Steve Sabol

Who was Steve Sabol?

Stephen Douglas Sabol (October 2, 1942 – September 18, 2012) was an American filmmaker. He was the president and one of the founders of NFL Films, along with his father Ed. Sabol was born in Moorestown, New Jersey, the son of film-maker Ed Sabol and art collector Audrey Sabol. He attended Colorado College, where he majored in art history and was an All-Rocky Mountain Conference in football as a running back and was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity. After graduation, he began his career in 1964 as a cameraman alongside his father Ed Sabol (1916–2015) when his father got the filming rights to the 1962 NFL Championship Game, played in Yankee Stadium. With his degree in art history and experience playing football, Sabol was, as his father put it, "uniquely qualified to make football movies. He was also a widely exhibited visual artist.

He was the subject of a humorous article about his self-promotion exploits in the November 22, 1965, issue of Sports Illustrated.

Historical significance

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020, due to his works with NFL Films.