumental buildings. This growth was complemented by the obtaining of large portions of the estates of the Counts of Meran in 1248 and 1260 by the sea, partly through purchase and partly through the appropriation of extinguished fiefs.
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Bamberg lost its independence in 1802, following the secularization of church lands, becoming part of Bavaria in 1803. The town was first connected to the German rail system in 1844, which has been an important part of its infrastructure ever since. After a communist uprising took control over Bavaria in the years following World War I, the state government fled to Bamberg and stayed there for almost two years before the Bavarian capital of Munich was retaken by "Freikorps" units (see Bavarian Soviet Republic). The first republican constitution of Bavaria was passed in Bamberg, becoming known as the "Bamberger Verfassung" (Bamberg Constitution).
Following the Second World War, Bamberg was an important base for the Bavarian, German, and then American military stationed at Warner Barracks, until closing in 2014.
History.
During the post-Roman centuries of Germanic migration and settlement, the region later included in the Diocese of Bamberg was inhabited for the most part by Slavs. The town, first mentioned in 902, grew up by the castle "" which gave its name to the Babenberg family. On their extinction, it passed to the Saxon house. The area was Christianized chiefly by the monks of the Benedictine Fulda Abbey, and the land was under the spiritual authority of the Diocese of Würzburg. In 1007, Holy Roman Emperor Henry II made Bamberg a family inheritance, the seat of a separate diocese. The Emperor's purpose in this was to make the Diocese of Würzburg less unwieldy in size and to give Christianity a firmer footing in the districts of Franconia, east of Bamberg.
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In 1008, after long negotiations with the Bishops of Würzburg and Eichstätt, who were to cede portions of their dioceses, the boundaries of the new diocese were defined, and Pope John XVIII granted the papal confirmation in the same year. Henry II ordered the building of a new cathedral, which was consecrated on 6 May 1012. The church was enriched with gifts from the pope, and Henry had it dedicated in honor of him. In 1017, Henry founded Michaelsberg Abbey on the Michaelsberg ("Mount St Michael"), near Bamberg, a Benedictine abbey for the training of the clergy. The emperor and his wife, Kunigunde, gave large temporal possessions to the new diocese, and it received many privileges out of which grew the secular power of the bishop. Pope Benedict VIII visited Bamberg in 1020 to meet Henry II for discussions concerning the Holy Roman Empire. While he was there he placed the diocese in direct dependence on the Holy See. He also personally consecrated some of Bamberg's churches. For a short time Bamberg was the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. Henry and Kunigunde were both buried in the cathedral.
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From the middle of the 13th century onwards, the bishops were princes of the Empire and ruled Bamberg, overseeing the construction of monumental buildings. In 1248 and 1260, the see obtained large portions of the estates of the Counts of Meran, partly through purchase and partly through the appropriation of extinguished fiefs.
The old Bishopric of Bamberg was composed of an unbroken territory extending from Schlüsselfeld in a northeasterly direction to the Franconian Forest, and possessed in addition estates in the Duchies of Carinthia and Salzburg, in the Nordgau (the present Upper Palatinate), in Thuringia, and on the Danube. By the changes resulting from the Reformation, the territory of this see was reduced by nearly one half in extent. Since 1279 the coat of arms of the city of Bamberg is known in the form of a seal.
The witch trials of the 17th century claimed about one thousand victims in Bamberg, reaching a climax between 1626 and 1631, under the rule of Prince-Bishop Johann Georg II Fuchs von Dornheim. The famous "Drudenhaus" (witch prison), built in 1627, is no longer standing today; however, detailed accounts of some cases, such as that of Johannes Junius, remain.
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In 1647, the University of Bamberg was founded as ".
Bambrzy (") are German Poles who are descended from settlers from the Bamberg area who settled in villages around Poznań in the years 1719–1753. In 1759, the possessions and jurisdictions of the diocese situated in Austria were sold to that state. When the secularization of church lands took place (1802) the diocese covered and had a population of 207,000. Bamberg thus lost its independence in 1802, becoming part of Bavaria in 1803. The free state of Bavaria and the Federal Republic of Germany gave protections to Bamberg, though the city does handle its own management of properties.
Bamberg was first connected to the German rail system in 1844, which has been an important part of its infrastructure ever since. After a communist uprising took control over Bavaria in the years following World War I, the state government fled to Bamberg and stayed there for almost two years before the Bavarian capital of Munich was retaken by "Freikorps" units (see Bavarian Soviet Republic). The first republican constitution of Bavaria was passed in Bamberg, becoming known as the "Bamberger Verfassung" (Bamberg Constitution).
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In February 1926 Bamberg served as the venue for the Bamberg Conference, convened by Adolf Hitler in his attempt to foster unity and to stifle dissent within the then-young Nazi party. Bamberg was chosen for its location in Upper Franconia, reasonably close to the residences of the members of the dissident northern Nazi faction but still within Bavaria.
During the Bombing of Bamberg, the city was hit a total of nine times by Allied warplanes between 1944 and 1945. While Bamberg was not attacked as badly as nearby Nuremberg, 4.4% of the city ended up being destroyed and 378 civilians died. The biggest and deadliest bombing run happened on February 22 1945. In the afternoon, American planes attacked the Bamberg railway station and surroundings with bombs. Because of poor visibility, the bombs were also dropped over residential houses, killing a total of 216 civilians and causing many houses between Oberer Stephansberg and Oberer Kaulberg to be damaged or destroyed as a result. The inner city was also hit, particularly in the Obstmarkt, Lange Straße, Grüner Markt and Keßlerstraße. Three significant landmarks in the city were hit: the Erlöserkirche or "Church of the Redeemer" at the Kunigundendamm which was almost completely destroyed (only the tower remained), the historic Altane on the Grüner Markt and the Alte Maut or Old Toll. A follow-up attack was planned for February 23, but ultimately cancelled due to bad weather. After that, low-flying Allied aircraft continued to attack Bamberg, threatening large gatherings of people and sometimes also dropping leaflets mocking National Socialism and its propaganda. Another 67 people died as a result of these attacks. The city fell with little resistance to American troops on the 14th of April, despite the use of explosives on all of the bridges to the city by the retreating German forces. After the war had ended, reconstruction efforts began.
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Geography.
Bamberg is located in Franconia, north of Nuremberg by railway and east of Würzburg, also by rail. It is situated on the Regnitz river, before it flows into the Main river.
Its geography is shaped by the Regnitz and by the foothills of the Steigerwald, part of the German uplands. From northeast to southwest, the town is divided into first the Regnitz plain, then one large and several small islands formed by two arms of the Regnitz ('), and finally the part of town on the hills, the "Hill Town" (').
The seven hills of Bamberg.
Bamberg extends over seven hills, each crowned by a church. This has led to Bamberg being called the "Franconian Rome"—although a running joke among Bamberg's tour guides is to refer to Rome instead as the "Italian Bamberg". The hills are Cathedral Hill, Michaelsberg, Kaulberg/Obere Pfarre, Stefansberg, Jakobsberg, Altenburger Hill and Abtsberg.
Climate.
Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen climate classification subtype for this climate is "" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate), with a certain continental influence as indicated by average winter nighttime temperatures well below zero.
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Economy.
Bamberg is considered an important economic center and is one of the 15 strongest economic regions in Bavaria compared to the other 95 districts and independent cities. Central locations for industry, manufacturing and trade can be found in the north and east of the city. In the north, around the Bamberg harbor, there is a large industrial area that partly extends into the Hallstadt urban area. Bosch operates its largest plant in Germany in the east and is also the city's most important employer.
Relevant economic sectors in Bamberg are the automotive supply industry, electrical engineering and the food industry. The traditional industry of market gardening with large inner-city cultivation areas, which has characterized the city since its beginnings, is still present. Due to its UNESCO World Heritage status and the more than 800,000 overnight guests a year in the city alone, tourism, hotels and gastronomy also play a central role in the city's economy.
Key economic figures.
In the 2010s, Bamberg's gross domestic product increased by a total of 17.7%. The city of Bamberg generated €5.1 billion in 2021 (€66,543 per capita).
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In the 2016 Future Atlas, Bamberg was ranked 32nd out of 402 districts, municipal associations and independent cities in Germany, making it one of the places with "very high future prospects".
The number of business registrations in the city of Bamberg remains at a high level. In the independent city of Bamberg, the number of business registrations in 2023 was 682, compared to 655 registrations the year before. In 2021, 702 new companies were registered with the city of Bamberg. The number of businesses in the city of Bamberg for 2023 is 2,624 companies. 87 of these businesses employ more than 100 people. Of these, almost half (969) are craft businesses.
Labour market and employment figures.
As the population in the city has grown, the number of employees has also risen continuously in recent years: Between 2005 and 2022, the number of employees increased by almost 20%.
There are around 56,500 people in employment in the city in 2022. The unemployment rate in December 2022 was 4.3%, above the Bavarian average of 3.1%. In the neighboring district of Bamberg, the unemployment rate was 2.3%.
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Industry and manufacturing.
Important sectors of the manufacturing industry in Bamberg are drive technologies and electrical engineering. Bosch has been operating a production facility in Bamberg with over 6000 employees since 1939. The company produces energy, mobility and drive systems, in particular spark plugs for the automotive industry. Due to its dependence on the combustion engine, the company announced in 2019 that it would be switching to fuel cells,[145] although around 1000 jobs are to be transferred to other locations from 2026. Coburg-based automotive supplier Brose has had an administration building with 600 employees on Berliner Ring since 2016. Together with the plant in Hallstadt, the region is the company's second-largest location with more than 2,000 employees.
Another important company is Wieland Electric in the field of electrical engineering. The company was founded in Bamberg in 1910 and is considered a pioneer in electrical connection technology and is still the world market leader for pluggable installation technology in the building sector.
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Rudolf Zimmermann Bamberg (RZB), with over 800 employees worldwide, produces lights and lighting systems near the port of Bamberg. Over 70 companies are located on the 100 hectares of the port. In 2023, over 416,000 tons of goods were loaded at the port, especially foodstuffs and bulk goods. In addition, over 700 river cruise ships docked here. The Bamberg asphalt mixing plant and a Schwenk concrete plant are also located in the immediate vicinity.
Bamberg is also home to numerous small and medium-sized companies in other sectors. One special feature here is the centuries-old tradition of instrument making. Organ building, which is currently being continued by master craftsman Thomas Eichfelder, is particularly noteworthy, as is the construction of violins, clarinets and other woodwind instruments.
Tourism and retail.
Bamberg's city centre is characterized by a diverse retail sector, partly due to tourism. This generated a turnover of 682 million euros in 2023. In the 2018 shopping mile ranking by real estate company Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), Bamberg was ranked first in Germany for cities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants. With an average of 5,155 visitors per hour, the Grüner Markt was the 52nd most popular shopping street in Germany. In 2023, the Grüner Markt had almost 8.5 million passers-by, an increase of 130,000 visitors compared to the previous year.
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Bamberg recorded 807,294 overnight stays in 2023, an increase of 11% compared to 2022. 85% of overnight guests came from Germany, 15% from abroad. The proportion of travelers from abroad rose particularly sharply in 2023 at 22%. The most important tourist countries of origin are the US, the Netherlands, Poland and Austria. Tourism generates around 330 million euros in gross revenue in Bamberg every year - in the hospitality, retail and service sectors. This results in an income of 153 million euros.
Attractions.
The Town of Bamberg was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993 due to its medieval layout and its well preserved historic buildings. Since the Middle Ages, urban gardening has been practiced in Bamberg. The Market Gardeners’ District together with the City on the Hills and the Island District is an integral part of the World Heritage site. In 2005, the Municipality established a unit to coordinate the implementation of the World Heritage Convention in Bamberg. In 2019, a visitor and interpretation centre opened for the World Heritage site.
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Some of the main sights are:
Bamberg Cathedral is a late Romanesque building with four towers. It was founded in 1004 by Emperor Henry II, finished in 1012 and consecrated on 6 May 1012. It was later partially destroyed by fire in 1081. The new cathedral, built by Saint Otto of Bamberg, was consecrated in 1111 and in the 13th century received its present late-Romanesque form.
The cathedral is long, wide, high, and the four towers are each about high. It contains many historic works of art, such as the marble tomb of the founder and his wife, considered one of the greatest works of the sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider, and carved between 1499 and 1513. Another treasure of the cathedral is an equestrian statue known as the Bamberg Horseman (""). This statue, possibly depicting the emperor Conrad III, most likely dates to the second quarter of the 13th century. The statue also serves as a symbol of the town of Bamberg.
The ' (New Residence) (1698–1704) was initially occupied by the prince-bishops, and from 1864 to 1867 by the deposed King Otto of Greece. Its ' (Rose Garden) overlooks the town. It has over 4500 roses.
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The is located on the highest of Bamberg's seven hills. It was mentioned for the first time in 1109. Between 1251 and 1553 it was the residence of Bamberg's bishops. Destroyed in 1553 by Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, it was used after scant repairs only as a prison, and increasingly fell into decay.
In 1801, A. F. Marcus bought the castle and completely repaired it. His friend, the famous German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann, who was very impressed by the building, lived there for a while. The next owner, Anton von Greifenstein, in 1818 founded an association to preserve the castle. This society still maintains the entire property today. The Altenburg today houses a restaurant.
Other churches are the ', an 11th-century Romanesque basilica; the '; the ' or ' (1320–1387), which has now been restored to its original pure Gothic style. The ', 12th century Romanesque (restored), on the Michaelsberg, was formerly the church of the Benedictine Michaelsberg Abbey secularized in 1803 and now contains the ', or almshouse, and the museum and municipal art collections.
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Of the bridges connecting the sections of the lower town the ' was completed in 1455. Halfway across this, on an island, is the ' or town hall (rebuilt 1744–1756). The lyceum, formerly a Jesuit college, contains a natural history museum. The old palace ("") was built in 1591 on the site of an old residence of the counts of Babenberg. Monuments include the Maximilian fountain (1880), with statues of King Maximilian I of Bavaria, the emperor Henry II and his wife, Conrad III and Saint Otto, bishop of Bamberg.
There are also tunnels beneath the town. These were originally constructed as mines which supplied sandstone which could be used for construction or as an abrasive cleaner. Mining came to an end in 1920 but a tunnel network remained. The tunnels were used as an air raid shelter during World War II. A part of the network can be visited on a guided tour.
Beer.
Bamberg is known for its smoked Rauchbier and is home to 11 breweries, including , , Brauerei Heller-Trum (Schlenkerla), Brauerei Kaiserdom, , Klosterbräu, , , Gasthausbrauerei Ambräusianum, Kron Prinz, and Weyermann Röstmalzbierbrauerei. Weyermann Specialty Malting, founded in Bamberg in 1879, supplies breweries around the world. Every August there is a five-day "", a kirmess celebrated with beers. The Franconia region surrounding Bamberg is home to more than 200 breweries. In October and early November many of the 70 breweries in and around Bamberg celebrate Bockbieranstiche with special releases of Bock beer.
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Education.
The University of Bamberg, named Otto-Friedrich University, offers higher education in the areas of social science, business studies and the humanities, and is attended by more than 12,000 students. The University of Applied Sciences Bamberg offers higher education in the areas of public health. Bamberg is also home to eight secondary schools (gymnasiums):
There are also numerous other institutes for primary, secondary, technical, vocational and adult education.
Infrastructure.
Transport.
Railway.
The InterCityExpress main line No. 28 (Munich – Nuremberg – Leipzig – Berlin / – Hamburg) and the main line No. 18 (Munich – Nuremberg – Halle – Berlin / – Hamburg) run on the Nuremberg–Bamberg and the Bamberg–Hof lines through the Bamberg station. It takes less than two hours to Munich on the train and with the Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed railway through the Thuringian mountains finished in 2017 less than three hours to Berlin. Two intercity trains of line no. 17 (Vienna – Warnemünde) and line no. 61 (Leipzig – Nuremberg – Karlsruhe) also run through Bamberg.
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East-west connections are poorer. Bamberg is connected to other towns in eastern Upper Franconia such as Bayreuth, Coburg, and Kronach via the Bamberg–Hof line with trains usually running at least every hour. Connections on the Würzburg–Bamberg line to the west are hourly regional trains to Würzburg, which is fully connected to the ICE network. Tourists arriving at Frankfurt International Airport can take advantage of the new direct connection from Frankfurt's main station.
Motorways.
Bamberg is not near any of the major (i.e. single-digit) autobahns. But it is nevertheless well connected to the network in all directions: the A70 from Schweinfurt (connecting to the A7 there) to Bayreuth (connecting to the A9) runs along the northern edge of the town. The A73 on the eastern side of town connects Bamberg to Nuremberg (connecting to the A9) and Thuringia, ending at Suhl.
Air transport.
Bamberg is served by . Mostly public aircraft operate there. It used to be a military airport. (IATA-Code: ZCD, ICAO-Code: EDQA) It is also possible to charter public flights to and from this airport.
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Most international tourists who travel by plane arrive at Frankfurt International Airport or Munich Airport. The nearest major airport is Nuremberg Airport which can be reached within 45mins by car or one hour by train and subway.
Water transport.
Both the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and its predecessor, the Ludwig Canal, begin near Bamberg. The Ludwig Canal was opened in 1846 but closed in 1950 after damage during the second world war. With the completion of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal in 1992, uninterrupted water transport was again made possible between the North Sea and the Black Sea.
Local public transport.
Local public transport within Bamberg relies exclusively on buses. More than 20 routes connect the outlying quarters and some villages in the vicinity to the central bus station. In addition, there are several "Night Lines" (the last of these, though, tend to run around midnight) and some park-and-ride lines from parking lots on the periphery to the town centre.
A short-lived tram system existed in the 1920s.
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Military bases.
Bamberg was an important base for the Bavarian, German, and then American military stationed at Warner Barracks. Warner Barracks was closed in the fall of 2014, with the last battalion leaving being the 54th Engineer Battalion, and the grounds returned to the German government. In 2016, a large part of the facility was taken over by the German Federal Police for training purposes. Muna Kasserne was a small base occupied by the 504th Maintenance Company, 71st Maintenance Bn. It was part of Warner Barracks although located separately.
Governance.
Bamberg is an urban district, or "kreisfreie Stadt". Its town council ("Stadtrat") and its mayor ("Oberbürgermeister") are elected every six years, though not in the same year. Thus, the last municipal election for the town council was in 2014, for the mayor in 2012. As an exception to the six-year term, the term starting in 2012 will take eight years to synchronize the elections with those in the rest of Bavaria.
As of the elections of 16 March 2014, the 44 member strong town council comprises 12 CSU councillors, 10 SPD councillors, 8 Green councillors, 4 councillors of the "Bamberger Bürger-Block" and 4 of the "Freie Wähler" (Free Voters), both local political movements. These five parties achieved the number of councillors necessary to form a parliamentary group. In addition, there are 3 councillors of the "Bamberger Unabhängige Bürger" and the 1 councillor each of the "Bamberger Realisten", the FDP and the "Bamberger Linke Liste".
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The previous council, elected on 2 March 2008, was composed of 15 CSU councillors, 10 SPD councillors, 7 Green councillors, 5 councillors of the Bamberger Bürger-Block and 3 of the Freie Wähler (Free Voters), both local political movements. These five parties achieved the number of councillors necessary to form a parliamentary group. In addition, there were 2 councillors of the "Bamberger Realisten" and one of the FDP and the Republikaner, making them ineligible for caucus status.
Twin towns – sister cities.
Bamberg is twinned with: |
Black cow
Black cow or Black Cow can refer to: |
Bloody Mary
Bloody Mary most commonly refers to:
Bloody Mary may also refer to: |
Bill Mumy
Charles William Mumy Jr. (; born February 1, 1954) is an American actor, writer, producer, and musician. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a child actor whose work included television appearances on "Bewitched", "I Dream of Jeannie", "The Twilight Zone", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", and a role in the film "Dear Brigitte", followed by a three-season role as Will Robinson in the 1960s sci-fi series "Lost in Space". Mumy later appeared as lonely teenager Sterling North in the film "Rascal" (1969) and Teft in the film "Bless the Beasts and Children" (1971).
In the 1990s, Mumy performed the role of Lennier in all five seasons of the sci-fi TV series "Babylon 5" and narrated the Emmy Award–winning series "Biography".
Mumy is also known for his musical career as a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. He is an Emmy nominee for original music in "Adventures in Wonderland" (1992). As a musician Mumy performs as a solo artist, an occasional guest performer, and formerly as half of the duo Barnes & Barnes before classmate/bandmate Robert Haimer died in 2023. From 1988 through the 90s he performed at San Diego Comic-Con and other comics-related events as part of the band Seduction of the Innocent (named after the titular book by Fredric Wertham). The band released one CD, "The Golden Age".
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Early life and career.
Mumy was born in San Gabriel, California, to Charles William Mumy, a cattle rancher, and Muriel Gertrude Mumy (). He began his professional career at age seven and has worked on more than four hundred television episodes, eighteen films, various commercials, and scores of voice-over projects. He has also worked as a musician, songwriter, recording artist, and writer.
Television and film career.
Among Mumy's earliest television roles was six-year-old Willy in the "Donald's Friend" (1960) episode of the NBC-TV family drama series "National Velvet", starring Lori Martin. He starred in three episodes of CBS-TV's original "Twilight Zone": "It's a Good Life" (S3 E8 November 1961), as six-year-old Anthony, who terrorizes his town with psychic powers (a role he later reprised along with his daughter Liliana in the "It's Still a Good Life" episode of the second revival series); "In Praise of Pip" (September 1963), as a vision of Jack Klugman's long-neglected dying son; and "Long Distance Call" (March 1961) as Billy Bayles, who talks to his dead grandmother through a toy telephone.
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In 1961, Mumy was cast on CBS-TV's "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" series in "The Door Without a Key", featuring John Larch, who played his father in "It's a Good Life". The same year, Mumy starred as little Jackie in the episode "Bang! You're Dead", featuring Marta Kristen, who later played his sister Judy on "Lost in Space". Mumy was cast as Mark Murdock in the "Keep an Eye on Santa Claus" (1962) episode of the ABC-TV drama series "Going My Way", starring Gene Kelly. His fellow guest stars were Cloris Leachman (who played his mother in "It's a Good Life"), Steve Brodie, and Frank McHugh.
At age eight, Mumy appeared in Jack Palance's ABC-TV circus drama "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1963); he was cast as Miles, a parentless boy, in the "Perry Mason" episode "The Case of the Shifty Shoebox" (1963), and he portrayed Freddy in the "End of an Image" (1963) episode of NBC-TV's modern Western series "Empire", starring Richard Egan.
In 1964, he was cast as Richard Kimble's nephew in ABC-TV's "The Fugitive" episode, "Home Is the Hunted"; as Barry in the NBC-TV medical drama "The Eleventh Hour" episode "Sunday Father"; as himself three times in the ABC sitcom "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet"; in the Disney film "For the Love of Willadena"; and as a troubled orphan taken in by the Stephenses in the "Bewitched" fantasy sitcom episode "A Vision of Sugarplums" (December 1964), on ABC-TV.
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Mumy was reportedly the first choice to portray Eddie Munster in the 1964 CBS situation comedy "The Munsters", but his parents objected to the extensive makeup requirements. The role instead went to Butch Patrick. Mumy appeared in one episode as a friend of Eddie.
Mumy guest starred in an episode of NBC-TV's "I Dream of Jeannie", "Whatever Became of Baby Custer?" (1965). That same year, he also appeared in an episode of "Bewitched" titled "Junior Executive" (1965), in which he played a young Darrin Stephens.
Mumy starred in "Dear Brigitte" (1965), a film adaptation of the novel "Erasmus with Freckles", as Erasmus Leaf, a child mathematical genius who develops a crush on Brigitte Bardot (played by herself in the film). His parents, played by James Stewart and Glynis Johns, attempt to manage his obsession.
"Lost in Space" and beyond.
From 1965 to 1968, Mumy portrayed Will Robinson in "Lost in Space", the recipient of numerous warnings (including "Danger, Will Robinson") from the show's robot character, voiced by Dick Tufeld.
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Mumy was later cast in "Bless the Beasts and Children" (1971) as Teft, a leader in a group of misfit teenage boys resolved to save a herd of bison from hunters. He also played a musician friend of Cliff DeYoung's character in the television film "Sunshine" (1973), later reprising the role in "Sunshine Christmas" and in the TV series "Sunshine". In 1974, Mumy played Nick Butler in the pilot episode of NBC's "The Rockford Files" and made an appearance in a later episode in season 1 as a sidewalk artist. In 1988, he played Ben Matlock's genius nephew, Dr. Irwin Bruckner, on "Matlock".
In 1996, Mumy was a writer and co-creator of "Space Cases", a Nickelodeon television show with themes similar to those of "Lost in Space". Between 1994 and 1998, he played the ambassadorial aide Lennier in the syndicated science fiction series "Babylon 5". In November 1998, he played Kellin, a Starfleet officer, in the "" episode "The Siege of AR-558", in which he assists in defeating a Jem'Hadar detachment. To Mumy's delight, his character was human this time due to makeup time and his distaste as being known as an "alien actor"; while playing Lennier in "Babylon 5", he was required to wear prosthetic makeup. Mumy later appeared in a 2006 episode of "Crossing Jordan" and in the Syfy original film "A.I. Assault".
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In 2018, Mumy appeared in the pilot episode of the Netflix remake series "Lost in Space". His character's name is Dr. Z. Smith, in homage to the character played by Jonathan Harris in the 1965 television series.
Voice acting career.
Mumy has narrated over 50 episodes of the Arts & Entertainment Network's "Biography" series, as well as hosted and narrated several other documentaries and specials for A&E, Animal Planet, The Sci-Fi Channel, and E!. He has also worked on animated shows such as "Ren and Stimpy", "Scooby-Doo", "", Steven Spielberg's "Animaniacs", "Bravest Warriors", "The Oz Kids" and Disney's "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" and "Doc McStuffins".
Mumy's work also includes voice overs in national commercials for Bud Ice, Farmers Insurance, Ford, Blockbuster, Twix, Oscar Mayer and McDonald's.
Music.
Mumy is an accomplished musician who plays the banjo, bass, guitar, harmonica, keyboards, mandolin, and percussion. His various musical credits include songs he has written and recorded with America, performed on tour with Shaun Cassidy, and played with Rick Springfield's band in the film "Hard to Hold". He created the band The Be Five with other "Babylon 5" actors.
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He and Marta Kristen performed "Sloop John B" in the "Lost in Space" S3E14 episode "Castles In Space".
Mumy has released a number of solo CDs, including "Dying to Be Heard", "In the Current", "Pandora's Box", "After Dreams Come True", "Los Angeles Times" and "Ghosts", as well as nine albums with music partner Robert Haimer as Barnes and Barnes. Their most famous hit is the song "Fish Heads", which "Rolling Stone" named one of the top 100 videos of all time. He also performs with the Jenerators, a blues-rock band based in Los Angeles featuring Tom Hebenstreit on vocals, electric guitars, and keyboards; Mumy on vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, harmonica, keyboards and percussion; Gary Stockdale on vocals and bass; Miguel Ferrer on vocals, percussion and drums; David Jolliffe on guitar, percussion and vocals; and Chris Ross on drums and percussion. Additionally, Mumy released a Byrds tribute song, "When Roger Was Jim" (2012). In 2017, along with John Cowsill (The Cowsills) and Vicki Peterson (The Bangles) he founded the Action Skulls. Their first CD, "Angels Hear", which also included posthumous contributions from the bassist Rick Rosas, was released on September 27, 2017.
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Mumy produces and hosts "The Real Good Radio Hour", a weekly series on KSAV Internet Radio focusing on various styles of music and the artists who pioneered them.
"Lost in Space" activities in later years.
In 1996, Mumy and his "Lost in Space" costar Jonathan Harris were reunited at a Walt Disney convention in Orlando, Florida. Mumy worked again with Harris on the retrospective special "Lost In Space: Forever" (1998), where they reprised their roles in a scene which was written by Mumy (Harris rewrote his own lines). This occurred the year after the rest of the cast (including both Mumy and Harris) stated in a "TV Guide" article that the Sci Fi Channel planned to broadcast a "Lost in Space" marathon while they were promoting a new film. Harris was supposed to appear in the planned television film "Lost in Space: The Journey Home", but he died before production of the film was scheduled to start, in 2002, and it was subsequently cancelled. Mumy read the eulogy at Harris' funeral and he was asked to narrate an account of his longtime friend's life on A&E "Biography" that year.
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In a 2010 interview on "Blog Talk Radio"'s "Lessons Learned", Rick Tocquigny was asked if Mumy was a Jonathan Harris fan before they appeared together on "Lost in Space". Tocquigny stated that when Mumy was five years old, he was too young to watch his mentor's show "The Third Man", which would have been aired late at night, but he was old enough to see "The Bill Dana Show".
On June 14, 2006, Mumy got to work with Harris one last time, but posthumously. Years before Harris died, he recorded voice work for the animated short "The Bolt Who Screwed Christmas," narrating the film and playing the part of The Bolt. As a tribute to Harris, writer-director John Wardlaw added a scene that reunited "Lost in Space" cast members Mumy, Marta Kristen, and Angela Cartwright as the animated Ratchett family.
Mumy appears in two episodes of the 2018 series "Lost in Space" on Netflix. He plays the role of Dr. Smith, whose identity is stolen by June Harris, the villain.
Mumy attends "Lost in Space" reunions and shows, and with Angela Cartwright, he co-authored a 2015 book, "Lost (and Found) in Space". He and Cartwright co-authored the 2021 book, "Lost (and Found) in Space 2: Blast Off into the Expanded Edition".
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Other work.
Mumy and co-author Peter David published a short story, "The Black '59" (1992), in the anthology "Shock Rock", edited by F. Paul Wilson.
He has also written a number of comics. With his friend, the late Miguel Ferrer, Mumy created Comet Man and Trypto the Acid Dog. They also co-wrote the Marvel Graphic Novel "The Dreamwalker".
Personal life.
Mumy married Eileen Joy Davis on October 9, 1986. They live in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles with their two children, Seth (b. 1989) and Liliana (b. 1994). |
House of Bonaparte
The House of Bonaparte (originally "Buonaparte") is a former imperial and royal European dynasty of French and Italian origin. It was founded in 1804 by Napoleon I, the son of Corsican nobleman Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Buonaparte (née Ramolino). Napoleon was a French military leader who rose to power during the French Revolution and who, in 1804, transformed the French First Republic into the First French Empire, five years after his "coup d'état" of November 1799 (18 Brumaire). Napoleon and the "Grande Armée" had to fight against every major European power (except for the ones he was allied with, including Denmark-Norway) and dominated continental Europe through a series of military victories during the Napoleonic Wars. He installed members of his family on the thrones of client states, expanding the power of the dynasty.
The House of Bonaparte formed the Imperial House of France during the French Empire, together with some non-Bonaparte family members. In addition to holding the title of Emperor of the French, the Bonaparte dynasty held various other titles and territories during the Napoleonic Wars, including the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of the Spain and the Indies, the Kingdom of Westphalia, the Kingdom of Holland, and the Kingdom of Naples. The dynasty held power for around a decade until the Napoleonic Wars began to take their toll. Making very powerful enemies, such as Austria, Britain, Russia, and Prussia, as well as royalist (particularly Bourbon) restorational movements in France, Spain, the Two Sicilies, and Sardinia, the dynasty eventually collapsed due to the final defeat of Napoleon I at the Battle of Waterloo and the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty by the Congress of Vienna.
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During the reign of Napoleon I, the Imperial Family consisted of the Emperor's immediate relations – his wife, son, siblings, and some other close relatives, namely his brother-in-law Joachim Murat, his uncle Joseph Fesch, and his stepson Eugène de Beauharnais.
Between 1852 and 1870, there was a Second French Empire, when a member of the Bonaparte dynasty again ruled France: Napoleon III, the youngest son of Louis Bonaparte. However, during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, the dynasty was again ousted from the Imperial Throne. Since that time, there has been a series of pretenders. Supporters of the Bonaparte family's claim to the throne of France are known as Bonapartists. Current head Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon has a Bourbon mother.
Italian origins.
The Bonaparte (originally ) family were patricians in the Italian towns of Sarzana, San Miniato, and Florence. The name derives from Italian: "buona" ("good") and "parte" ("part" or "side"). In Italian, the phrase "buona parte" is used to identify a fraction of considerable, but undefined, size in a .
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Gianfaldo Buonaparte was the first known Buonaparte at Sarzana around 1200. His descendant Giovanni Buonaparte in 1397 married Isabella Calandrini, a cousin of later cardinal Filippo Calandrini. Giovanni became mayor of Sarzana and was named commissioner of the Lunigiana by Giovanni Maria Visconti in 1408. His daughter, Agnella Berni, was the great-grandmother of Italian poet Francesco Berni and their great-grandson Francesco Buonaparte was an equestrian mercenary at the service of the Genoese Bank of Saint George. In 1490, Francesco Buonaparte went to the island of Corsica, which was controlled by the bank. In 1493, he married the daughter of Guido da Castelletto, representative of the Bank of Saint George in Ajaccio, Corsica. Most of their descendants during subsequent generations were members of the Ajaccio town council. Napoleon's father, Carlo Buonaparte, received a patent of nobility from the King of France in 1771.
There also existed a Buonaparte family in Florence; however, its eventual relation with the Sarzana and San Miniato families is unknown. Jacopo Buonaparte of San Miniato was a friend and advisor to Medici Pope Clement VII. Jacopo was also a witness to and wrote an account of the sack of Rome, which is one of the most important historical documents recounting that event. Two of Jacopo's nephews, Pier Antonio Buonaparte and Giovanni Buonaparte, however, took part in the 1527 Medici rebellion, after which they were banished from Florence and later were restored by Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence. Jacopo's brother Benedetto Buonaparte maintained political neutrality. The San Miniato branch extinguished with Jacopo in 1550. The last member of the Florence family was a canon named Gregorio Bonaparte, who died in 1803, leaving Napoleon as heir.
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A Buonaparte tomb lies in the Church of San Francesco in San Miniato. A second tomb, the "Chapelle Impériale", was built by Napoleon III in Ajaccio 1857.
Imperial House of France.
In 1793 Corsica formally seceded from France and sought protection from the British government, prompting Pasquale Paoli to compel the Bonapartes to relocate to the mainland. Napoleon I is the most prominent name associated with the Bonaparte family because he conquered much of Europe during the early 19th century. Due to his indisputable popularity in France both among the people and in the army, he staged the Coup of 18 Brumaire and overthrew the Directory with the help of his brother Lucien Bonaparte, president of the Council of Five Hundred. Napoleon then oversaw the creation of a new Constitution that made him the First Consul of France on 10 November 1799. On 2 December 1804, he crowned himself Emperor of the French and ruled from 1804 to 1814, and again in 1815 during the Hundred Days after his return from Elba.
Following his conquest of most of Western Europe, Napoleon I made his elder brother Joseph first King of Naples and then of Spain, his younger brother Louis King of Holland (subsequently forcing his abdication in 1810 after his failure to subordinate Dutch interests to those of France), and his youngest brother Jérôme as King of Westphalia, a short-lived realm created from several states of northwestern Germany.
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Napoleon's son Napoléon François Charles Joseph was made King of Rome and was later styled as Napoleon II by loyalists of the dynasty, though he only ruled for two weeks after his father's abdication.
Louis-Napoléon, son of Louis, was President of France and then Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870, reigning as Napoleon III. His son, Napoléon, Prince Imperial, died fighting the Zulus in Natal, today the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. With his death, the family lost much of its remaining political appeal, though claimants continue to assert their right to the imperial title. A political movement for Corsican independence surfaced in the 1990s which included a Bonapartist restoration in its programme.
Family tree.
Family tree list.
"Note: Bold for common names"<br>Carlo-Maria (Ajaccio, 1746–Montpellier, 1785) married Maria Letizia Ramolino (Ajaccio, 1750–Rome, 1836) in 1764. He was a minor official in the local courts. They had eight children:
Bonaparte coat of arms.
The arms of the Bonaparte family were: "Gules two bends sinister between two mullets or". In 1804, Napoleon I changed the arms to "Azure an imperial eagle or". The change applied to all members of his family except for his brother Lucien and his nephew, the son from Jérôme's first marriage.
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DNA research.
According to studies by G. Lucotte and his coauthors based on DNA research since 2011, Napoleon Bonaparte belonged to Y-DNA (direct male ancestry) haplogroup E1b1b1c1* (E-M34*). This 15000-year-old haplogroup has its highest concentration in Ethiopia and in the Near East (Jordan, Yemen). According to the authors of the study, "Probably Napoléon also knew his remote oriental patrilineal origins, because Francesco Buonaparte (the Giovanni son), who was a mercenary under the orders of the Genoa Republic in Ajaccio in 1490, was nicknamed "The Maure of Sarzane"." The latest study identifies the common Bonaparte DNA markers from Carlo (Charles) Bonaparte to 3 living descendants.
Lucotte et al. published in October 2013 the extended Y-STR of Napoleon I based on descendant testing, and the descendants were E-M34, just like the emperor's beard hair tested a year before. The persons tested were the patrilineal descendants of Jérome Bonaparte, one of Napoleon's brothers, and of Alexandre Colonna-Walewski, Napoleon's illegitimate son with Marie Walewska. These three tests all yielded the same Y-STR haplotype (109 markers) confirming with 100% certainty that the first Emperor of the French belonged to the M34 branch of haplogroup E1b1b.
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STR strongly suggests that the Bonaparte belong to the Y58897 branch, which means that the ancestor 3000 years ago or a bit more lived in Anatolia, but all relatives in the database with a common ancestor with over 1000 years are found in their own the Massa - La Spezia small area in Italy. There are at the moment no relatives in the database older than that, which means they are very rare in Europe.
Living members.
Charles, Prince Napoléon (born 1950, great-great-grandson of Jérôme Bonaparte by his second marriage), and his son Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon (born 1986 and appointed heir in the will of his grandfather Louis, Prince Napoléon)currently dispute the headship of the Bonaparte family. The only other male members of the family are Charles's recently married (2013) brother, Prince Jérôme Napoléon (born 1957) and Jean-Christophe's son, Prince Louis Napoléon (born 2022). There are no other legitimate descendants in the male line from Napoleon I or from his brothers.
There are, however, numerous descendants of Napoleon's illegitimate, unacknowledged son, Count Alexandre Colonna-Walewski (1810–1868), born from Napoleon I's union with Marie, Countess Walewski. A descendant of Napoleon's sister Caroline Bonaparte was actor René Auberjonois. Recent DNA-matches with living descendants of Jérôme and Count Walewski have confirmed the existence of descendants of Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, namely the Clovis family. |
Beta sheet
The beta sheet (β-sheet, also β-pleated sheet) is a common motif of the regular protein secondary structure. Beta sheets consist of beta strands (β-strands) connected laterally by at least two or three backbone hydrogen bonds, forming a generally twisted, pleated sheet. A β-strand is a stretch of polypeptide chain typically 3 to 10 amino acids long with backbone in an extended conformation. The supramolecular association of β-sheets has been implicated in the formation of the fibrils and protein aggregates observed in amyloidosis, Alzheimer's disease and other proteinopathies.
History.
The first β-sheet structure was proposed by William Astbury in the 1930s. He proposed the idea of hydrogen bonding between the peptide bonds of parallel or antiparallel extended β-strands. However, Astbury did not have the necessary data on the bond geometry of the amino acids in order to build accurate models, especially since he did not then know that the peptide bond was planar. A refined version was proposed by Linus Pauling and Robert Corey in 1951. Their model incorporated the planarity of the peptide bond which they previously explained as resulting from keto-enol tautomerization.
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Structure and orientation.
Geometry.
The majority of β-strands are arranged adjacent to other strands and form an extensive hydrogen bond network with their neighbors in which the N−H groups in the backbone of one strand establish hydrogen bonds with the C=O groups in the backbone of the adjacent strands. In the fully extended β-strand, successive side chains point straight up and straight down in an alternating pattern. Adjacent β-strands in a β-sheet are aligned so that their Cα atoms are adjacent and their side chains point in the same direction. The "pleated" appearance of β-strands arises from tetrahedral chemical bonding at the Cα atom; for example, if a side chain points straight up, then the bonds to the C′ must point slightly downwards, since its bond angle is approximately 109.5°. The pleating causes the distance between C and C to be approximately , rather than the expected from two fully extended "trans" peptides. The "sideways" distance between adjacent Cα atoms in hydrogen-bonded β-strands is roughly .
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However, β-strands are rarely perfectly extended; rather, they exhibit a twist. The energetically preferred dihedral angles near ("φ", "ψ") = (–135°, 135°) (broadly, the upper left region of the Ramachandran plot) diverge significantly from the fully extended conformation ("φ", "ψ") = (–180°, 180°). The twist is often associated with alternating fluctuations in the dihedral angles to prevent the individual β-strands in a larger sheet from splaying apart. A good example of a strongly twisted β-hairpin can be seen in the protein BPTI.
The side chains point outwards from the folds of the pleats, roughly perpendicularly to the plane of the sheet; successive amino acid residues point outwards on alternating faces of the sheet.
Hydrogen bonding patterns.
Because peptide chains have a directionality conferred by their N-terminus and C-terminus, β-strands too can be said to be directional. They are usually represented in protein topology diagrams by an arrow pointing toward the C-terminus. Adjacent β-strands can form hydrogen bonds in antiparallel, parallel, or mixed arrangements.
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In an antiparallel arrangement, the successive β-strands alternate directions so that the N-terminus of one strand is adjacent to the C-terminus of the next. This is the arrangement that produces the strongest inter-strand stability because it allows the inter-strand hydrogen bonds between carbonyls and amines to be planar, which is their preferred orientation. The peptide backbone dihedral angles ("φ", "ψ") are about (–140°, 135°) in antiparallel sheets. In this case, if two atoms C and C are adjacent in two hydrogen-bonded β-strands, then they form two mutual backbone hydrogen bonds to each other's flanking peptide groups; this is known as a close pair of hydrogen bonds.
In a parallel arrangement, all of the N-termini of successive strands are oriented in the same direction; this orientation may be slightly less stable because it introduces nonplanarity in the inter-strand hydrogen bonding pattern. The dihedral angles ("φ", "ψ") are about (–120°, 115°) in parallel sheets. It is rare to find less than five interacting parallel strands in a motif, suggesting that a smaller number of strands may be unstable, however it is also fundamentally more difficult for parallel β-sheets to form because strands with N and C termini aligned necessarily must be very distant in sequence . There is also evidence that parallel β-sheet may be more stable since small amyloidogenic sequences appear to generally aggregate into β-sheet fibrils composed of primarily parallel β-sheet strands, where one would expect anti-parallel fibrils if anti-parallel were more stable.
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In parallel β-sheet structure, if two atoms C and C are adjacent in two hydrogen-bonded β-strands, then they do "not" hydrogen bond to each other; rather, one residue forms hydrogen bonds to the residues that flank the other (but not vice versa). For example, residue "i" may form hydrogen bonds to residues "j" − 1 and "j" + 1; this is known as a wide pair of hydrogen bonds. By contrast, residue "j" may hydrogen-bond to different residues altogether, or to none at all.
The hydrogen bond arrangement in parallel beta sheet resembles that in an amide ring motif with 11 atoms.
Finally, an individual strand may exhibit a mixed bonding pattern, with a parallel strand on one side and an antiparallel strand on the other. Such arrangements are less common than a random distribution of orientations would suggest, suggesting that this pattern is less stable than the anti-parallel arrangement, however bioinformatic analysis always struggles with extracting structural thermodynamics since there are always numerous other structural features present in whole proteins. Also proteins are inherently constrained by folding kinetics as well as folding thermodynamics, so one must always be careful in concluding stability from bioinformatic analysis.
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The hydrogen bonding of β-strands need not be perfect, but can exhibit localized disruptions known as β-bulges.
The hydrogen bonds lie roughly in the plane of the sheet, with the peptide carbonyl groups pointing in alternating directions with successive residues; for comparison, successive carbonyls point in the "same" direction in the alpha helix.
Amino acid propensities.
Large aromatic residues (tyrosine, phenylalanine, tryptophan) and β-branched amino acids (threonine, valine, isoleucine) are favored to be found in β-strands in the "middle" of β-sheets. Different types of residues (such as proline) are likely to be found in the "edge" strands in β-sheets, presumably to avoid the "edge-to-edge" association between proteins that might lead to aggregation and amyloid formation.
Common structural motifs.
β-hairpin motif.
A very simple structural motif involving β-sheets is the β-hairpin, in which two antiparallel strands are linked by a short loop of two to five residues, of which one is frequently a glycine or a proline, both of which can assume the dihedral-angle conformations required for a tight turn or a β-bulge loop. Individual strands can also be linked in more elaborate ways with longer loops that may contain α-helices.
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Greek key motif.
The Greek key motif consists of four adjacent antiparallel strands and their linking loops. It consists of three antiparallel strands connected by hairpins, while the fourth is adjacent to the first and linked to the third by a longer loop. This type of structure forms easily during the protein folding process. It was named after a pattern common to Greek ornamental artwork (see meander).
β-α-β motif.
Due to the chirality of their component amino acids, all strands exhibit right-handed twist evident in most higher-order β-sheet structures. In particular, the linking loop between two parallel strands almost always has a right-handed crossover chirality, which is strongly favored by the inherent twist of the sheet. This linking loop frequently contains a helical region, in which case it is called a β-α-β motif. A closely related motif called a β-α-β-α motif forms the basic component of the most commonly observed protein tertiary structure, the TIM barrel.
β-meander motif.
A simple supersecondary protein topology composed of two or more consecutive antiparallel β-strands linked together by hairpin loops. This motif is common in β-sheets and can be found in several structural architectures including β-barrels and β-propellers.
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