He spent 29 summers (and 21 winters) playing baseball before retiring in 1946. He was interred at St. Peter's Cemetery in St. Louis. He was the fifth Negro league player inducted into the Hall of Fame. You Die Young!" He and his wife Clara continued to reside in a modest home on St. Louis’ Dickson Avenue, which was renamed James “Cool Papa” Bell Avenue in 1987. Courtesy, The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, New York (1903–91). James (Cool Papa) Bell, 87, Dies; Legendary Star of Negro Leagues, https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/09/obituaries/james-cool-papa-bell-87-dies-legendary-star-of-negro-leagues.html. Cool Papa Bell was so fast, legend has it, that he could turn off the light and get into bed before the room got dark. After nine years in St. Louis, he spent part of a season with Detroit and the Kansas City Monarchs. “I remember one time I got five hits and stole five bases, but none of it was written down because they forgot However, more often than not, he would simply remark that if he could not play in the "big" leagues, he was happy for the great black stars who came after him. He claimed that he loved coming up with a runner on first and the first baseman holding the runner. Born in 1903 #17. Bell, a fleet-footed Negro Leagues Hall of Famer, was not only a … He proved forgiving after his election to the Hall of Fame in 1974, graciously appearing at the annual induction ceremonies year after year and allowing the fans to make up for lost time by giving him the most thunderous applause of the day. Cool Papa Bell retired from the game to an in an old redbrick apartment in St. Louis Thomas Bell died on March 7, 1991, at the Saint Louis University Hospital after suffering a “One time he hit a line drive right past my ear. Yet his contributions were valued by fans and owners alike. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. Sure enough, as soon as Lemon looked away to throw to the next batter, Satchel Paige, Bell, knowing Paige would bunt, was on his way to second. The record of Bell's career is based on a reconstruction of statistics covering his 20 Negro leagues seasons and omitting his five full Latin American seasons and extensive winter league play. Taurus Baseball Player #38. ", Although Mr. Bell was never noted for power, he did hit 21 home runs one season. He worked as a scout for the St. Louis Brownsfor four years, then he served as a security officer and custodian at St. Louis City Hall until 1970. My choice for this season’s opening was The Bona Fide Legend of Cool Papa Bell: Speed, Grace, and the Negro Leagues, by Lonnie Wheeler (who died last year). His will specified that he have twelve pallbearers at his funeral, six black and six white. Mr. Bell, who had glaucoma, had been in failing health since a stroke last year. In the early 1970s, Mr. Claire moved to the Washington area from Kendall Park, N.J., and he went to work for the Post Office in the House of Representatives. Neat Nicknames: Tom Callahan writes in the Washington Post that former Negro League baseball star James (Cool Papa) Bell, who died last week … How did Cool Papa Bell die? Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. The principal leagues were the Negro National League, the Eastern Colored League, and the Negro American League. Another story has him hitting a ball up the middle and being struck by it as he slid into second base. He specialized in abdominal surgery. Height: 5' 11". Retired to St. Louis where, in 1987, Dickson Avenue was renamed James "Cool Papa" Bell Avenue. Cool Papa Bell is considered to be the fastest man ever to play professional baseball. Clara preceded him in death on January 20, 1991, and Bell suffered a heart attack in February and passed away at University Hospital in St. Louis on March 7. During his baseball years, he had supplemented his income by working in a meat-packing plant. Mr. Bell told one reporter that he recalled one game in which he got five hits and stole five bases, "but none of it was written down because they did not bring the score book to the game that day.". Cool Papa Bell Is A Member Of . He graduated from Cornell University, where he also received a master's degree in history. James Thomas Bell, popularly known as "Cool Papa" Bell (1903-1991), was born in Starkville. A centerfielder, he was inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, N.Y., in 1974. Bell, who was born in Starkville, Miss., on May 17, 1903, accepted the racial restrictions of the era even though he was sometimes relegated to the bleachers when he attended a major league game. All in all, he seemed to remember his career fondly, "It was good times," he said. They swept the tournament in seven games to win the $5,000 prize, with Paige winning three of them. He is famous for legendary tales about his speed, many of them spun by the great Satchel Paige , but he was an outstanding player in … He was with the Pittsburgh Crawfords from 1933 to 1936, then in the Dominican Republic and Mexico through 1941. Rounding second without drawing a throw, Bell, noticing that the third baseman had failed to return to the base after charging the bunt, kept on going. Negro league players Satche… He later said his pitching was so good that it not only was unhittable, but uncatchable as well. Hall of Fame Negro League Baseball Player. Full Name: James Thomas Bell Nicknames: Cool Papa “Cool Papa Bell” is the 10th track of Paul Simon’s Stranger to Stranger. So he moved to the outfield. With daring speed, cunning game awareness, coupled with finesse at the bat, Cool Papa Bell epitomized the game of "tricky" baseball. All of the players call me cool. Around 1940, Dr. Hazel spent two years at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., studying surgery. The year after Mr. Bell retired, 1947, saw Jackie Robinson become the first black American admitted to the major leagues in modern times. Nicknamed "Cool Papa" for his composure and grace under pressure, he played and coached professional baseball for 29 years. Alfredo Papa died on July 31, 2005, in Arese, Lombardy, Italy of heart attack. In this period he often delivered babies in homes where the only light was from coal oil lamps. (Published 3/10/91). When the catcher ran toward third with the ball, Bell, seeing home was now uncovered, blithely sidestepped the tag and coolly sped across the plate. That, he said, "was when they opened the door in the majors to black players. "Talking about fast." By William “Brother” Rogers. In truth, he did it one night, but only because there was a short in the wires. But he did remark that major league owners were lying when they used to say " 'If we find a good black player, we'll sign him.' Certainly, the stories of his speed are the stuff of legend. First off, Bell only twice played more than 100 games in a season. Stories demonstrating Bell's speed are still widely circulated. On 20 January 1991 Clara Bell died after 62 years of marriage. He grew up in Torrington, Conn. Dr. Hazel, who had practiced in Arlington and Fauquier counties, had helped establish Arlington Hospital in the 1940s and was the hospital's chief of surgery from 1949 to 1960. He hit and threw left-handed, fielded with the best of them, but mostly ran like the wind. Nobody was ever convicted of any crime in connection with Cool Papa Bell’s memorabilia. From 1968 to 1972, he was an attorney with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He had served on the surgical staff of Fauquier Hospital. Negro League teams did not always play the same number of games, even in a given season, but … James (Cool Papa) Bell, the sharp-eyed batter and blazing base runner who was widely regarded as the fastest man ever to play baseball, died Thursday night in … James (Cool Papa) Bell, the sharp-eyed batter and blazing base runner who was widely regarded as the fastest man ever to play baseball, died Thursday night in St. Louis University Hospital, where he had been treated after suffering a heart attack last Saturday. Negro league, any of the associations of African American baseball teams active largely between 1920 and the late 1940s, when Black players were at last contracted to play in major and minor league baseball. Over the previous 25 seasons, however, Bell displayed all the credentials of a major league star. Died: March 7, 1991 in St. Louis, MO. Later, he was special assistant to the archivist for the United States for academic relations, deputy to the assistant archivist and director of the Scientific and Technological Division. The man they called Cool Papa earned his nickname almost 70 years ago. Bell was said to be so fast he once hit a line drive up the middle and the ball hit his foot as he was sliding into second. He hit .417 as a Stars rookie in 1922 and .429 with the Homestead Grays in 1946. Baseball Player Born in Mississippi #4. Instead, he worked as a janitor and then a watchman at City Hall in St. Louis until retiring again in 1973. The International Council on Archives appointed Mr. Leisinger chairman of its committee on micrographics. Paige said that Mr. Bell hit a screaming line drive that nearly hit his ear as it rocketed past the mound, then hit Mr. Bell in the butt as he was sliding into second base. Survivors include three sons, John T. "Til" Hazel Jr., William A. Hazel and L. Douglas Hazel, all of Broad Run; a brother, Richard E. Hazel of San Diego; 16 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren. He spent his last three years with the legendary Homestead Grays, who played in Pittsburgh and Washington, and hit .407 in his last season. A verified story is that during an inter-racial all-star exhibition game on the West Coast, Paige laid down a bunt with Bell on first base. He returned here in 1976 to begin his career on Capitol Hill. Because of the danger of an explosion from ether, which was used as an anesthetic at the time, many of those babies were delivered in the dark. There’s a widely circulated tale that Cool Papa Bell once stole 175 bases in a 200 game season. Mr. Bell said his specialty as a hitter was punching the ball into the outfield. He said his legs "were gone" and that he had no wish to tarnish the memory of his fans. Bell, who had no warm-up time and had to scamper around the outfield to loosen up his old muscles, took two brushback pitches his first time up, then rapped a double to right field. I wrote last week about what we know about Cool Papa Bell as a player, which goes well beyond the kind of Tall Tales that players in the Negro Leagues are often reduced to. "I just played for the love of the game. His Hall of Fame plaque reads in part, “… Survivors include his wife, Barbara Opper of Chevy Chase; two children, Gretchen and Stephen Opper, also of Chevy Chase; his parents, Charlotte and Lincoln Opper of Rockport, Maine; two brothers, William Opper of Wilton, Conn., and Thomas Opper of Liberty, Maine; and a sister, Carolyn Opper of New Haven, Conn. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker.