James Bell is a local hero who at one time was the pulse for football in New Mexico. He was an all-state high school football player at Albuquerque High, an all-conference performer for the University of New Mexico, and went on to play professional football for the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian football league.
James was off and running with a career and lifestyle that would have completed his dreams. And just as his life was spiraling upward, new and demanding challenges were forming just around the corner.
Just recently James was in Albuquerque to celebrate his 30th year reunion with fellow students of Albuquerque high school. James was in good spirits and aside from a slightly noticeable limp you would never have envisioned the ordeal that would change the life of this once seemingly indestructible athlete, and leave him flat on his back.
Today, James stated that he looks back at his career with a lot of pride in what he was able to accomplish throughout his high school career. James ended his high school season being selected player of the year. He also played basketball for the Albuquerque high school basketball team. “I enjoyed high school and getting back together with my fellow classmates is extremely special to me,” says James.
In 1977, he became a member of the University of New Mexico football team and credits the University of New Mexico and Pittsburgh Steelers superstar, Robin Cole, for influencing him to attend UNM. Just before James graduated from high school, he received a tremendous blow when he lost his father, Thomas Bell to cancer, just before graduating from high school. “The passing of my father was very difficult for me to handle because he was more than a father, he was my mentor, my crutch and my closest friend,” said James.
James believes that if his father had lived he would have played the quarterback position for the University of New Mexico, the position he played in high school instead of switching to defense back because he says that his father would have talked him into staying at the quarterback position. “My father would have insisted that I stay at the quarterback position because he felt that was the best fit for my skills,” says James.
At the conclusion of an impressive football career at the University of New Mexico, James went on to play Canadian football for the Edmonton Eskimos. James signed a three-year contract with Edmonton but was injured in his second season on September 19, 1986, in a game against the British Columbia Lions. James suffered a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed. The extent of his injury was diagnosed as an injury that would leave him without the use of his legs and his upper extremities for the remainder of his life. James was in the hospital for over a year and when he did leave the hospital, it was in a wheelchair.
“To say it was a difficult time for me is an understatement. I felt like a little child as far as my motor s skills were concerned. I was totally dependent upon someone else for my basic needs. I didn't have the ability to feed myself or care for myself in any way,” says James. But James remained positive even through the loneliness of being in Canada without any family or anyone he felt attached to. James credits his belief in God and his competitive nature for his positive attitude that would eventually lead to his miraculous recovery.
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