Cool Papa Bell
| James "Cool Papa" Bell | |||
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| Center fielder | |||
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Born: May 17, 1903 Starkville, Mississippi |
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Died: March 7, 1991 (aged 87) St. Louis, Missouri |
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| Negro leagues debut | |||
| 1922, for the St. Louis Stars | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| 1946, for the Homestead Grays | |||
| Negro leagues statistics | |||
| Batting Average | .328 | ||
| Home runs | 73 | ||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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| Member of the National | |||
 Baseball Hall of Fame
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| Inducted | 1974 | ||
| Election Method | Negro Leagues Committee | ||
James Thomas "Cool Papa" Bell (May 17, 1903 – March 7, 1991) was an American center fielder in Negro league baseball from 1922 to 1946. He is considered by many baseball observers to have been one of the fastest men ever to play the game. Stories demonstrating Bell's speed are still widely circulated. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. He ranked 66th on a list of the greatest baseball players published by The Sporting News in 1999.
Bell was born May 17, 1903, in Starkville, Mississippi to Jonas Bell and Mary Nichols. The 1910 U.S. Census shows him as the fourth of seven children living with his widowed mother, Mary Nichols, in Sessums Township, just outside Starkville. His brother Fred Bell also played baseball. As a teenager, Bell worked at the creamery at what is now Mississippi State University and at the school's agricultural experiment station.
At the age of 17, he moved to St. Louis to live with older brothers and attend high school. However, rather than attending night school as planned, Bell spent most of his time playing baseball in the neighborhood. He signed as a knuckleball pitcher with the Compton Hill Cubs, a black semipro baseball team, until the team broke up in August 1921. He played with Compton Hill on Sundays and holidays while he worked for a packing company during the week. For 1922, Bell moved to the East St. Louis Cubs, a semipro team that paid him $20 weekly to pitch on Sundays.
Bell joined the St. Louis Stars of the Negro National League (NNL) as a pitcher in 1922. Bell earned his nickname in his first Negro league season; he was referred to as "Cool" after striking out standout player Oscar Charleston and added "Papa" to the nickname because it sounded better. At first, Bell made only occasional appearances in the outfield. By 1924, at the urging of manager Bill Gatewood, Bell began working on his defensive skills and appearing more in the outfield.
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