Bell, Cool Papa

byname of James Thomas Bell

(born May 17, 1903, Starkville, Miss., U.S.—died March 7, 1991, St. Louis, Mo.) American professional baseball player, reputedly the fastest baserunner of all time.

Bell began as a pitcher for the St. Louis Stars in the Negro National League at the age of 19 and earned the nickname Cool when he struck out legendary Oscar Charleston; Bell's manager added “Papa.” He played centre field for the Stars (1922–28), for the Pittsburgh Crawfords (1933–37), in the Mexican League (1938–42), for the Homestead Grays in the Negro National League (1943–45), and as player-manager of the Kansas City Monarchs in that same league (1948–50). He also played in the California Winter League and in Cuba and the Dominican Republic, as well as on occasion with other Negro teams. A right-handed batter who later became a switch hitter, his average ranged from .308 to .480. He reputedly stole 175 bases in a 200-game season. (Statistics in Negro baseball were not carefully kept.) Playing against all the greats of Negro baseball and against white All-Star teams, Bell batted .391 over a five-year period. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.