Ed Sabol, the founder of the National Football League (NFL) Films, passed away last Monday at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was 98 years old.

Sabol founded the iconic NFL films that helped make football one of the country's favorite sports. The NFL Films won 52 Emmy awards.

For his efforts and contributions to the League, Sabol also earned a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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When he was inducted in February 2011, the Hall of Fame noted that the creation of the NFL Films in the early 1960s played a significant role in the popularity growth of the sport.

"With [his] vision, NFL Films has revolutionized the manner in which sports are presented on camera," a statement during the Hall of Fame induction said.

Prior to Sabol's boom onto the NFL scene, Major League Baseball, collegiate football, and even the American Football League were ahead in popularity.

Then in 1962, the 45-year old Sabol, an amateur cinematographer and former actor, came in with a vision that changed the sport.

At his age, Sabol was already doing fine. He worked as a sales representative for his father-in-law's menswear factory in Philadelphia. However, he left the factory behind and took a huge gamble.

He contacted then Commissioner Pete Rozelle for the rights to film the 1962 championship game between Allie Sherman's New York Giants and Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers in Yankee Stadium.

With his son, they hired a film crew and started shooting.

The difference in his approach was the use of multiple colored cameras, as black and white cameras were the previous norm for sports films.

His subject changed as well, focusing on close-up shots of players and coaches, slow-motion photography, and even background music and authoritative narration that is still seen in the present day NFL films.

Sabol was so proud of the footage that he showed it whenever he went. Rozelle was impressed and commissioned Sabol to shoot more and more footage. And the rest they say, is history.

Sabol is survived by his wife, Audrey; his daughter, Blair; and a grandson.

TagsEd Sabol, NFL Films, NFL