Cool Papa Bell

Cool Papa Bell was a talented athlete with exceptional speed and base running skills. He could have easily played in the big leagues, but the color line prevented him from ever proving his skill as a player.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"I remember one game I got five hits and stole five bases, but none of it was written down because they didn't bring the scorebook to the game that day." - Cool Papa Bell

Cool Papa Bell

Cool Papa Bell

Career Hitting Statistics

1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
StL
StL
StL
StL
StL
StL
StL
StL
StL
StL
Det.
Pitt.
Pitt.
Pitt.
Pitt.
Chic.
Wash.
Wash.
Wash.
Wash.
Stars
Stars
Stars
Stars
Stars
Stars
Stars
Stars
Stars
Stars
Wolves
Crawfords
Crawfords
Crawfords
Crawfords
Giants
Hom. Grays
Hom. Grays
Hom. Grays
Hom. Grays
22
34
59
89
85
93
72
89
62
19
37
37
40
40
22
14
44
30
27
25
60
74
216
362
370
401
310
359
264
68
138
137
153
157
86
51
178
114
103
86
25
22
67
128
134
128
103
112
93
20
53
41
49
52
23
19
70
40
25
37
3
5
15
29
24
18
16
25
17
0
7
6
0
7
1
3
6
5
6
1
1
1
1
7
7
3
6
6
6
1
3
6
0
7
1
0
5
2
0
1
3
1
0
11
15
5
4
4
7
0
2
1
0
1
0
0
6
2
1
0
.417
.297
.310
.354
.362
.319
.332
.312
.352
.294
.384
.299
.320
.331
.267
.373
.393
.351
.243
.430
0
0
9
24
23
13
7
28
15
0
3
6
5
7
1
0
2
0
0
0
20 Seasons 940 3,687 1,241 194 64 63 .337 143
baseball almanac flat baseball

baseball almanac fast facts

Cool Papa Bell once sat out a few games so Monte Irvin could out-hit his batting average and get noticed by the big league scouts, and it worked!

Cool Papa Bell personally helped Jackie Robinson by doing everything he could to assist his transition into the major leagues. When Jackie finally made it, Bell said it was the greatest moment in his life!

The statistics above are as accurate as possible, but the records for the Negro Leagues are often incomplete and lacking in their completeness!