The Bona Fide Legend of Cool Papa Bell: Speed, Grace, and the Negro Leagues

Where to begin! There is so much of interest in this book The late author Lonnie Wheeler has contributed a wonderful biography of James "Cool Papa" Bell in addition to life in the Negro baseball leagues. Originally from Mississippi "Cool Papa" Bell's baseball career ranged from the 1920s into the 1940s with the bulk of those years spent with the St. Louis Stars and it was St. Louis that Bell called his home. Bell began as a pitcher but center field was his position of note on the ball field where he could use his speed to chase down fly balls. This is also a book about the eventual Hall of Fame teammates of Bell's such as Satchel Paige, Willie Wells, Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibson, Judy Johnson, Norman "Turkey" Stearnes, and several others. "Double Duty" Radcliffe acquired his nickname because he was known to catch one game of a double header and pitch the second game.Arguably the fastest man to ever play the game "Cool Papa" Bell was known to be so fast that he could turn out the light and be in bed before the room got dark. Supposedly once due to an electrical malfunction when it took a few seconds for the light to go out he was actually able to do it. Also, of note but not mentioned in the book is that Bell once hit a ground ball past the pitcher and the ball hit him in the back as he slid into second base.Life was not glamorous playing in the Negro leagues. Players traveled in automobiles or a bus and slept wherever they could find accommodations sometimes not even having the luxury of a shower. Exhibitions were often held against major league all-star teams. Record keeping was sporadic, teams dropped out of the league for various reasons, players moved from one team to another, and the pay was paltry.It's to baseball's everlasting shame that so many outstanding players were denied the chance to take part in the Major Leagues. However, a high percentage of players were from the southern part of the United States where racism flourished and the jobs of mediocre players were threatened if Negroes were allowed to take part. Also, standing in the way were Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis and the club owners themselves who were against their participation.Following Bell's career the remainder of the book relates the entrance of Jackie Robinson's signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers, so-called tryouts Blacks were accorded with the negative results already predetermined. With the prompting of Ted Williams in his Hall of Fame acceptance speech calling for the election of Negro League players to the Hall of Fame Satchel Paige became the first of several inductees. Initially the Hall of Fame was going to include them in a separate area which amounted to more segregation and that idea was thankfully discarded.Eventually it became James "Cool Papa" Bell's turn to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He would slowly write his name clearly several times on paper and then cut them out so he would have a ready autograph to give to those who requested one rather than having to do so when asked in public. He became influential in the career of Lou Brock when Brock first played for the Chicago Cubs. Ball's biggest thrill was not in being elected to the Hall of Fame. Rather it was when baseball opened the door for Blacks to play as well. He didn't want to be recognized by others as saying, "There goes a Hall of Famer." Rather "Cool Papa" wanted himself recognized as "a child of God."I am rating this book five stars and has photos spaced throughout the book. I am going to purchase several additional copies to give as gifts to friends.

This book has very insightful information about Cool Papa. I was surprised that this book has a lot of wonderful information about other negro league topics as well.

An important figure in baseball and a hell of a nice man. First rate baseball and black history book.James "Cool Papa" Bell never made it to the major leagues. His 24 year career did eventually land him in the Hall of Fame and he's widely considered by baseball historians to be one of the all-time great centerfielders and arguably the fastest man who ever played. On multiple occasions he scored from first to home on single plays, sometimes infield hits. The anecdotes that followed the switch-hitting world class speedster could fill volumes. But that's not what this book is entirely about. It's about Bell's place among the fraternity of black men that pushed the game forward at a time when the racial inequities were never more hypocritical. It's the story of Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Willie Welles, Judy Johnson, Turkey Stearnes, Bullet Joe Rogan, and Rube Foster. It's also the stories of the guys they mentored in the proceeding generation like Ernie Banks, Jackie Robinson, Lou Brock, and Larry Doby.This story is steeped in so much history that's lost on mainstream baseball fans, myself prior to this book included. I never knew that the final remark of Ted Williams' Hall of Fame acceptance speech was aimed at getting Negro League players included in the Hall of Fame. "I hope that some day the names of Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson in some way could be added as a symbol of the great Negro players that are not here only because they were not given the chance," he said in 1966.This book is the story of baseball in the early to mid twentieth century told through one of it's most genteel, well dressed, professionals whose career accomplishments and colorful stories provide a steady center to a volatile baseball and cultural backdrop. Cool Papa was so well traveled that the journey cuts a wide swath of atmospheres and scenarios ranging from Mississippi to Pennsylvania to Mexico and to Cuba and the Dominican Republic.Entertaining all the way around and an impressive final work from longtime St. Louis sportswriter, Lonnie Wheeler, who passed away in 2020.

“Cool Papa Bell” is a selective, spellbinding and splendid biography of the man with the fastest legs and the biggest heart in the Negro Leagues. Here are some highlights:• Pittsburgh became to black baseball what Harlem had been to black literature and the arts during the 1920s, the catalyst of a renaissance.—Donn Rogosin.• It seemed that the only thing stopping him from swiping bases was his propensity to hit triples.• To his grave goes a whole chapter in the black history of baseball—in black history, period. His dream got deferred. I just hope that, somewhere in history, his performance gets accurately recorded.—Lou Brock• The Raindrop Rangers and the greatest outfield in the annals of baseball.• Having debuted two years before Cool Papa, the Negro Leagues outlasted him by roughly the same negligible duration.• Wherever he went—even to City Hall to mop floors or check doorknobs—Cool Papa looked good.• People look at me now and say, “There goes a Hall of Famer.” I prefer them calling me a child of God.—Cool Papa BellThis is not just an exceptional sports book about Bell’s “wing-footed acts of trickery”; it is a poetic and poignant book about America.

Cool Papa Bell was an incredible human being that exemplified the quality of the Negro League.

A must read for any baseball fan! Well researched, well written, and definitely a fun read. I definitely recommend it.

Really great book that is as much about the man as it is the ball player. Bell seems like a cross between Billy Hamilton and Stan Musial.

A must for fans interested in baseball history. Oral history just as valuable as box scores to convey talent of Cool Papa and his contemporaries.