Forgotten Heroes:

William Bell

by

Center for Negro League Baseball Research

Dr. Layton Revel

and

Luis MunozCopyright 2014

Kansas City Monarchs (1924)

Negro National League and Negro League World Series Champions

((Lemuel Hawkins, William Bell, Clifford Bell, Carroll “Dink” Mothel, Frank Duncan (Sr.), William “Plunk” Drake, George Sweatt and Homer “Hop” Bartlett)

(Jack Marshall, Hurley McNair, Newt Joseph, Harold “Yellowhorse” Morris, Oscar “Heavy” Johnson, Newt Allen, Wilber “Bullet” Rogan, Jose Mendez and Walter “Dobie” Moore)

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William Bell, Sr. was born on August 31, 1897 in Lavaca County, Texas.

He stood 5’ 11” tall and weighed 180 pounds during his playing career.

Bell was a right-handed pitcher who was one of the best pitchers in Negro League baseball during the 1920’s. On the mound he wasknown for his consistency, excellent control and ability to paint thecorners. William had command of a wide range of pitches. He had an active fastball that moved in on the hitter, a very good curve ball, a good change-up and slider. During the 1920’s he was a workhorse for the Kansas City Monarchs during their championship seasons. Bell was also known for completing what he started during his career. Our research has revealed that he completed over 75 % of the games he started. In addition William Bell had a reputation for always being able to deliver in the clutch and under pressure.

During his career he was occasionally called on to play in the outfield because he was a decent hitter and very good fielder. He had his best two years at the plate in 1929 when he hit .296 and 1932 when he batted .295. His only weakness as a player was that he had very little speed on the base paths.

Unfortunately, he was often overshadowed by other super stars on histeam during his career. In Kansas City with the Monarchs, WilliamBell played in the shadows of Wilber “Bullet” Rogan and JoseMendez. Then when he went to the Pittsburgh Crawfords it wasSatchel Paige who got all the press. It is important to note that allthree of these other pitchers are in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

William Bell was characterized by his contemporaries as quiet and well-liked by everyone. He didn’t drink, stay out late partying or get in trouble. Bell was respected by the fans, opposing players and the media. He was a man of substance according to people who knew him. William Bell was a role model when he was a player and carried on that tradition when he was a manager. William Bell Later in his career, he managed the Newark Eagles in 1936 and 1948. Kansas City MonarchsAs a manager he was known as a good teacher and an excellent role 1924model for young pitchers. He had a winning record both seasons he managed the Eagles.

Early Baseball Career

Prior to the start of his career in Negro League baseball, William Bell attended and graduated from Paul Quinn College in Waco, Texas. Bell played college baseball at Paul Quinn.

Bell entered professional baseball in 1921 when he signed to play for the Galveston Black Sand Crabs of the Texas Colored League.

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Negro League Career

In 1922 William Bell was signed to play with the All Nations independent-barnstorming baseball team. All Nations served as the farm team for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League and was managed by legendary black pitcher John Donaldson. Donaldson’s All Nations team traveled the country by automobile and spent a good percentage of their time camping out to reduce travel expenses. John Donaldson was the headliner of the team and when he wasn’t pitching he was the team’s starting centerfielder. Also appearing on the 1922 roster for the All Nations team besides William Bell was future Kansas City Monarchs star Newt Allen. From newspaper articles that have been uncovered, the All Nations team had a very successful record against their local competition. Due to poor newspaper coverage of the All Nations schedule, complete pitching statistics for Bell’s 1922 season are not available.

William Bell started the 1923 season with All Nations but by the mid part of the summer he was called up to pitch for the Kansas City Monarchs. He spent the rest of the season pitching for both the Monarchs and All Nations. From the limited number of box scores that have been found for the Monarchs with William Bell Beats Le MarsBell pitching, he posted a won-loss record of 3-1 (.750) in his first Le Mars Globe-Postyear in the Negro National League. Le Mars, IA 07-13-22

Sam Crawford was the manager of the Monarchs at the start of the 1923 season, but by mid-season, he had been replaced by Jose Mendez. The 1923 Kansas City Monarchs had an outstanding hitting line-up that included:

Kansas City Monarchs (1923)

1B Lemuel Hawkins .286 OF Oscar “Heavy” Johnson .4052B Newt Allen .302 OF Hurley McNair .332SS Walter “Dobie” Moore .366 OF Wade Johnston .3323B Newt Joseph .269 P Bullet Rogan .364C Frank Duncan .254

Oscar “Heavy” Johnson was the Negro National League’s top hitter and led the “league” in homeruns with 20 and also runs batted in with 120. John Donaldson (.351) and George Sweatt (.310) were the team’s top two utility players.

Kansas City also had the best two pitchers (Bullet Rogan and Rube Currie) and the top pitching staff in the Negro National League during the 1923 season. Their starting rotation included Wilber “Bullet” Rogan (16-10), Rube Currie (15-9), Bill Drake (12-10) and Jose Mendez (11-4). Research by John Holway credits Currie with 23 wins and Rogan with 20 wins when games against “non-league” opponents are added to their season win totals.

Since the inception of the Negro National League in 1920, the Chicago American Giants had dominated play and they had won the first three “league” titles. But in 1923 they met their match in the Kansas City Monarchs. Kansas City posted a won-loss record of 57-33 (.633) to win the Negro National League championship.

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During the 1923 season, the Kansas City Monarchs also played the Kansas City Blues of the American Association for the “Championship of Kansas City.” The Monarchs dominated their “white” opponents to win the “City Championship.”

On October 31st of 1923 the Kansas City Monarchs played a game against the Casey Stengel All Stars in Kansas City, MO. Stengel’s team included Bob Meusel, Irish Meusel, Dazzy Vance and Zack Wheat.

Kansas City Monarchs (1924)Negro National League Champions

(left to right –George Sweatt, William “Plunk” Drake, Carroll “Dink” Mothel, Bill McCall, Frank Duncan (Sr.), Lemuel Hawkins, Cliff Bell, Walter “Dobie” Moore, William Bell, Jose Mendez, Wilber “Bullet” Rogan,

Newt Allen, Harold Morris, Oscar “Heavy” Johnson and Newt Joseph)

Based on his performance with the Monarchs when he was called up from the All Nations team during the 1923 season, William Bell was invited to the Kansas City Monarch’s 1924 spring training camp. By the end of spring training not only he had made the team but was one of the team’s starting pitchers. Bell did not disappoint the Monarch’s confidence in him as he reeled off ten (10) straight wins against Negro National League opponents to start the season.

With Jose Mendez as the team’s manager, the Kansas City Monarchs started the 1924 season just where they left off the 1923 season. They dominated all their opponents and were the top club in the Negro National League.

The Kansas City Monarchs were the top hitting Negro League club during the season. According to research by Larry Lester and Dick Clark, they posted a team batting average of .317 for the season. The top hitters for the Kansas City Monarchs for the 1924 season were Bullet Rogan (.392), Oscar “Heavy” Johnson (.364), Walter “Dobie” Moore (.352), Newt Joseph (.340) and Hurley McNair (.324). Wilber “Bullet” Rogan (18-6) was the ace of the pitching staff. William Bell (11-2), Bill Drake (10-9), Bill McCall, Harold “Yellowhorse” Morris (7-4) and Jose Mendez (7-1) rounded out the pitching staff. Rogan led the “league” in wins (18) and Bell led the “league” in winning percentage (.846).

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Negro League World Series (1924)

Kansas City MonarchsNegro National League Champions

(left to right – Frank Floyd, Hurley Mc Nair, Newt Joseph, Harold Morris, Heavy Johnson, Bullet Rogan, Newt Allen, Jose Mendez, Dobie Moore, William Bell, Lemuel Hawkins, Frank Duncan, Cliff Bell, Dink Mothel, William McCall, Bill Drake, George Sweatt, J.L. Wilkinson, Dr. William Smith, Charles Spedden and Alex Pompez)

HilldaleEastern Colored League Champions

(left to right – Rube Foster, Ed Bolden, Louis Santop, Nip Winters, Rube Currie, Scrip Lee, Tank Carr, George Johnson, Judy Johnson, Red Ryan, Biz Mackey, Tom Allen, William Campbell, Joe Lewis, Clint Thomas, Phil Cockrell, Otto Briggs, Frank Warfield, Jake Stephens and William “Doc” Lambert.)

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The Kansas City Monarchs finished the regular 1924 Negro National League season with a won-loss record of 55-22 (.714) to give them their second straight “league” title. The Chicago American Giants (49-24) finished in second place and the Detroit Stars (37-29) finished in third place in the final Negro National League standings.

The First Negro League World Series

In October of 1924 the first ever Negro League World Series was held. It pitted the Negro National League champion Kansas City Monarchs against Hilldale who were the champions of the Eastern Colored League. Hilldale was led by the pitching of Jesse “Nip” Winters (27-4), Phil Cockrell (15-2) and Merven “Red” Ryan (12-7). The top hitters for Hilldale were Raleigh “Biz” Mackey (.357), Louis Santop (.328) and Judy Johnson (.324). Baseball fans were eager to see the best two pitchers in the Negro Leagues, Wilber “Bullet” Rogan (Kansas City) and Jesse “Nip” Winters (Hilldale), face off against each other.

The starting line-ups for the Kansas City Monarchs and Hilldale for the 1923 Negro League World Series were as follows:

Kansas City Monarchs Hilldale

Mgr Jose Mendez Mgr Frank Warfield

1B Lemuel “Lem” Hawkins 1B Tom Allen 2B Newt Allen 2B Frank Warfield SS Walter “Dobie” Moore SS William “Judy” Johnson 3B Walter “Newt” Joseph 3B Raleigh “Biz” Mackey C Frank Duncan C Louis “Big Bertha” Santop RF Oscar “Heavy” Johnson RF Otto Briggs CF Hurley McNair CF George W. Johnson LF George Sweatt LF Clint “Hawk” Thomas P Wilber “Bullet Joe” Rogan P Jesse “Nip” Winters

P William Bell P Phil CockrellP Jose Mendez P Rube Currie

The Negro League World Series opened on October 3rd with a double header at the Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. Bullet Rogan defeated Phil Cockrell in the first game by a score of 6-2. Jesse “Nip” Winters came back in game two and beat the Monarchs by a score of 11-0. William Bell started and won game six of the Negro League World Series with approximately 9,000 fans in attendance. The series could not have been more dramatic in how it unfolded on the field. Going into the tenth and final game of the series, both teams each had four victories (game three had ended in a tie). An aging Jose Mendez took the mound for Kansas City. Hilldale countered with Scrip Lee. Mendez pitched brilliantly and led the Monarchs to a 5-0 win and the Kansas City Monarchs claimed the first ever Negro League World Series championship. The Monarchs were led in the series by the pitching

Kansas City Monarchs vs Hilldale of Jose Mendez (2-0), Bullet Rogan (2-1) and William Bell (1-0). Bullet Rogan was also the

Negro League World Series (1924) top hitter for the Kansas Monarchs collecting Baker Bowl 13 hits in 40 at bats for a .375 batting average. Philadelphia, PA

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A summary of the 1924 Negro League World Series is as follows:

Winning LosingGame Location Date Winning Team Score Pitcher Pitcher

1 Philadelphia Oct 3rd Kansas City 6-2 Bullet Rogan Phil Cockrell2 Philadelphia Oct 3rd Hilldale 11-0 Nip Winters Jack Mc Call3 Baltimore Oct 5th Tie Game 6-6 - -4 Baltimore Oct 6th Hilldale 4-3 Rube Currie Cliff Bell5 Kansas City Oct 11th Hilldale 5-2 Nip Winters Bullet Rogan6 Kansas City Oct 13th Kansas City 6-5 William Bell Scrip Lee7 Kansas City Oct 14th Kansas City 4-3 Jose Mendez Nip Winters8 Chicago Oct 18th Kansas City 3-2 Bullet Rogan Rube Currie9 Chicago Oct 19th Hilldale 5-3 Nip Winters Bill Drake10 Chicago Oct 20th Kansas City 5-0 Jose Mendez Scrip Lee

The Negro League World Series unfortunately was a financial disaster at the box office. The ten games played only brought in $ 52,000 in gate receipts. For over two weeks of work, each Kansas City Monarchs player got $ 308.00 and each Hilldale player got only $ 193.00.

The Kansas City Monarchs Keep on Winning

William Bell was back in the starting rotation for the Kansas City Monarchs for the start of the 1925 season. Kansas City under manager Jose Mendez was again the best team in the Negro National League.

Bullet Rogan (.381), Hurley McNair (.329), Newt Joseph (.313), Dobie Moore (.306) and Newt Allen (.304) led the hitting attack for the 1925 Monarchs. As usual Kansas City boasted one of the best pitching staffs in Negro League baseball. The Monarchs pitching staff was anchored by Bullet Rogan (17-2), Nelson Dean (12-4) and William Bell (11-3).

The Kansas City Monarchs finished the 1925 regular season with a record of 62-23 (.729). They won the first half of the Negro National League season and then faced the St. Louis Stars, who won the second half of the season, in a Play-Off Series. Kansas City defeated St. Louis in the Play-Off Series to win the Negro National League title and the right to face the winner of the Eastern Colored League in the Negro League World Series. Bullet Rogan (3-0) and William Bell (1-1) were supported by the hitting of Bullet Rogan (.455), Newt Allen (.407) and Hurley McNair (.375) to defeat St. Louis in the 1925 Negro National League Play-Off Series. A summary of the Play-Off Series is as follows: Winning LosingGame Location Date Winning Team Score Pitcher Pitcher

1 St. Louis Sept 19th Kansas City 8-6 Bullet Rogan Slap Hensley2 St. Louis Sept 20th St. Louis 6-3 Roosevelt Davis Nelson Dean3 St. Louis Sept 23rd St. Louis 3-2 G. Brown William Bell4 Chicago Sept 26th Kansas City 5-4 Bullet Rogan Percy Miller5 Chicago Sept 27th St. Louis 2-1 G. Brown Bill Drake6 Chicago - Kansas City 9-3 William Bell Roosevelt Davis7 Chicago - Kansas City 4-0 Bullet Rogan G. Brown

Hilldale vs Kansas City Colored World Series Ticket 10-08-25

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The 1925 Negro League World Series was a repeat match up of the year before with the Kansas City Monarchs (Negro National League) and Hilldale (Eastern Colored League) ending their regular season as the two best teams in Negro League baseball. Hilldale finished the regular season with a record of 52-15 (.776). The Kansas City Monarchs never got untracked in the series and went down to Hilldale in a mere six games. Kansas City only won one game to five games for Hilldale, as the Eastern League champions claimed the Negro League World Series title.

A summary of the 1925 Negro League World Series is as follows:

Winning LosingGame Location Date Winning Team Score Pitcher Pitcher

1 Kansas City Oct 1st Hilldale 5-2 Rube Currie Bill Drake2 Kansas City Oct 2nd Kansas City 5-3 Nelson Dean Phil Cockrell3 Kansas City Oct 3rd Hilldale 3-1 Red Ryan Jose Mendez4 Kansas City Oct 4th Hilldale 7-4 Nip Winters Bill Drake5 Philadelphia Oct 8th Hilldale 2-1 Rube Currie Cliff Bell6 Philadelphia Oct 10th Hilldale 5-2 Phil Cockrell William Bell

The 1925 Negro League World Series was an even worse financial disaster than the year before. The total gate receipts for the entire series were a mere $ 21,000.00. When they left to go home each member of the losing Monarchs team got $ 57.64 per man or less than $10.00 a game.

Behind the lights out pitching of William Bell, who won 10 of his first 11 decisions, the Kansas City Monarchs started the 1926 Negro National League strong. Bell pitched eight complete games during this winning streak at the start of the season. Kansas City also got strong pitching during the season from Bullet Rogan (15-5) and Chet Brewer (13-2). According to Negro League researcher John Holway, William Bell posted a won-loss record of 19-4 (.826) for the 1926 season. The Kansas City Monarchs’ pitchers carried the team all season. Over most of the season, Kansas Monarchs’ hitters ranked at or near the bottom of the league in team batting average. On June 26th Kansas City hitters were batting .247 as a team. Only the St. Louis Stars were worse at the plate. The top hitters for the Monarchs during the season were Cristobal Torriente (.348), Bullet Rogan (.306), Dink Mothell (.292) and Wade Johnston (.291).

The Kansas City Monarchs finished the 1926 regular season with a record of 57-21 (.729) just in front of the Chicago American Giants (57-23). Kansas City won the first half of the season and Chicago won the second half. Kansas City and Chicago met in a Play-Off Series to settle which team would win the “league” title. The Monarchs got off to a fast start winning the first three games and four of the first five of the series. However, Chicago came back to win the final four games to give the American Giants the series five games to four for the Monarchs.

William Bell returned to Kansas City for the start of the 1927 Negro National League season. The Monarchs with Bullet Rogan as manager fielded a strong team in 1927 and they looked forward to redeeming themselves for their Play-Off loss to Chicago at the end of the 1926 season. Kansas City was led by the hitting of Wade Johnston (.333), Bullet Rogan (.333), Newt Allen (.320), Tom Young (.296) and Newt Joseph (.281). Bell also had a very good season at the plate. He posted a .280 batting average against Negro National League competition. The leaders

Joplin News Herald of Kansas City’s pitching staff were Bullet Rogan (16-6), Joplin, MO William Bell (13-3), George Mitchell (10-4) and Chet Brewer 07-14-27 (8-5). William Bell pitched consistently well all season with his

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earned run average always around the 2.00 mark. William Bell finished the year with a league leading 2.09 earned run average (ERA). Bell also pitched 12 complete games and had 4 shut outsduring the 1927 season. However, all the other Monarch pitchers other than the four main starters struggled all season. Butch Glass went 6-13, Cliff Bell was 6-10 and Bill Tyler was 6-8 for the season. With the lack of pitching depth, the Kansas City Monarchs finished second in the Negro National League to the Chicago American Giants (63-30). Kansas City was 54-29 (.651) for the year.

Kansas City Monarchs (1926-1927)(William Bell, Grady “Diploma” Orange and Wade Johnston)

During the 1927 season, the Kansas City Monarchs played a significant number of games against “non-league” opponents. According to newspaper accounts, the Monarchs were extremely successful in their exhibition games. In a newspaper article that appeared in The Hutchinson News (Hutchinson, KS) on 07-27-27, they reported that Kansas City had won 26 games of the 38 games they played against Major League teams and had only lost 3 games in the 580 exhibition games they had played against local teams over the last three years. The Hutchinson News also reported that the Kansas City Monarchs drew over a million fans during the 1927 season. These attendance figures and won-loss records are most likely highly exaggerated, but the Monarchs were a tremendous draw and very successful on the field everywhere they played.

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After they completed spring training in Hot Springs (AR), the Kansas City Monarchs started their 1928 Negro National League season. Most of the Kansas City Monarchs hitters had an off year in 1928. Only two Monarchs batters hit over .300 for the season. The top hitters for the Kansas City Monarchs during the season were Bullet Rogan (.348), George Giles (.303) and Dink Mothell (.298). With the lack of run support William Bell’s won-loss percentage suffered during the season. Bell finished the Negro National League season with a won-loss record of 10-7 (.588) and an ERA of 2.89 against “league” competition. Other members of Kansas City’s starting rotation included Andy Cooper (12-7), Bullet Rogan (10-2), Army Cooper (7-4) and Chet Brewer (6-8).

The Kansas City Monarchs once again finished in second place in the final 1928 Negro National League standings. They had a won-loss record of 50-31 (.617) in “league” games. The St. Louis Stars won the Negro National League title with a record of 66-26 (.717).

The Monarchs were the top team in the Negro National League during the 1929 season. They started out strong and got even stronger as the season progressed. Kansas City won the first half of the season and posted an unbelievable won-loss record of 34-6 (.850) to also win the second half of the season. The final order of standing for the 1929 Negro National League season wasas follows:

Negro National League (1929)

Team Games Won Lost Percentage Place

Kansas City Monarchs 79 62 17 .785 1st

St. Louis Stars 92 59 33 .641 2nd

Chicago American Giants 89 49 40 .551 3rd

Detroit Stars 80 38 42 .475 4th

Cuban Stars (West) 44 18 26 .409 5th

Birmingham Black Barons 80 29 51 .363 6th

Memphis Red Sox 63 19 44 .302 7th

Nashville Elite Giants 30 10 20 .333 (Associate Member)

There was no Negro League World Series held between the winners of the Negro National League and the American Negro League after the 1929 season.

Unlike the season before Kansas City got excellent hitting as a team during the entire season. According to research by John Holway and Dick Clark, the Kansas City Monarchs posted a team batting average of .312 for the 1929 season. Tom Young (.369), Bullet Rogan (.356), Leroy Taylor (.353), Frank Duncan (.350), Chet Brewer (.339), Newt Allen (.337), Hallie Harding (.311) and Eddie Dwight (.303) all hit over .300 for the season. William Bell also had one of the best hitting seasons of his career. Bell batted .294 for the Negro National League season. With good run support, Bullet Rogan’s Monarchs starting pitchers thrived all season. Chet Brewer (16-2), Alfred Cooper (15-4), William Bell (14-4), Andy Cooper (10-3) and Herb Wilson (6-1) led Kansas City’s pitching staff.

After the regular season, the Kansas City Monarchs met the Houston Black Buffalos of the Texas-Oklahoma-Louisiana League in a championship series. The Houston Black Buffalos won both halves of the Texas-Oklahoma-Louisiana League and finished the regular season with an unbelievable record of 67-8 (.893). Houston was eager to prove that they could compete with the best black teams in the country and a series victory over Kansas City would give them national recognition. The first game of the series was played on September 21st at West End Park in Houston. The Black Buffalos were not intimidated by

Port Arthur News 09-01-29

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Kansas City Monarchs Dominate Houston Black Buffalos in Championship Series

Chicago Defender Chicago Defender 10-05-29 09-28-29

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the Monarchs pitching staff and responded with 12 runs ingame one. Unfortunately for Houston, Kansas City collected27 hits and scored 15 runs in game one off Houston’s top pitchers. The Kansas City Monarchs went on to sweep the series in four straight games by the scores of 15-12, 3-2, 6-2 and 10-1. William Bell picked up two victories in the series. The Kansas City Monarchs were declared the “Colored Champions of the World” by the Texas black press.

After defeating Houston in their “Championship Series,” the Kansas City Monarchs traveled to San Antonio (TX)where they took a double header from San Luis Potsi(Mexico) by the scores of 10-5 and 6-0.

From San Antonio, Kansas City headed to the West Coast Afro Americanto play winter ball. 10-12-29

In late 1929, J.L. Wilkinson, team owner of the Kansas City Monarchs, took his club to Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas to practice under the newly installed lights at the college’s football stadium. Wilkinson wanted to know whether or not night baseball was a viable option. Convinced that night baseball was possible and could be very profitable, Wilkinson commissioned the Giant Manufacturing Company of Council Bluffs, Iowa to build a portable lighting system for the Monarchs. J.L. Wilkinson mortgaged his home and took on Tom Baird as a partner to raise the $ 50,000 that was required to purchase the portable lighting system. The lighting equipment was comprised of four telescoping poles that could extend 40 to 50 feet in the air. Each pole was equipped with six 1,000 watt light bulbs. The lights were powered by a 100 kilowatt generator and the entire system was mounted to a truck

Kansas City Monarchs’ Portable Lighting System

The Kansas City Monarchs started their 1930 baseball season with spring training being held in Houston, Texas and waited for the arrival of their lighting system. Wilkinson took delivery of the lighting system on April 29th and had his technicians set up the system at Union Pacific Park in Houston for a trial test. The test was a complete success and Wilkinson made plans for a barnstorming tour to highlight his night baseball concept. Wilkinson sent the trucks with the lighting system north to Kansas as the Monarchs left Houston and barnstormed their way back home to Kansas City.

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The first night game was supposed to be played in Arkansas City, Kansas on April 26th, but a thunderstorm caused the game to be cancelled. The same thing happened the next night in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. Finally, the first night game for Kansas City was played against Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma on April 28th with 3,000 fans in attendance. The Monarchs won the game 12-3. Four nights later 12,000 fans turned out in Des Moines (IA) to see Kansas City play a night game. During the Monarchs exhibition tour they also played the first night game ever held in Dallas, Texas at Steer Stadium on May 7th. Over 7,000 Dallas fans turned out to see the Kansas City Monarchs defeat the Dallas Black Giants by a score of 12-2. Everywhere Kansas City went on their barnstorming tour with their portable lighting system they played to record crowds. Playing

Bell Wins Historic Game night baseball also proved to be a tremendous financial Chicago Defender success for Kansas City. 05-10-30

The 1930 Negro National League season would be William Bell’s last as a Kansas City Monarch. After their unbelievable 1929 season, the Monarchs settled back down to earth. In 1929 the Monarchs had eight hitters that batted over .300 for the season. Only two Kansas City hitters batted over .300 for the 1930 season. They were Frank Duncan (.367) and Newt Allen (.363).

During the 1930 season the Kansas City Monarchs scheduled a 16 game barnstorming tour of Pennsylvania and Ohio with the Homestead Grays .The Grays were owned by Cumberland Posey and were a powerhouse in black baseball in the East. The first game of the series was played in Cleveland on July 16th and the series ended in Kansas City on August 3rd. Some of the other cities the tour visited were Akron (OH), Sharon (PA), Altoona (PA), Beaver Falls (PA), Columbus (OH), and Pittsburgh (PA).

William Bell was the ace of the pitching staff and had an excellent season in 1930. Bell started thirteen (13) Negro National League games and had twelve (12) complete games. Against Negro National League competition, William Bell went 10-4 with a 2.96 ERA.

Other members of the Monarchs pitching staff during the 1930 season were Alfred Cooper(9-1), Chet Brewer (8-6), Henry McHenry (7-6) and John Markham (3-5).

The Kansas City Monarchs finished the regular 1930 Negro National League season with a record of 39-26 (.600). They ended up in third place in the final “league” standings behind the St. Louis Stars (66-22) and the Detroit Stars (50-33). According to research by John Holway, Kansas City had a won-loss record of 54-33 (.621) when “league” and “non-league” games were added together.

Brewer Wins Two from San Luis Chicago Defender 4-26-30

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Prior to the start of the 1931 baseball season, the New York Harlem Stars were formed with John Henry “Pop” Lloyd as the team’s manager. Originally the team was going to be called the “Harlem All Stars” but changed because as Pop Lloyd was quoted in the media:

“It is my opinion that the New York All-Stars would be the appropriate name for this new team , as every man is good enough in his particular sphere to star in any team in this country, black or white.”

At the start of the season, Lloyd’s team played as the New York Harlem Stars. During the 1931 season they were also called the New York Black Yankees. They played an independent schedule during the 1931 baseball season.

New York Black Yankees vs Bacharach Giants

Afro American 08-22-31

Lloyd convinced William Bell, Frank Duncan and Lee Livingston to leave the Kansas City Monarchs and join New York to play in the East. Some of the top hitters for New York during the 1931 season were Pop Lloyd (1B), Orville Riggins (SS), Larry Brown (C), Clarence “Fats” Jenkins (OF) and Clint Thomas (OF). New York had a strong pitching staff that besides William Bell included Bill Holland, Henry McHenry, Connie Rector and Red Ryan.

Not enough box scores for New York have been found for an accurate representation as to how the players performed during the season. In the four box scores that have been found with Bell pitching for New York, he had a record of 2-2 (.500) with a 2.56 ERA. Indications from newspaper reports are that New York had a losing season when they played against “league” and top level teams, but were very successful against lower level competition during the 1931 season.

At the start of the 1932 baseball season there was no formal Negro League in the country. The American Negro League which was composed of teams in the East had folded after the 1929 season and the Negro National League which was comprised of teams in the Midwest officially disbanded in March of 1932. With no black league, Cumberland Posey, who owned both the Homestead Grays and Detroit Wolves, undertook an ambitious plan to form one league that included both Eastern and Midwestern teams. Posey’s “new” league was called the East-West League. The teams and their final order of finish in the 1932 East-West League when the league folded were:

East-West League (1932)

Team Games Won Lost Percentage Place

Detroit Wolves 50 38 12 .760 1st

Homestead Grays 72 54 18 .659 2nd

Baltimore Black Sox 82 41 41 .500 3rd

Cuban Stars 35 16 19 .471 4th

Hilldale 50 19 31 .380 5th

Washington Pilots 51 16 35 .318 6th

Cleveland Stars 16 5 11 .313 7th

Newark Browns 17 3 14 .176 8th

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Poor attendance and the financial problems associated with the Great Depression spelled disaster for the “new” league. The East-West League folded before the end of the season and therefore no “league” championship was awarded.

During the 1932 season, William Bell pitched for three different teams. Two of the teams, the Detroit Wolves and Homestead Grays, played in the newly formed East-West League. Bell started the season with the Detroit Wolves then played briefly for the Homestead Grays before joining the Pittsburgh Crawfords for the remainder of the season.

The Pittsburgh Crawfords were owned by Gus Greenlee who also owned the famous Crawford Grill located in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. The Crawfords played an independent schedule during the 1932 season. Greenlee’s goal was to own the premier black baseball club in the East. To this end he first hired Oscar Charleston as his player-manager and then raided the Homestead Grays and other top teams in the East for their best black ball players. Besides William Bell some of the top players Greenlee signed were Jimmie Crutchfield (OF), Rap Dixon (OF), Josh Gibson (C), Judy Johnson (3B), Ted Page (OF), Satchel Paige (P), Bill Perkins (C), Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe (C/P), Jake Stephens (SS), Sam Streeter (P) and Jud Wilson (OF/3B). In addition Greenlee bought the Crawfords a new $ 10,000 team bus and built his own stadium (Greenlee Field) that seated 6,000 fans. In 1932 Greenlee Field was the only black owned ball park in the country.

Detroit Wolves vs Louisville Cubs (1932)

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Bell had a dramatic impact on the Pittsburgh Crawfords once he joined the team. After going 3-1 in his first four games against top level competition, he won nine straight games from July 12th to August 26th when he blanked the South Orange team 8-0. William Bell had a very good season in 1932. Box scores have been found for 15 games he pitched in during the season. In games against “league” teams and other top level squads, his won-loss record was 11-4 with 11 complete games in 13 games as the starting pitcher. Bell was 8-2 for the Pittsburgh Crawfords “league” games. One of the highlights of the 1932 season for Bell occurred in mid-August when he pitched the first night game ever played at Greenlee Field. Bell beat the House of David 6-3 in this historic game.

After the 1932 regular season, the Pittsburgh Crawfords played a seven game series versus Casey Stengel’s All Stars. Stengel’s team was also billed as the Major League All-Stars in the media. The Major Leaguers were led by the hitting of Hack Wilson and Woody English. Larry French and Bill Swift were featured on Stengel’s pitching staff. The opening game of the series was played at York, PA. William Bellbeat Larry French and the Major Leaguers by ascore of 5-2 in the game.

Led by the pitching of William Bell who went 3-0 in the series, the Pittsburgh Crawfordsdominated their Major League opponents. Satchel Paige and Sam Streeter also beat Casey Stengel’s All Stars. Six Pittsburgh Crawfords hitters batted over .300 for the series. These players were Jake Stephens - .444 (8 for 18), Ted Page - .400 (12 for 30), Josh Gibson – .333 (9 for 27), Jimmie Crutchfield - .333 (8 for 24), Jud Wilson - .321 (9 for 28) and Oscar Charleston - .321 (9 for 28). The series concluded on October 7th when the Crawfords won a doubleheader over the Major League All Stars in Cleveland. William Bell won the final game of the series by a score of 4-2. The Pittsburgh Crawfords won five of the seven games against the Major Leaguers.

The Pittsburgh Crawfords had a very successful season in 1932. According to a newspaper article that appeared in The Altoona Mirror (Altoona, PA) on 09-28-32, the Pittsburgh Crawfords had a won-loss record of 101-37 (.732) for the 1932 baseball season.

Before the start of the 1933 season, the Negro National League was reformed and Gus Greenlee (owner of the Pittsburgh Crawfords) was elected as the Negro National League President. The following nine teams played in the Negro National League in 1933: Cole’s American Giants (37-14), Pittsburgh Crawfords (38-17), Nashville Elite Giants (27-22), Homestead Grays (11-9), Baltimore Black Sox (11-11), Detroit Stars (19-30), Columbus Blue Birds (16-26), Akron Tyrites (2-9) and the Cleveland Giants (2-14). The Birmingham Black Barons, Hilldale and Newark Dodgers were all associate members of the “league.”

Gus Greenlee’s Crawford GrillPittsburgh, PA

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The Pittsburgh Crawfords conducted spring training in Memphis, Tennessee before heading back East to start the regular season. Led by manager Oscar Charleston, Gus Greenlee felt he was fielding a pennant winning line-up for the 1933 season.

William Bell returned to Pittsburgh to play for the Crawfords for the 1933 Negro National League season. Bell started the season on a positive note when he threw a 7-0 shutout against the Nashville Elite Giants in his first “league” start of the 1933 season. Pittsburgh boasted a strong power hitting team and one of the best pitching staffs in Negro League baseball. According to research by John Holway, Oscar Charleston (.388), Josh Gibson (.352), James “Cool Pappa” Bell (.339), Ted Page (.321), Bill Perkins (.311) and Anthony Cooper (.309) led the Crawfords hitting attack. Pittsburgh’s pitching staff included Bertrum Hunter (14-4), LeroyMatlock (11-4), William Bell (7-3), Satchel Paige (7-9) and Sam Streeter (6-4).

Cole’s Chicago American Giants won the first half of the season. With no clear winner of the second half of the regular Negro National League season declared, the Pittsburgh Crawfords played the Nashville Elite Giants for the second half of the season title. Bell Shuts Out NashvilleThe series was slated for three games. Pittsburgh won the first two Afro Americangames. Game three was never reported in the media. 05-06-33

When no Play-Off Series between the winner of the first half of the season (American Giants) and the winner of the second half (Crawfords) was scheduled, Gus Greenlee (who also owned the Pittsburgh Crawfords) awarded the 1933 Negro National League title to his own team.

Even though he was thirty-six years of age, William Bell was still being counted on to be one of the starting pitchers for the Pittsburgh Crawfords for the 1934 Negro National League season. In fact he was the starting pitcher for the Crawfords in their opening game of the season. William Bell went 10-4 for the season against Negro National League opponents. According to John Holway the other top pitchers for the Crawfords were Satchel Paige (20-5), Leroy Matlock (14-3), Sam Streeter (10-2) and Bertrum Hunter (5-1). It is important to note that Holway’s totals include both “league” and “non-league” games. The top hitters for Pittsburgh for the 1934 season were Vic Harris (.367), Oscar Charleston (.333), Josh Gibson (.321), Chester Williams (.321) and James “Cool Pappa” Bell (.315).

Pittsburgh Crawfords vs Philadelphia Stars Morning Herald Hagerstown, MD 07-13-34

One of the highlights of the 1934 season for Pittsburgh was the Crawfords participation in a post season doubleheader that was played at Yankee Stadium to benefit the Charles Young Post of the American Legion. The event was billed in the media as the “Colored World Series Classic.” The main attraction of the game was that it presented a showdown between the two best pitchers in Negro League baseball. Satchel Paige of the Pittsburgh Crawfords had a 13-2 record in “league” play for the season, while Slim Jones of the Philadelphia Stars had a record of 20-5 for the 1934 season. The doubleheader was attended by 20,000 fans with another 5,000 fans that

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couldn’t get in. The Chicago American Giants defeated the New York Black Yankees 4-3 in the first game and the Pittsburgh Crawfords battled to a 1-1 tie with the Philadelphia Stars in the second game. The Crawfords-Stars game was called because of darkness. A rematch of the game was played on September 16th back at Yankee Stadium with Satchel Paige (Pittsburgh) beating Slim Jones (Philadelphia) by a score of 3-1.

Pittsburgh Crawfords (1934)

(left to right- Jimmie Crutchfield, Bertrum Hunter, Roosevelt Davis, Leroy Morney, Chester Williams, Cy Perkins, Clarence Palm, William Bell, James “Cool Pappa” Bell, Harry Kincannon, Judy Johnson, Leroy Matlock,

Ted Page, Curtis Harris, Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige and Oscar Charleston)

Negro League researchers disagree on the Pittsburgh Crawfords won-loss record for the 1934 season. Research by Larry Lester and Dick Clark has Pittsburgh finishing third in the Negro National League with a record of 31-19 (.620). Lester and Clark credit the Philadelphia Stars (25-13) with the best record in the “league” and the Chicago American Giants (28-15) in second place for the 1934 Negro National League season. John Holway’s research has the Pittsburgh Crawfords with the best record of the Negro National League teams when both “league” and “non-league” games are added together. The Pittsburgh Crawfords according to John Holway had a won-loss record of 64-22 (.674) for the 1934 season.

William Bell started the 1935 season with the Pittsburgh Crawfords before he moved to the Newark Dodgers. The Dodgers were owned by Charles Tyler who also owned the Chicken Shack restaurant in Newark, New Jersey. Dick Lundy started the season off as the manager of the Newark Dodgers, but in May Dick Lundy was traded by the Newark Dodgers to the Brooklyn Eagles for Bun Hayes and Eugene White. After Lundy was traded it appears William Bell may have been named the manager of the Newark Dodgers.

From the limited records that are available, Bell had a 3-1 won-loss record with Newark during the second half of the 1935 Negro National League season. Timothy Bond (SS/2B), Ray Dandridge (3B), Bert Johnson (OF) and Jim Williams (SS) were some of the top offensive players for the Dodgers. The pitching staff for the Dodgers included Bob Evans (6-9), William Bell (3-1), Homer Craig (2-2) and Bun Hayes (2-6).

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Pittsburgh Crawfords Starting Pitchers (1933-1935)

(Satchel Paige, Leroy Matlock, William Bell, Harry Kincannon, Sam Streeter and Berturm Hunter)

The Newark Dodgers struggled all season and finished the season in last place in the Negro National League. They had a dismal won-loss record of 17-42 (.288). William Bell’s old team the Pittsburgh Crawfords that he had started the season with won the Negro National League championship with a record of 42-15 (.737).

Newark Dodgers (1935)(William Bell – back row third from right)

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Newark Eagles

Ruppert Stadium – Home of the Newark Eagles

Effa Manley Owner of Newark Eagles

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Prior to the start of the 1936 baseball season, Abe and Effa Manley who already owned the Brooklyn Eagles purchased the Newark Dodgers. The Manleys then combined the two teams into one team and called their “new” team the Newark Eagles. William Bell was named the manager of the Newark Eagles. Having rosters from two teams (Newark Dodgers and Brooklyn Eagles) to pick players from and the ability to sign new players enabled Bell to totally revamp his roster and field a competitive team for the 1936 Negro National League season. The key players Bell kept from the Brooklyn Eagles were Leon Day, Rap Dixon, Terris McDuffie, Ted Page, Leon Ruffin, Ed Stone and Harry Williams. Ray Dandridge, Bob Evans and John Hayes were the main players Bell retained from the Newark Dodgers. In addition, the Manleys signed the following new players: Henry “Jake” Spearman (OF), George “Mule” Suttles (1B), Clint Thomas (OF) and Willie Wells (SS) to strengthen the team’s roster.

After conducting spring training in Jacksonville (FL), the Newark Eagles returned to New Jersey and played their home game at Ruppert Stadium in Newark. Bell’s number one problem as the manager of the Newark Eagles during the season was hitting. In thirty-one (31) Negro National League games from May 9th to July 9th, the Eagles had a team batting average of .228. They were last in the “league” in batting, 29 points behind the Philadelphia Stars (.257). The New York Cubans led the Negro National League in batting with a .301 average. During the 1936 season, the Newark Eagles top hitters were Mule Suttles (.362), Jake Spearman (.318), Ed Stone (.317), Rap Dixon (.309) and Ray Dandridge (.287). Bob Evans and Leon Day were the team’s top two pitchers during the season. Newark’s pitching staff also included William Bell, Charles “Hooks” Beverly, Bill Jackman and Terris McDuffie. Box scores have been found for six National League games in which William Bell pitched in 1936. In these six games, Bell made three starts, had three complete games, a record of 3-2 (.600) and a 3.43 ERA.

In 1935 both the Brooklyn Eagles (29-32) and the Newark Dodgers (17-42) had losing records. Under William Bell’s management, the Newark Eagles finished the Negro National League season in second place in the final league standings with a record of 30-29 (.508). The Pittsburgh Crawfords had the best won-loss record for the season at 36-24 (.600).

After the regular 1936 season, the Newark Eagles combined their roster with the Homestead Grays to play an eight game series versus a team that combined players from the Kansas City Monarchs and Chicago American Giants of the Negro American League. The combined team of the Eagles-Grays won seven games and the Monarchs-American Giants team won one game.

Even though the Newark Eagles had turned in a solid performance during the 1936 season, it obviously wasn’t good enough for Abe Manley because he hired Tex Burnette as Newark’s manager for the 1937 season. When spring training in High Point (NC) was over, the Eagles barnstormed back North to start the Negro National League season.

The Eagles had an excellent hitting lineup in 1937 that included Ray Dandridge (.372), George “Mule” Suttles (.354), James “Red” Moore (.318), Ed Stone (.311), Dick Lundy (.310) and Willie Wells(.290). Also playing for the 1937 Newark Eagles was a young rookie by the name of Monte Irvin. According to research by John Holway, Irvin batted .319 in his rookie season. Newark also had a strong pitching staff that was anchored by Terris McDuffie (10-4) and Leon Day (7-0). It is important to note that Day played a shortened season due to a sore arm. Other members of the pitching staff included William Bell, Bob Evans, Jonas Gaines and John Wright. At 39 years of age, William Bell pitched in seven Negro National League games during 1937. His record in “league” games for the season was 2-2 (.500) with a 4.28 ERA in 33.7 innings pitched.

The Newark Eagles improved their record from the season before but still finished in second place with a record of 26-14 (.650) behind the Homestead Grays (31-13) who won both halves of the split season.

William Bell retired from professional baseball after the 1937 season.

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William Bell Manages the Newark Eagles in their Last Season

Newark Mayor Vincent J. Murphy and William Bell

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Bell Returns to the Negro Leagues

The mid 1940’s had been a time of prosperity for the Newark Eagles. In 1946 Newark won both halves of the Negro National League title and had defeated the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro League World Series. They were the best team in black baseball. The Eagles started the 1947 season right where they had left off in 1946. They won ball games and dominated Negro National League opponents. In 1947 the Newark Eagles had started the season strong and won the first half of the Negro National League season. However, when Larry Doby signed with the Cleveland Indians the team took a nose dive and the New York Cubans ended up winning the pennant at the end of the season. The New York Cubans went on to defeat the Cleveland Buckeyes (Negro American League) in the Negro League World Series. From Abe Manley’s perspective it should have been his team winning the World Series. With the Eagles collapse during the second half of the 1947 season, Abe Manley felt he needed to make a change in the team’s manager so he contacted William Bell. Manley signed Bell before the start of the 1948 Negro National League season to return to Newark and manage the Eagles.

William Bell entered the 1948 Negro National League season with several things going against him. First, Abe Manley was convinced that when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947 that would mean the end of Negro League baseball. By the start of the 1948 season, Abe Manley was cutting costs wherever he could in order to try to hold on to a dying franchise. In addition he continued selling more players to white “organized” baseball. Newark had already sold Larry Doby to the Cleveland Indians in 1947. During the 1948 season Monte Irvin, Newark’s best player, was sold to the New York Giants.

To start the season, the Newark Eagles conducted spring training in Jacksonville, Florida. After spring training the Eagles returned to Newark with the hope of regaining their glory from their championship 1946 season. The top hitters for the Newark Eagles during the 1948 season were Bob Harvey (.365), Monte Irvin (.319), Robert Wilson (.302) and Lennie Pearson. Max Manning (10-4), Lenial Hooker and Rufus Lewis were the nucleus of the Eagles’ pitching staff.

The Newark Eagles made a respectable showing during the 1948 NegroNational League season. They finished the year with a 29-27 (.518) record in “league” games. This left them in third place in the final “league” standings behind the Homestead Grays (41-19) and Baltimore Elite Giants (45-25).

Even with the team playing respectable baseball, fans failed to turn out for their games. During the 1948 season the Newark Eagles only drew 35,010 fans. To put this financial crisis in perspective, the Eagles drew 120,092 during their 1946 championship season and 57,119 fans in 1947. Abe and Effa Manley reported losses of $ 22,000 in 1947 and posted a $ 25,000 loss in 1948.

The Manleys final act as team owners was to sell what was left of the Newark Eagles franchise to Dr. W. H. Young and Hugh Cherry. The Eagles moved south to Houston to play in the 1949 Negro American League as the Houston Eagles. William Bell retired once again and returned to his home in El Campo, Texas.

Afro American03-27-48

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Cuban Winter League Career

William Bell made his first trip to Cuba to play winter baseball in October of 1927 when he was signed by the Habana Leones of the Cuban Winter League. Besides Habana the 1927-28 winter league season also included Almendares and Cuba. The season started on November 2, 1927 and concluded play on January 28, 1928. Mike Gonzalez was the manager of Habana and he recruited an outstanding team of Negro League players. The hitting attack for the Leones was led by Jud Wilson (.424), Martin Dihigo (.415), Charles “Chino” Smith (.342), Alejandro Oms (.324) and Ramon Herrera (.315). Led by their Negro League stars, the Habana Leones compiled a team batting average of .310 for the season and averaged scoring over six (6) runs a game. The top pitchers for Habana were Oscar Levis (7-2), William Bell (6-2) and Martin Dihigo (4-2). The Habana Leones dominated league play the entire season. When the thirty-seven (37) game season ended, Habana took the Cuban Winter League championship with a record of 24-13 (.649). They won the league title by eight games over Cuba (16-21) and ten games over Almendares (17-23).

Bell returned to Cuba to play for Mike Gonzalez and the Habana Leones for the 1928-29 Cuban Winter League season. Teams that started the season were the Almendares Alacranes, Cienfuegos Elefantes, Cuba and the Habana Leones. The season started on October 20th and ended on January 6th. Mike Gonzalez returned to manage the team and like the season before he concentrated on recruiting Negro League players for his roster. Alejandro Oms (.432), Jud Wilson (.397), Agustin Bejerano (.378), Oscar Estrada (.368), Charles “Chino” Smith (.333) and Martin Dihigo (.303) were the team’s leading hitters during the season. Habana’s pitching rotation included William Bell (9-3), Oscar Estrada (7-4), Jose Acosta (6-2) and Oscar Levis (5-2). William Bell led the Cuban Winter League in complete games with eleven (11) and wins with nine (9) for the 1928-29 season. Like they had done the season before, the Habana Leones started strong and never let up. They finished the season with a record of 43-12 (.782) to claim the league title by ten and a half games over Almendares (31-21). Cuba (17-35) and Cienfuegos (15-38) both dropped out of the league on January 3rd before the end of the season.

Habana Leones (1928-29)

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When the 1929-30 Cuban Winter League season started, William Bell was back in the line-up for Mike Gonzalez’s Habana Leones as the ace of their pitching staff. The 1929-30 season was a disaster for Habana. They went from a league championship with a record of 43-12 (.782) to the worst team in the four team league with a record of 20-30 (.400). Trying to beat Cienfuegos was the biggest problem Habana faced during the season. Cienfuegos defeated the Leones in fifteen (15) of the twenty (20) games they played. The Habana Leones also suffered from the loss of Alejandro Oms, Agustin Bejerano, Oscar Estrada and Martin Dihigo. The leading hitters for Habana during the season were Jud Wilson (.363), Charles “Chino” Smith (.338), Ramon Herrera (.322), Juan Vargas (.315) and George Scales (.290). William Bell was the ace of the pitching staff with a 9-8 (.529) won-loss record. The team’s other top pitchers were Adolfo Luque (4-8) who suffered the worst season of his entire career in Cuba and Oscar Levis (4-5). Cienfuegos behind the pitching of Heliodoro Diaz (13-3) and the hitting of Willie Wells (.322) won the Cuban Winter League championship with a record of 32-19 (.627)

The 1930 Cuban Winter League season was one of conflict and controversy. The season started on November 25th and concluded just five days later on November 30th. The reason for the shortened season was that team owners and La Tropical stadium management became involved in a dispute that could not be resolved. With no ball park to play the games, the season was cancelled. William Bell had returned to play for Mike Gonzalez and his Habana Leones team to help them try to turn around their disastrous performance from the season before. The Leones only played three games and were 1-2 when the season abruptly ended. Chet Brewer won Habana’s only game. William Bell and Juan Eckelson took the losses in the other two games. The other teams that started the 1930 Cuban Winter League season were Almendares (3-1), Cienfuegos (1-1) and Santa Clara (0-1).

When the 1930 regular Cuban Winter League season collapsed, there was an immediate attempt to revive a winter league season in Cuba by the formation of the UNICO-Special Season. The UNICO season started on November 2nd with games played at Almendares Park. Teams that participated in the 1930 UNICO season were Almendarista, Marianao, Habana and Cienfuegos. Mike Gonzalez managed the Habana team and recruited William Bell to pitch for him. Unfortunately, Habana didn’t get any hitting during the UNICO season. Chuck Dressen (.347) and Juan Vargas (.318) were the only hitters that hit above Chino Smith’s .273 batting average for the season. The pitching staff for Habana included Johnny Allen (2-2), William Bell (1-3), Chet Brewer (1-2), Silvino Ruiz (1-0) and Manual Garcia (0-2). The 1930 UNICO-Special Season concluded play on November 24th. The final order of standing was Almendarista (9-4), Marianao (9-5), Habana (5-9) and Cienfuegos (2-7). This was Bell’s last season of winter baseball in Cuba.

William Bell played four seasons of winter baseball in Cuba. He played all of these for Mike Gonzalez and his Habana Leones team. Bell’s won-loss record in Cuba is open for discussion. Some sources credit Bell with a 25-17 (.595) record for his career in Cuba, while the Chicago Defender reported that Bell had a career record of 57-20 (.740) in Cuban play. The Chicago Defender also reported that Bell won three league pennants and one President’s Cup during his career in Cuba.

Life after Professional Baseball

After Bell retired from the Newark Eagles he returned home to El Campo, Texas. William Bell had always been a pillar of the community in El Campo. In his retirement from professional baseball, he made a living managing his livestock and real estate interests. In addition he continued to manage the town’s local baseball team, the Pearl Sluggers. Bell also coached El Campo’s Little League team for several years.. William Bell passed away on March 16, 1969 in El Campo, Texas.

He will always be remembered by the people of El Campo from the local park named after him.

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Assessing William Bell’s Career

The following factors should be taken into consideration when evaluating the baseball career of William Bell.

• William Bell had a won-loss record of 138-53 (.723) in Negro League games and an overall won-loss record in games against all levels of competition of 207-74 (.737). Bell was consistently one of the best pitchers in Negro League baseball during his career. The following chart presents his won-loss record in Negro League games and games against top level competition during his prime as reported by six leading Negro League researchers.

Larry Lester & Dick Clark

Center for Negro League BB Research

Baseball Reference

John Holway

James Riley

MacMillanBaseballEncyclopedia

1924 11-2 11-2 11-2 10-2 10-2 10-21925 12-5 12-5 10-4 10-3 9-3 9-31926 15-6 15-6 15-6 19-4 16-3 16-31927 13-4 13-4 13-3 14-6 13-6 13-61928 10-7 10-7 9-7 11-7 10-7 10-71929 16-4 16-4 14-4 17-4 14-4 17-41930 10-4 10-4 10-2 11-4 9-3 9-31931 2-2 2-2 - 2-1 - -1932 11-4 11-4 7-4 7-2 16-4 5-11933 6-3 6-3 6-2 - - -1934 10-4 10-4 8-4 - - -Career Total 131-53 138-53 109-44 141-57 97-32 89-30

As this chart clearly points out, William Bell never had a losing season during the prime years of his career in the Negro Leagues.

• All Negro League researchers agree that he has the best won-loss percentage in the history of Negro League baseball. The Center for Negro League Baseball Research currently has Bell’s won-loss percentage in Negro League games as .723. This number will change as more box scores are located. The following chart identifies William Bell’s won-loss percentage as reported by seven different Negro League researchers.

Researcher Games Won Games Lost Winning PercentageJames Holway 141 57 .712

Center for Negro League Baseball Research 138 53

.723Larry Lester and Dick Clark 131 53 .712National Baseball HOF 124 48 .721Baseball Reference 109 44 .712James Riley 97 32 .752MacMillan Baseball Encyclopedia 89 30 .748

• Bell finished what he started. According to research by Larry Lester and Dick Clark, William Bell made 174 starts against Negro League and top level opponents. Their research reveals that he pitched a complete game in 131 of these 174 outings for a complete game percentage of 75.3 %.

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• William Bell was a winner. During his career Bell played on the following twelve (12) championship teams:

Year Team League Record

1923 Kansas City Monarchs Negro National League 57-33 .6331923 Kansas City Monarchs Kansas City “City Championship” - -1924 Kansas City Monarchs Negro National League 55-22 .7141924 Kansas City Monarchs Negro League World Series 5-4-1 .5561925 Kansas City Monarchs Negro National League 62-23 .7291926 Kansas City Monarchs Negro National League 57-21 .7311927-28 Habana Leones Cuban Winter League 24-13 .6491928-29 Habana Leones Cuban Winter League 43-12 .7821929 Kansas City Monarchs Negro National League 62-17 .7851929 Kansas City Monarchs Championship Series vs Houston 4-0 1.0001933 Pittsburgh Crawfords Negro National League 38-17 .6911935 Pittsburgh Crawfords Negro National League 42-15 .737

• Bell started playing for the Kansas City Monarchs in 1922 when he was already 25 years old. He lost four to five years due to his late start. These should have been very productive years of his Negro League career.

• There is a significant problem with missing statistics. This is especially true for “non-league” and exhibition games throughout his entire career. We also have no games when he played in the Texas Colored League at the beginning of his career and very few games when he was with the All Nations team in 1922 and 1923.

There is also a significant discrepancy in his record in Cuba. Jorge S. Figueredo in his book Cuban Baseball credits Bell with a record of 25-17 (.595) while playing for Habana. The Chicago Defender reported that Bell had a career record of 57-20 (.740) for his career in Cuba. If Bell indeed won 57 games in Cuba this would add 22 victories to his wins total.

• Bell’s lack of notoriety and name recognition especially in the media was probably hindered because he played most of his career in the shadow of Bullet Rogan when he was with the Kansas City Monarchs and Satchel Paige when he was with the Pittsburgh Crawfords.

• William Bell was a decent hitter for a pitcher. According to research by Larry Lester and Dick Clark in the box scores that they have found for Bell in games against top level competition, he had a batting average of .234 (162 for 693).

• Besides being an excellent player, Bell was also a very capable manager. During the two seasons he managed the Newark Eagles, he posted a won-loss record of 59-56 (.513) in Negro National League games. It is important to note that the Newark Eagles traditionally played a large number of games against “non-league” opponents and these games are not included in his won-loss record as a manager.

• William Bell was selected as one of the thirty-nine (39) finalists for consideration for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He fell just short in the final balloting.

• The quiet and unassuming William Bell who played in the shadow of other great ball players like Bullet Rogan and Satchel Paige was himself one of the truly great Negro League baseball players of all time. He is without a doubt a Forgotten Hero.

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Clearing up Mysteries Associated with William Bell’s Career

The first historical inconsistency related to William Bell’s baseball career is which Bell (Clifford or William) played for the Habana Leones of the Cuban Winter League from 1927 to 1930. Cuban baseball historian and author Jorge S. Figueredo in his book Cuban Baseball credits Clifford Bell not William Bell with playing for Habana. Cliff Bell and William Bell were sometimes confused because they were both right handed pitchers, both played at the same time for the Kansas City Monarchs for several years, both were about the same age (Cliff was born in 1896 and William was born in 1897), both were of similar built (Cliff was 5’10” and weighed 180 and William was 5’11” and weighed 185) and both were from the state of Texas. Cliff Bell pitched for Kansas City from 1921-1927 and William Bell played for the Monarchs from 1923-1930. The Center for Negro League Baseball Research’s research clearly indicates that Figueredo is inaccurate. It was William Bell who played for Mike Gonzalez’s Habana team during these four winter league seasons. We are able to make this assessment for three reasons. First newspaper articles clearly state that William Bell played four seasons of winter ball in Cuba. Second, research by noted Negro League researchers Larry Lester and Dick Clark also support that it was William Bell not Cliff Bell that played in Cuba. Thirdly, the picture on the front of this book shows William Bell in a Habana Leones uniform. With all the similarities between the two Bells fortunately they had completely different facial features.

The second mystery related to William Bell’s baseball career is whether or not he pitched for the Homestead Grays in 1948. William Bell retired from Negro League baseball after the 1937 season and returned home to El Campo, Texas where he managed a local semi-pro team. Prior to the start of the 1948 Negro National League season, Abe and Effa Manley hired William Bell as the manager of the Newark Eagles. Baseball Reference.com reports a 50 year old William Bell pitching very briefly for the Homestead Grays in 1948. The Negro League data published by Baseball Reference.com comes from two sources: the Negro League Researchers and Authors Group whose data was gathered during a research project that was funded by a grant from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (original funding came from Major League Baseball) and the Ashwill Negro League Database. However in Larry Lester and Dick Clark’s book The Negro Leagues, they have a Charles “Lefty” Bell pitching for the Homestead Grays in 1948 not William Bell. Our research did uncover a box score with a Bell (no first name given) pitching for the Homestead Grays in a game against the National Forge baseball club. The game was played at Wilder Field in Irving (PA). The box score was published in the Times-Mirror of Warren (PA) on 06-03-48. The Grays won the game 9-6 and the Bell in question got a no decision when he was relieved by Edsall Walker in the sixth inning. It may have been William Bell, but this is highly unlikely. One thing that may leave the issue open for further research is the fact that we don’t know for sure that William Bell was with the Newark Eagles for the entire season because Abe Manley had a history of changing managers at the drop of a hat. We do know that he was still with the Newark Eagles on July 25th because we have a box score with him playing in a game against the Birmingham Black Barons. Indications are from our perspective is that William Bell managed the Newark Eagles the entire season and was with the team until the Manleys sold the Eagles to Dr. W.H. Young and Hugh Cherry and the team moved to Houston, Texas.

A third confusion related to William Bell, Sr. is that William Bell, Jr. has often been presented as William Bell’s son. William Bell, Jr. pitched for the Kansas City Monarchs from 1949-1954 and also played briefly for the Birmingham Black Barons in 1950. Genealogy records clearly support the fact that William Bell, Sr. and William Bell, Jr. are not related.

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Playing Career

Regular Season:

Year Team League

1921 Galveston Black Sand Crabs Texas Colored League1922-1923 All Nations Independent1923-1930 Kansas City Monarchs Negro National League1931 New York Harlem Stars Independent1931 New York Black Yankees Independent1932 Detroit Wolves East-West League1932 Homestead Grays East-West League1932 Pittsburgh Crawfords Independent1933-1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords Negro National League1935 Newark Dodgers Negro National League1936-1937 Newark Eagles Negro National League1948 Newark Eagles (Manager) Negro National League

Winter Leagues and Post Season Play:

1923 Kansas City Monarchs Game vs Casey Stengel All Stars1923 Kansas City Monarchs Championship Series vs Kansas City Blues 1924 Kansas City Monarchs Game vs Topeka (Western Association)1924 Kansas City Monarchs Championship Series vs Kansas City Blues1924 Kansas City Monarchs Negro League World Series vs Hilldale1925 Kansas City Monarchs Play-Off Series vs St. Louis Stars1925 Kansas City Monarchs Negro League World Series vs Hilldale1926 Kansas City Monarchs Play-Off Series vs Chicago American Giants1926 Kansas City Monarchs Game vs Frank Watts Professional League All Stars1927-28 Habana Leones Cuban Winter League1928-29 Habana Leones Cuban Winter League1929 Kansas City Monarchs Championship Series vs Houston Black Buffaloes1929-30 Habana Leones Cuban Winter League1930 Habana Cuban Winter League1930 Habana UNICO (Cuba)1932 Pittsburgh Crawfords Series vs Casey Stengel’s All Stars1932 Pittsburgh Crawfords Series vs Major League All Stars1933 Pittsburgh Crawfords Play-Off Series vs Nashville Elite Giants1933 Pittsburgh Crawfords Game vs All Star team w/ Leo Durocher1934 Pittsburgh Crawfords Post Season Series vs Philadelphia Stars1936 Newark Eagles-Homestead Grays Series vs Kansas City Monarchs- Chicago American Giants team

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Career Statistics – Pitching (Regular Season)

Year Team Games Innings Won Lost Hits Runs BB S0 ERA

1922 All Nations 2 18.0 2 0 12 0 4 16 0.001923 All Nations 12 78.0 8 3 62 32 16 32 3.69 Kansas City1924 Kansas City 21 142.2 11 2 145 51 38 47 3.771925 Kansas City 18 121.0 11 3 98 41 27 44 3.041926 Kansas City 24 178.0 15 5 142 44 45 67 2.221927 Kansas City 26 164.0 13 4 153 38 34 51 2.091928 Kansas City 24 155.7 10 7 153 50 23 55 2.891929 Kansas City 28 174.3 16 4 153 63 35 86 3.251930 Kansas City 15 115.7 10 4 104 38 15 56 2.961931 New York 4 31.7 2 2 22 9 3 4 2.561932 Detroit 15 119.3 11 4 132 47 26 55 3.55 Homestead Pittsburgh1933 Pittsburgh 12 70.0 6 3 78 35 5 25 4.501934 Pittsburgh 18 110.3 10 4 121 45 12 26 3.67 1935 Pittsburgh 5 31.0 3 1 31 13 3 7 3.77 Newark1936 Newark 6 39.3 3 2 41 15 7 7 3.441937 Newark 7 33.7 2 2 37 16 13 9 4.27

Total 237 1582.2 133 50 1484 537 306 587 3.05

Career Statistics – Pitching (Play-Off Series)

Year Team Games Innings Won Lost Hits Runs BB S0 ERA

1925 Kansas City 2 17.0 1 1 11 6 4 6 3.181926 Kansas City 2 12.7 0 1 13 8 3 4 5.67

Total 4 29.7 1 2 24 14 7 10 4.24

Career Statistics – Pitching (Championship Series)

Year Team Games Innings Won Lost Hits Runs BB S0 ERA

1929 Kansas City 2 - 2 0 - - - - -

Career Statistics – Pitching (Negro League World Series)

Year Team Games Innings Won Lost Hits Runs BB S0 ERA

1924 Kansas City 3 24.0 1 0 30 9 13 6 3.381925 Kansas City 3 15.7 0 1 18 2 9 4 1.15

Total 6 39.7 1 1 48 11 22 10 2.49

Career Statistics – Pitching (Non-League)

Year Team Games Innings Won Lost Hits Runs BB S0 ERA

1923 Kansas City 1 9 1 0 5 0 1 1 0.001924 Kansas City - - 1 0 - - - - -1926 Kansas City - - 6 0 - - - - -1927 Kansas City - - 5 0 - - - - - 1928 Kansas City - - 2 0 - - - - -1929 Kansas City - - 4 0 - - - - -1930 Kansas City - - 8 0 - - - - -1932 Pittsburgh - - 13 0 - - - - -1935 Newark - - 0 1 - - - - -1936 Newark - - 1 3 - - - - -1937 Newark - - 1 0 - - - - -

Total - - 42 4 - - - - -

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Career Statistics – Pitching (Exhibition Games)

Year Team Games Innings Won Lost Hits Runs BB S0 ERA

1932 Pittsburgh - - 3 0 - - - - -

Career Statistics – Pitching (Cuba)

CompleteYear Team Games Games Won Lost Percentage

1927-28 Habana 8 2 6 2 .7501928-29 Habana 18 11 9 3 .7501929-30 Habana 23 10 9 8 .5291930 Habana 3 1 0 1 .000 1930 Habana (UNICO) 6 3 1 3 .250

Total 58 27 25 17 .595

• The Chicago Defender reported that Bell had a career record of 57-20 (.740) for his career in Cuba.

Career Statistics – Pitching (Totals)

Games Innings Won Lost Hits Runs BB S0 ERA Regular Season 237 1582.2 133 50 1484 537 306 587 3.05Play-Off Games 4 29.7 1 2 24 14 7 10 4.24Championship Series 2 - 2 0 - - - - -World Series 6 39.7 1 1 48 11 22 10 2.49Exhibition Games - - 3 0 - - - - -Non-League - - 42 4 - - - - -Cuba 58 - 25 17 - - - - -

Totals 307 1651.6 207 74 1556 562 335 607 -

• All of the statistics presented here have been verified with actual box scores. They are in no way to be considered complete. Further research will undoubtedly reveal significantly more wins.

Pitching and League Leader Titles

Category Year League Number

Wins 1926 Negro National League 16 1928-29 Cuban Winter League 9

Complete Games 1928-29 Cuban Winter League 11

Winning Percentage 1924 Negro National League .846

Earned Run Average 1927 Negro National League 2.09

32

Career Statistics – Hitting (Regular Season – Negro Leagues)

Year Team Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG

1922 All Nations 2 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 .500 .7501923 All Nations 12 30 0 7 0 0 0 1 0 .233 .233 Kansas City1924 Kansas City 26 65 4 11 2 0 0 4 0 .169 .2001925 Kansas City 25 57 3 3 0 0 0 1 1 .053 .0531926 Kansas City 31 83 8 23 5 2 0 11 0 .277 .386

1927 Kansas City 31 83 8 23 2 2 0 6 0 .277 .3491928 Kansas City 29 65 7 17 5 0 0 1 0 .262 .3381929 Kansas City 27 71 11 21 3 0 0 4 0 .296 .3381930 Kansas City 24 72 10 18 3 0 0 7 0 .250 .2921931 New York 4 9 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .111 .1111932 Detroit 26 78 11 23 3 1 0 1 1 .295 .359 Homestead Pittsburgh1933 Pittsburgh 9 12 1 4 0 0 0 2 0 .333 .3331934 Pittsburgh 13 29 1 3 0 0 0 3 0 .103 .1031935 Pittsburgh 3 7 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 .571 .714 Newark1936 Newark 7 19 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 .105 .1581937 Newark 7 13 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 .154 .1541948 Newark 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 .667 .667

Total 277 700 70 166 26 5 0 43 2 .237 .289

Career Statistics – Hitting (Regular Season – Non-League Games)

Year Team Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG

1923 Kansas City 1 4 0 2 - - - - - .500 .5001925 Kansas City 1 4 0 2 - - - - - .500 .5001927 Kansas City 4 13 4 7 1 0 0 0 0 .538 .6151928 Kansas City 2 4 2 2 - - - - - .500 .5001930 Kansas City 2 9 1 4 - - - - - .444 .444

Total 10 34 7 17 1 - - - - .500 .529

Career Hitting Statistics (Totals)

Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG

Negro League 277 700 70 166 26 5 0 43 2 .237 .237Non-League 10 34 7 17 1 - - - - .500 .529

Total 287 734 77 183 27 5 0 43 2 .249 .300

Managerial Record

Year Team League Won Lost Pct. Place

1935 Newark Dodgers Negro National League - - - -1936 Newark Eagles Negro National League 30 29 .508 2nd

1948 Newark Eagles Negro National League 29 27 .518 3rd

1948 Newark Eagles Non-League Game 1 0 1.000 -

Total 60 56 .517 -

33

Selected Career Highlights

• William Bell has the best career won-loss percentage in the history of Negro League baseball. In Negro League games, he had a won-loss record 138-53 for a winning percentage of .723.

• From the box scores and newspaper accounts that we have located up to this point in time, Bell had a won-loss record of 207-74 (.737) in games against all levels of competition.

• Research from primary sources has uncovered forty-six (46) games he pitched against “non-league” opponents and lower level teams. He posted a won-loss record of 42-4 (.913) in these games. Bell was virtually unbeatable against lower level competition.

• According to research by Larry Lester and Dick Clark, William Bell made 174 starts against Negro League and top level opponents. Their research reveals that he pitched a complete game in 131 of these 174 outings for a complete game percentage of 75.3 %.

• Played on five Kansas City Monarchs teams (1923, 1924, 1925, 1926 and 1929) who won the regular season Negro National League Championship.

• Member of the 1924 Kansas City Monarchs team that won the first ever Negro League World Series. William Bell won game six of the series.

• Bell led the Negro National League in wins in 1926 with 16 victories against “league” opponents.

• He led the Negro National League in earned run average with a 2.09 ERA for the 1927 season.

• Bell was the leading pitcher for the Habana Leones team that won back to back Cuban Winter League championships in 1927-28 and 1928-29.

• He led the 1928-29 Cuban Winter League in complete games (11) and wins (9).

• Member of the 1929 Kansas City Monarchs team who defeated the Houston Black Buffaloes (Champions of the Texas-Oklahoma-Louisiana League) for the un-official title of “Colored Champions of the World.” William Bell won two games in the series.

• In 1930 he was the starting pitcher for the Kansas City Monarchs in the first ever night baseball game in Negro League baseball history. Bell beat Phillips University by a score of 12-3.

• From 1924-1930, William Bell won at least ten (10) “league” games each season.

• After the 1932 regular season, William Bell picked up three (3) wins in a seven game exhibition series against the Casey Stengel All Stars/Major League All Stars.

• Member of the 1933 and 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords teams who were the Negro National League champions.

• William Bell was selected as one of the thirty-nine (39) finalists for consideration for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He fell just short in the final balloting.

Kansas City Brings Night Baseball to America