Jack Teele

In 1960, Teele was hired by the Los Angeles Rams as the director of publicity, replacing Bert Rose who became general manager of the Minnesota Vikings.[1]

In the mid-1960s, Teele coined the phrase "Fearsome Foursome", to refer the Rams defensive line consisting of Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, Lamar Lundy, and Rosey Grier. "Everywhere we went, people asked me about our defensive line," Teele said in 2013.[2] "So I decided we had to have a name."[2] He nicknamed them the "Fearsome Foursome", and the name "immediately stuck," he said.[2]

In 1967, Teele had helped organize the first Super Bowl, booking the American Football League (AFL) champion Kansas City Chiefs into the Edgewater Hotel in Long Beach. He also secured the team practice space at Veterans Memorial Stadium, the sports field of Long Beach State University.[2]

After serving nine seasons in the position of publicity director, owner Dan Reeves named him "assistant to the president", a position that had Teele second in command of the franchise.[3] He succeeded Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, who had become the director of athletics at the University of Wisconsin.[4]

In 1970, Teele was given the position of general manager, while retaining his job of assistant to the president. The Rams compiled a record of 9–4–1 that year, but missed the playoffs.[5] Reeves, who Teele described as "the finest man I ever knew", died in 1971,[6] and Teele was replaced by William Barnes as general manager, though he still remained with the team as the assistant to the president.

Later in the year, Long Beach State University named Teele its annual "alumnus of the year".[7]

After the death of Dan Reeves, the Rams ownership shifted to Carroll Rosenbloom, who changed the position of Teele to "administrative assistant". In that role, he was in charge of the team's travel, room and food arrangements, and "myriad other details during training camp and the season."[8] He remained in that position through the 1977 season,[9] before being named vice president of administration in 1978. He served as vice president of administration from 1978 to 1980, before resigning in March 1981.[10] He served with the Rams under three different owners, six head coaches, and "umpteen different quarterbacks" during his twenty-one year stint with the organization.[11]

Shortly after resigning as Rams vice president of administration, Teele accepted an offer from the San Diego Chargers as assistant to the owner. He served in that position from 1981 to 1982 before becoming assistant to the president in 1983.[12] He was reported as team vice president in 1985.[13] He returned to his role of assistant to the president in 1986, before being named Director of Administration in 1987.[14] In 1989, he helped the Chargers acquire Hank Ilesic, and the North County Times reported his time "was well spent".[15] He was fired by Chargers owner Alex Spanos in January 1991.[16]

After being let go by the Chargers, Teele became the chief executive officer of the Barcelona Dragons, a team in the newly formed World League of American Football (WLAF).[17] He later served as their general manager in 1992 before the league suspended. He subsequently retired.