Les Bell was born on Saturday, December 14, 1901, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Bell was 21 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 17, 1923, with the St. Louis Cardinals. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Les Bell baseball stats page.
"I can see him yet, walking in from the leftfield bullpen through the gray mist. The Yankee fans recognized him right off, and you didn't hear a sound from anywhere in Yankee Stadium as they sat still and watched him. And he took his time. Grover Cleveland Alexander was never in a hurry, and especially not this day. It was the seventh inning of the seventh game of the (1926) World Series and we were leading 3-2. Alec had won two games for us already and he was coming in now to face a tough young hitter with two out and the bases loaded. I can still see him walking that long distance. He just came straggling along, a lean old Nebraskan, his face wrinkled, wearing a Cardinal sweater, his cap sitting on the top of his head and tilted to one side—that's the way he wore it." - Les Bell (Honig, Donald. Sports Illustrated. 9 October 1978.)
Les BellLes Bell Autograph on a 1979 Diamond Greats Baseball Card (#151) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Les BellLes Bell Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
- | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
Les BellLes Bell Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1923 | 22 | Cardinals | 15 | 51 | 5 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .373 | .467 | .451 |
1924 | 23 | Cardinals | 17 | 57 | 5 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .246 | .295 | .421 |
1925 | 24 | Cardinals | 153 | 586 | 80 | 167 | 29 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 88 | 43 | 0 | 47 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .285 | .334 | .422 |
1926 | 25 | Cardinals | 155 | 581 | 85 | 189 | 33 | 14 | 17 | 0 | 100 | 54 | 1 | 62 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .325 | .383 | .518 |
1927 | 26 | Cardinals | 115 | 390 | 48 | 101 | 26 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 65 | 34 | 2 | 63 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 29 | .259 | .320 | .426 |
1928 | 27 | Braves | 153 | 591 | 58 | 164 | 36 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 91 | 40 | 1 | 45 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 13 | .277 | .323 | .413 |
1929 | 28 | Braves | 139 | 483 | 58 | 144 | 23 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 72 | 50 | 1 | 42 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .298 | .364 | .422 |
1930 | 29 | Cubs | 74 | 248 | 35 | 69 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 47 | 24 | 1 | 27 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 11 | .278 | .342 | .431 |
1931 | 30 | Cubs | 75 | 252 | 30 | 71 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 32 | 19 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .282 | .332 | .405 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
9 Years | 896 | 3,239 | 404 | 938 | 184 | 49 | 66 | 4 | 509 | 276 | 7 | 322 | 110 | 0 | 2 | 91 | .290 | .346 | .438 |
Les BellLes Bell Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1923 Cardinals | SS | 15 | 15 | 402 | 96 | 6.4 | 88 | 35 | 53 | 8 | 9 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .917 | 5.91 |
1924 Cardinals | SS | 17 | 15 | 390 | 95 | 5.6 | 86 | 44 | 42 | 9 | 8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .905 | 5.95 |
1925 Cardinals | 3B | 153 | 153 | 3,974 | 471 | 3.1 | 435 | 151 | 284 | 36 | 39 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .924 | 2.96 |
1925 Cardinals | SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 0.00 |
1926 Cardinals | 3B | 155 | 155 | 4,166 | 441 | 2.8 | 419 | 165 | 254 | 22 | 25 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .950 | 2.72 |
1927 Cardinals | 3B | 100 | 93 | 2,431 | 251 | 2.5 | 227 | 85 | 142 | 24 | 13 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .904 | 2.52 |
1927 Cardinals | SS | 10 | 9 | 252 | 63 | 6.3 | 57 | 16 | 41 | 6 | 8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .905 | 6.11 |
1928 Braves | 3B | 153 | 153 | 4,078 | 518 | 3.4 | 491 | 177 | 314 | 27 | 37 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .948 | 3.25 |
1929 Braves | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 0.00 |
1929 Braves | 3B | 127 | 127 | 3,282 | 320 | 2.5 | 305 | 107 | 198 | 15 | 15 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .953 | 2.51 |
1929 Braves | SS | 1 | 1 | 27 | 7 | 7.0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .714 | 5.00 |
1930 Cubs | 1B | 2 | 2 | 54 | 21 | 10.5 | 21 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 10.50 |
1930 Cubs | 3B | 70 | 59 | 1,571 | 174 | 2.5 | 165 | 63 | 102 | 9 | 14 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .948 | 2.84 |
1931 Cubs | 3B | 70 | 62 | 1,579 | 195 | 2.8 | 184 | 66 | 118 | 11 | 18 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .944 | 3.15 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
3B Totals | 828 | 802 | 21,081 | 2,370 | 2.9 | 2,226 | 814 | 1,412 | 144 | 161 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .939 | 2.85 | |
SS Totals | 44 | 40 | 1,071 | 262 | 6.0 | 237 | 99 | 138 | 25 | 25 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .905 | 5.97 | |
1B Totals | 2 | 2 | 54 | 21 | 10.5 | 21 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 10.50 | |
2B Totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 0.00 | |
9 Years | 875 | 844 | 22,206 | 2,655 | 3.0 | 2,486 | 931 | 1,555 | 169 | 187 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .936 | 3.02 |
Les BellLes Bell Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1923 Cardinals | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 7.3 | 5.7 | - | - | - |
1924 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 57.0 | 8.1 | 11.4 | - | - | - |
1925 Cardinals | 4 | 5 | .444 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 53.3 | 12.5 | 6.7 | - | - | - |
1926 Cardinals | 9 | 10 | .474 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 34.2 | 9.4 | 5.8 | - | - | - |
1927 Cardinals | 5 | 6 | .455 | 5 | 0 | n/a | 43.3 | 6.2 | 6.0 | - | - | - |
1928 Braves | 1 | 7 | .125 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 59.1 | 13.1 | 6.5 | - | - | - |
1929 Braves | 4 | 4 | .500 | 10 | 0 | n/a | 53.7 | 11.5 | 6.7 | - | - | - |
1930 Cubs | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2 | 0 | n/a | 49.6 | 9.2 | 5.3 | - | - | - |
1931 Cubs | 0 | 2 | .000 | 5 | 0 | n/a | 63.0 | 11.5 | 7.9 | - | - | - |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
9 Years | 25 | 35 | .417 | 22 | 0 | n/a | 49.1 | 10.1 | 6.4 | - | - | - |
Les BellLes Bell Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1923 St. Louis Cardinals | n/a | $2,400.00 | n/a | - |
1924 St. Louis Cardinals | n/a | $2,700.00 | n/a | - |
1925 St. Louis Cardinals | n/a | $4,125.00 | n/a | - |
1926 St. Louis Cardinals | n/a | $5,000.00 | n/a | Stats |
1927 St. Louis Cardinals | n/a | $6,250.00 | n/a | - |
1928 Boston Braves | n/a | $7,500.00 | n/a | - |
1929 Boston Braves | n/a | $8,000.00 | n/a | - |
1930 Chicago Cubs | n/a | $10,000.00 | n/a | - |
1931 Chicago Cubs | n/a | $11,000.00 | n/a | - |
Les Bell Stats by Baseball Almanac |
Lester Rowland Bell was a Major League Baseball player with the St. Louis Cardinals (1923-1927), Boston Braves (1928-1929), and Chicago Cubs (1930-1931). Les, his nickname, played in a National League leading 153 games during his first full season (1925)! Other senior circuit players who also took the field in 153 games that season were; Jim Bottomley, Eddie Brown, Kiki Cuyler, and Glenn Wright. A couple years earlier, Bottomley left a permanent impression on Bell:
"I'll never forget my first big league game. The club wasn't going anywhere, so they loaded the lineup with kids, me at short, another fellow at first, and so on. The first ball that was hit down to me I picked up cleanly and threw with everything I had. Listen, I had a strong arm. I sure did. I think I must have broken a seat ten or fifteen rows behind first base with that throw. A couple of innings later I had my second chance. This time that ball really flew, and I must have broken a seat twenty rows behind first base. When I came into the dugout after that inning, I was feeling pretty blue. Who sits down next to me but the regular first baseman, Jim Bottomley. All he did that year was hit .371. Jim put his arm around me and said, 'Now kid, Old Jim will be out there tomorrow playing first base. So when you throw the ball, just throw it in the direction of the base, and Old Jim will get it.' That made me feel better, but I got to laugh now when I think about it." Source: Golenbock, Peter. The Spirit of St. Louis: A History of the St. Louis Cardinals and Browns. Harper Collins Publishers. 10 April 2001.
Les Bell hit sixty-six home runs, off forty-nine different pitchers, in eight different ballparks. Pat Crawford, on May 26, 1929, hit a pinch hit grand slam in the sixth inning. Why mention that here? Because Bell, in the seventh inning, also hit a pinch hit grand slam, off future hall of fame twirler Carl Hubbell, making this the first Major League Baseball game where two pinch hit grand slams were hit!
Did you know that Les Bell started at third base in all seven games of the 1926 World Series, collected seven hits, drove in six runs, and scored four times? The Cardinals defeated the New York Yankees 4-3, earning their first ever World Series championship (and first National League pennant)!