Wherever James “Cool Papa” Bell was going on the diamond, he got there in a hurry.
Consider the time he scored from first base on a bunt during a 1948 exhibition versus white major leaguers. Future Hall of Famer Bob Lemon was on the mound. Bell reached second base, and with nobody covering third, he kept running and beat catcher Roy Partee to the bag. Partee had abandoned his post at the plate, so Bell took home, too.
According to Negro League records, Bell stole 285 bases across 21 seasons, leading his league in the category seven times. Countless more steals went unrecorded. The pitcher-turned-center fielder hit .325, earned the nickname “Cool Papa” for his composure under pressure, and transcended the game with his blazing speed.
But unlike his baserunning, Bell’s journey to a spot among baseball royalty proved to be anything but quick. On Feb. 13, 1974, 28 years after playing his final professional season with Pittsburgh’s Homestead Grays, Bell was elected to the Hall of Fame.
The 70-year-old became the seventh Black player who had played in the Negro Leagues to earn a plaque in Cooperstown. Of that group, only Bell, Buck Leonard, and Josh Gibson hadn’t appeared in an American or National League game.
Asked if the news was the greatest thrill of his life, Bell told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “No, it’s my biggest honor. My biggest thrill was when they opened the door in the majors for the Black players.”
Bell retired after the 1946 season and Jackie Robinson debuted with the Dodgers the following spring. “By the time Jackie Robinson came along and broke the color line,” Bell told the New York Daily News, “I was too old. I was over the hill as a player.”
