Date of birth April 2, 1909 College Penn - Wharton School | Name Austin Gunsel | |
Date of death June 17, 1974(1974-06-17) (aged 65) 1952-1956 NFL Investigative Chair Education Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania | ||
Austin H. Gunsel (April 2, 1909 - June 17, 1974) is best remembered for serving as the National Football League's interim commissioner following the death of Bert Bell on October 11, 1959.
A native of Irvington, New Jersey and a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Gunsel joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1939. He served as both J. Edgar Hoover's administrative assistant and as a special agent for the Bureau, and during his crime-fighting career, served in the New York City, Detroit and Chicago field offices.
In 1952, Gunsel was hired by the NFL to head the league's investigative department, a move made in response to commissioner Bert Bell's fear of a scandal damaging the league's image. Gunsel became league treasurer in 1956, holding the post until his retirement ten years later. He served as acting president of the NFL after Bell's death in October 1959.
In January 1960 at a meeting of NFL owners, he was the early frontrunner to get the commissioner's job, but Los Angeles Rams general manager Pete Rozelle was ultimately elected to the post on January 26 after 23 ballots.
Gunsel died at Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.