Sell Hall
| Sell Hall | |||
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| Pitcher/Manager/Owner | |||
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Born: June 15, 1888 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
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Died: February 13, 1951 (aged 62) New York, New York |
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| Negro leagues debut | |||
| 1917, Homestead Grays | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| 1919, Chicago American Giants | |||
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As Player
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As Player
Sellers McKee Hall (June 15, 1888 - February 13, 1951) was the first African-American music promoter to be based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as well as former professional player and executive in Negro league baseball.
During the 1920s and 1930s, as the manager of the city's Pythian Temple, he brought the biggest names in jazz to the city for his popular dances that drew crowds of 1,500 to 2,000. Several of the acts that Hall booked include Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, Billy Eckstine, Cab Calloway and Don Redman. Hall was also a rivals with Gus Greenlee, the owner of the Crawford Grill and the Pittsburgh Crawfords, and Cumberland Posey, the owner of the Homestead Grays. During the off-season from baseball Hall worked as an nightclub manager and dance promoter. He also worked as a writer for the Pittsburgh Courier in 1912.
Hall became a multi-sport athletic star excelling in track, football, basketball, and baseball playing for Pittsburgh’s Central High School. Upon graduation, he took a job at the United States Postal Service, however he continued his athletic career playing for sandlot and semi-pro teams in baseball, football, and basketball. He also competed in independent track meets as a short distance runner and a jumper. Sell became a star pitcher with the independent club team Pittsburgh Colored Collegians in 1913, with his brother, Howard ‘Ram” Hall, serving as his catcher. The Collegians were the then-chief rivals of Homestead Grays. He joined the Daddy Clay’s Giants in April 1917, and was then signed by Cumberland Posey to play for the Grays in 1917 and 1918. Sell left the Grays at the end of the 1918 season, when he was recruited by Rube Foster to pitch for the Chicago American Giants. However he returned to pitch for the Grays in 1938 for an old-timers game celebrating the Grays 25th anniversary.
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