The Bona Fide Legend of Cool Papa Bell
Speed, Grace, and the Negro Leagues
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4.7 • 7 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The first full biography of the star Negro Leaguer and Hall of Famer
James “Cool Papa” Bell (1903–1991) was a legend in black baseball, a lightning fast switch hitter elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. Bell’s speed was extraordinary; as Satchel Paige famously quipped, he was so fast he could flip a light switch and be in bed before the room got dark.
In The Bona Fide Legend of Cool Papa Bell, experienced baseball writer and historian Lonnie Wheeler recounts the life of this extraordinary player, a key member of some of the greatest Negro League teams in history. Born to sharecroppers in Mississippi, Bell was part of the Great Migration, and in St. Louis, baseball saved Bell from a life working in slaughterhouses. Wheeler charts Bell’s ups and downs in life and in baseball, in the United States, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico, where he went to escape American racism and MLB’s color line. Rich in context and suffused in myth, this is a treat for fans of baseball history.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
There was far more to legendary baseball player James “Cool Papa” Bell than just an awesome nickname. Lonnie Wheeler shows us the man behind some of the Negro Leagues’ most defining stories in this captivating biography. Renowned for his speed—“so fast he could turn the lights off and be in bed before it was dark”—Bell was relegated to the outskirts of baseball because of his skin color. Unearthing the truth behind the lore about this beloved player is difficult, but that didn’t stop Wheeler. The accounts of Bell that Wheeler finds in the annals of the Negro Leagues and from Bell’s contemporaries—like Satchel Paige, Oscar Charleston, and Josh Gibson—are endlessly fascinating. We especially loved reading about how Bell lived long enough to see the world of pro baseball change dramatically for Black players over the decades. This inspiring book will keep Cool Papa’s legend alive for future generations.
