On the day that the 1976 NFL Draft began, the Pittsburgh Steelers were the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champions with a roster that included wide receivers named Lynn Swann, John Stallworth and Frank Lewis, and with an offense that ran the football 61.2 percent of the time the previous season.

Back in those days, rosters were made up of 40 players, and so when the Steelers picked wide receiver Theo Bell from Arizona State on the fourth round, one round after they picked wide receiver Ernest Pough from Texas Southern, well, let's just say the smart thing for the rookies to do was rent.

But Theo Bell knew a good thing when he saw it, and so he refused to accept anything less than a spot on the NFL's toughest roster to make. Bell not only made the Steelers team that season, but he also was a part of two more Super Bowl championships during a nine-year NFL career with Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay.

Bell, 52, died on June 21 in Tampa after a yearlong battle with kidney disease and scleroderma, which is a disease that causes hardening of the skin and damage to internal organs and blood vessels.

It didn't take long for Bell the rookie to figure out that any grandiose notion of winning a starting spot, or even competing for significant playing time on offense, was a pipedream. And so he set about making himself an invaluable member of special teams.

Bell's niche was returning punts, and he still ranks second in team history with 1,259 yards; Rod Woodson is No. 1 with 2,362.

"I think I'm man enough to accept whatever happens," said Bell during the preseason of his rookie year, "but this is where I want to stay.

"It's my type of atmosphere. I like a lot of the players. I've seen them on TV and they always played well. Now I know why. They work hard, and they have a lot of ability."

There was an opening on the Steelers' 1976 roster for a punt returner, because Dave Brown, the team's leader in that category the previous season, had been plucked by the Seattle Seahawks in the expansion draft. Bell grabbed the job and led the team with a 10.0 yard average on 39 returns.

After missing all of 1977 with a foot injury, he came back to reclaim his job in 1978, and in that year's AFC Championship Game against the Houston Oilers, Bell returned six punts for 91 yards in a 34-5 rout that sent the Steelers to Super Bowl XIII.

"He was a big factor in the field position we had that day," said Coach Chuck Noll a week after that game. "There's no question we missed 'T' on special teams last season."

Even though Bell's given name was Theopolis, he convinced teammates, coaches and sportswriters to refer to him as 'T.' And Bell's engaging personality allowed him to make the transition seamlessly.

Bell's best season with the Steelers was in 1980 when he caught 29 passes for 748 yards (a 25.8 average) and two touchdowns, but he was released by the Steelers in 1981 after walking out of camp in a contract dispute. Bell spent the rest of his playing days with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and it was there that he also found his cause.

Bell founded a program in Tampa targeting middle-school children that teaches the value of education.

"Those kids are going to remember Theo for the rest of their lives," former Buccaneers quarterback Doug Williams told the Tampa Tribune. "When things get tough for them, they'll be able to look back at how Theo handled himself in tough times. He was the kind of guy you wanted to have in your locker room."

There will be a memorial service at 1 p.m. on Monday, June 26 at the First Baptist Church of College Hill, 3838 North 29 St. in Tampa. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to: Scleroderma Foundation, 12 Kent Way, #101, Byfield, Ma., 01922.