Talk:Ricky Bell (defensive back)

Ricky Bell (defensive back) has been listed as one of the Sports and recreation good articles under the good article criteria. If you can improve it further, please do so. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can reassess it.
Review: November 4, 2026. (Reviewed version).

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Untitled

Latest comment: 20 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Online, I can find many sites that verify his February 10 birthdate. However, there are at least as many that reverse that, to October 2. I couldn't find one I thought was definitive, so I didn't change it. Rbraunwa 15:11, 18 January 2006 (UTC)Reply

GA review

Latest comment: 11 days ago27 comments2 people in discussion

Passed. In solidarity, Dafootballguy (Want to talk?) 05:30, 4 November 2026 (UTC)Reply

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

This review is transcluded from Talk:Ricky Bell (defensive back)/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Nominator: WikiOriginal-9 (talk · contribs) 15:05, 29 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

Reviewer: Dafootballguy (talk · contribs) 22:14, 29 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

@It is a wonderful world In solidarity, Dafootballguy (Want to talk?) 22:14, 29 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

@WikiOriginal-9 please indicate that you have followed all the corrections (preferably by using the {{Done}} template. In solidarity, Dafootballguy (Want to talk?) 02:55, 30 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

Lead

Richard Bell Jr. (October 2, 1974 – February 17, 2011) was an American professional football player who was a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL), Canadian Football League (CFL), NFL Europe, XFL, and Arena Football League (AFL) from 1996 to 2008. Run-on sentence. Should be split.

Bell played in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears, in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders, Ottawa Renegades, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and Montreal Alouettes, in NFL Europe with the Barcelona Dragons, in the XFL with the Orlando Rage, and in the AFL with the Georgia Force. Same problem.

Are we sure those are run-on sentences? Thanks, ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 12:35, 30 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

I changed the commas to semicolons. ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 15:52, 30 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

@WikiOriginal-9 did you split the sentences? I usually define a run-on sentence as one that had more than 32 words. In solidarity, Dafootballguy (Want to talk?) 19:12, 30 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

I didn't think it was based on sentence length. ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 19:14, 30 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

I don't understand. In solidarity, Dafootballguy (Want to talk?) 19:15, 30 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

It's not based on word count. ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 19:21, 30 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

Also: Shouldn't the numbers be in order. (Ie. 1, 3, 7 ect.)? In solidarity, Dafootballguy (Want to talk?) 19:21, 30 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

They're normally listed in chronological order. See Ryan Fitzpatrick. ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 19:26, 30 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

I didn't know that. Good to know. In solidarity, Dafootballguy (Want to talk?) 19:34, 30 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

Bell garnered All-NFL Europe recognition in 1999. Informal wording.

I normally write earned honors like in the CFL sentence earlier in the paragraph but I didn't want to be redundant so I wrote garnered instead. How's it informal? ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 12:35, 30 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

It seemed non-encyclopedic to me. In solidarity, Dafootballguy (Want to talk?) 19:10, 30 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

@WikiOriginal-9 I think I'm done. In solidarity, Dafootballguy (Want to talk?) 22:52, 25 October 2026 (UTC)Reply

@WikiOriginal-9 pinging as a reminder that I finished. In solidarity, Dafootballguy (Want to talk?) 04:52, 2 November 2026 (UTC)Reply

Responded to everything. ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 13:35, 2 November 2026 (UTC)Reply

Early life

Richard Bell Jr. Maybe change to Ricky, given that is the name of the article.

Birthname goes at the beginning of the early life section. See George W. Bush. ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 17:46, 5 October 2026 (UTC)Reply

@WikiOriginal-9 it's going to take me a bit of time to finish. In solidarity, Dafootballguy (Want to talk?) 21:48, 6 October 2026 (UTC)Reply

Professional career

However, Bell did not play in any games for the Steelers and was waived on September 24, 1996.^[1] shouldn't start a sentence with "However". Done

He played in the remaining 12 regular season games for the Jaguars as a reserve cornerback, totaling two solo tackles on defense, one assisted tackle on defense, 14 special teams tackles, six kick returns for 119 yards, and one fumble.^[1]^[2]^[3] too long. Done

He played in the next five games for the Bears on special teams before being placed on the non-football injury list on October 25 due to an undisclosed ailment.^[1] too long as well. Done

On November 15, 1998, against the Detroit Lions, on 4th-and-43, Bell was penalized for roughing the punter.^[4] why does this matter?

It's unique. ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 13:31, 2 November 2026 (UTC)Reply

He was the starting left cornerback for the Dragons during the 1999 NFL Europe season, playing in all ten games while posting 41 tackles on defense, five pass breakups, and two kick returns for 37 yards.^[1] also too long. Done

In October 2000, Bell was selected by the Orlando Rage of the upstart XFL in the fifth round, with the 36th overall pick, of the 2001 XFL draft. 1) Should be split 2) "upstart" is informal. Done

the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on July 4, 2001, the Winnipeg Sun noted that Bell would likely to tasked with defending Winnipeg's star receiver Milt Stegall.^[5] WP:FANCRUFT.

That's what the newspaper article is about. "Bell's ready for Stegall" ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 13:35, 2 November 2026 (UTC)Reply

The Stampeders left Bell unprotected in the draft, with Calgary's head coach/general manager Wally Buono saying it was a tough choice.^[6] no need for the statement.

Bell was a CFL All-Star and Grey Cup champ in the preceding year. The statement is helpful to understand why he was allowed to be drafted to another team. ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 13:34, 2 November 2026 (UTC)Reply

The AFL season did not conflict with the CFL season.^[7] uneeded. Done

Removed. ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 13:31, 2 November 2026 (UTC)Reply

References

1 2 3 4 Cite error: The named reference pfa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
↑ "Ricky Bell". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 28 September 2026.
↑ Cite error: The named reference xfl was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
↑ Krug, Chris (November 16, 1998). "Special teams share in blame". Northwest Herald. p. 23. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
↑ Ruckaber, Al (July 4, 2001). "Bell's ready for Stegall". The Winnipeg Sun. p. 36. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
↑ Cite error: The named reference roulette was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
↑ Cite error: The named reference Sekeres was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

Death

Too many patchy sentences, maybe put a few together.

I just removed the funeral sentence. ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 12:39, 30 September 2026 (UTC)Reply

Responded to everything. ~WikiOriginal-9~ (talk) 13:36, 2 November 2026 (UTC)Reply

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

[pfa-1] 1 2 3 4 Cite error: The named reference pfa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[pfr-2] "Ricky Bell". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 28 September 2026.

[xfl-3] Cite error: The named reference xfl was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[4] Krug, Chris (November 16, 1998). "Special teams share in blame". Northwest Herald. p. 23. Retrieved 29 September 2026.

[5] Ruckaber, Al (July 4, 2001). "Bell's ready for Stegall". The Winnipeg Sun. p. 36. Retrieved 29 September 2026.

[roulette-6] Cite error: The named reference roulette was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Sekeres-7] Cite error: The named reference Sekeres was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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