Hall of Fame
John Sell was an All-American offensive lineman and four-year letter winner who played for the Red Raider football team from 1977-1980. He started three years for the Red Raiders either as a guard or center, and was voted as one of the best offensive lineman to suit up for the team in the last 50 years.
Recruited to Shippensburg as a Top 5 “Blue Chip” state lineman from Littlestown High School, Sell would go on to sign a professional contract with the Philadelphia Eagles after his graduation in 1981 – attending training camp with legendary coach Dick Vermeil. An injury resulted in him being one of the team’s final cuts.
His best year came as a senior in 1980, a season for which he earned Associated Press “Little All-America” honorable mention honors in addition to All-PSAC and All-ECAC First Team honors. At the time, the AP All-America Teams consisted of all college football teams at the 1-AA, Division II, and Division III levels. Sell’s exploits also resulted in earning the football team’s prestigious Vinton Rambo awards as the outstanding senior lineman.
In 1980, his senior year, Shippensburg set a team record for most plays per game with 80.1 plays per game. It was the first time that the Red Raiders averaged better than 80 plays per game during a season. SU also set a team record for most rushing attempts in a game with 74 against Bloomsburg in 1980 (284 yards) and highest average number of rushing attempts per game for a season with 55.9. Both those rushing attempt totals for single game and season remain the team records.
Sell was a guard in his All-American season – he played eight games at center in 1979.
In Sell’s four years, the Red Raiders posted a 22-17-1 record. SU went 6-4 in 1977 and 7-3 in 1978 under Joe Mark. SU defeated Slippery Rock 45-14 in Michigan Stadium in 1979 and went 5-4-1 in 1980. In the Slippery Rock game in Ann Arbor, Sell helped open holes for a potent running attack that saw the rare distinction of having two Raiders gain more than 100 yards in the game. Sell was coached by Vito Ragazzo his last two seasons.
The Chambersburg Public Opinion selected an All-Time All-Star Football Team for the years of 1976-1988, and Sell was selected to this team along with the likes of fellow SU Hall of Famers such as Tony Winter, Tim Ebersole, Averell Harris and Fred Glasgow. In 2011, Sell was inducted into the Adams County chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
A native of Littlestown, Sell has spent the last 33 years in freight transportation. For the last 10 years, Sell has served as a Regional Vice President in Business Development for TMC Transportation – a company based out of Des Moines, Iowa. Sell lives in Texas and is a member of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) based in Dallas. He and his wife Angela also own a bed & breakfast called Sazon Anita Vineyards in Sherman, Texas. The couple has three sons: Chris, Derek, and Jordan.
