how did cool papa bell die

Bell, who spent his entire career playing in the Negro leagues and in Latin America, retired a year before Jackie Robinson broke the major league color barrier in 1947. He was a member of the Society of American Archivists and a member of the American Historical Association and the National Micrographics Association. Later, he was special assistant to the archivist for the United States for academic relations, deputy to the assistant archivist and director of the Scientific and Technological Division. Survivors include his wife, May R. Leisinger, whom he married in 1937, of Washington; two sons, Albert M. Leisinger of Newtonville, Mass., and Robert W. Leisinger of Washington; a sister, Selma Hanslick of Bryn Mawr, Pa.; and three grandchildren. It came two years after his retirement, against a team led by one of the Cleveland Indians' aces, Bob Lemon. In 1941, he moved to Washington and joined the staff of the National Archives. Bell suffered a heart attack shortly thereafter, on February 27, and died at St. Louis University Hospital on March 7. There are 10 players honored with a statue outside of Busch Stadium: Eight Cardinals, plus Cool Papa Bell of the St. Louis Stars and George Sisler of the St. Louis Browns.. On 20 January 1991 Clara Bell died after 62 years of marriage. Mr. Opper, who lived in Chevy Chase, was born in Fayetteville, Ark. In 1961, Mr. Leisinger was named director of the Exhibits and Publications Division, which later became the Educational Programs Division. Stories demonstrating Bell's speed are still widely circulated. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. For anybody who wasn't around when he broke in with the St. Louis Stars of the Negro leagues in 1922 or who was not paying attention as he tore up the basepaths and compiled a .338 batting average over the next 24 seasons, Bell, at the age of 45, provided a riveting retrospective of his renowned finesse during a post-season all-star game in Los Angeles in 1948. Baseball in his day, in his league, did not keep the seemingly endless records that baseball boasts today. Except for a period in World War II, during which he was an analyst for the Foreign Economic Administration, he remained at the archives until he retired in 1981. Mr. Bell told one reporter that he recalled one game in which he got five hits and stole five bases, "but none of it was written down because they did not bring the score book to the game that day.". He retired about 10 years ago. John Tilghman Hazel, 86, a Northern Virginia physician for 53 years who had served as president of the Arlington and Fauquier medical societies and as the first chairman of Arlington Hospital's board of trustees, died of heart ailments March 8 at his home in Broad Run. Cool Papa died on March 7, 1991 and he’s buried in Hilldale Cemetery near St. Louis. He then spent a year with the Chicago American Giants before joining the Homestead Grays in 1943. Contemporaries rated him fastest man on basepaths.". A contact hitter who said he could drive the ball exactly where he wanted to 9 times out of 10, Bell had two .400 seasons, his first and his last. But he did remark that major league owners were lying when they used to say " 'If we find a good black player, we'll sign him.' This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Albert H. Leisinger, 75, a retired official of the National Archives and an authority on archival micrographics, which is the copying of records by microfilming or similar processes, died of cardiac arrest March 3 at Sibley Memorial Hospital. I didn't intend to play that long; it just happened.". Cool Papa Bell’s beloved wife of 62 years, Clara, died on January 20, 1991. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. He began his career in the Negro Leagues with the St. Louis Stars in 1919. Paige said that Mr. Bell hit a screaming line drive that nearly hit his ear as it rocketed past the mound, then hit Mr. Bell in the butt as he was sliding into second base. In the early 1970s, Mr. Claire moved to the Washington area from Kendall Park, N.J., and he went to work for the Post Office in the House of Representatives. All in all, he seemed to remember his career fondly, "It was good times," he said. He was assistant postmaster when he retired in 1989. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. —Cool Papa Bell "Ah, yes," I said. In this letter, Bell explains. His Hall of Fame plaque says that he "combined speed, daring and batting skill to rank among best players in Negro Leagues. He said his legs "were gone" and that he had no wish to tarnish the memory of his fans. He was survived by their only child, Connie Bell Brooks, and was buried at St. Peter’s Cemetery in St. Louis. Cool Papa Bell Fans Also Viewed . His other teams in the Negro leagues were the Detroit Wolves, the Kansas City Monarchs, the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Chicago American Giants. “I remember one time I got five hits and stole five bases, but none of it was written down because they forgot In his autobiography, "Maybe I'll Pitch Forever," Paige wrote: "If Cool Papa had known about colleges or if colleges had known about Cool Papa, Jesse Owens would have looked like he was walking. James "Cool Papa Bell" Thomas died of an heart attack. He was 87 years old and after his retirement as a player in 1946 spent 21 years as custodian and nightwatchman at St. Louis City Hall. In this period he often delivered babies in homes where the only light was from coal oil lamps. As a 19-year-old Mississippi-born rookie outfielder wise beyond his baseball years, he proved to his older teammates that he was no more intimidated by big crowds than he was by a pitcher's fastball or pickoff throw to first. Bell was said to be so fast he once hit a line drive up the middle and the ball hit his foot as he was sliding into second. He broke in as a knuckleball pitcher. The man they called Cool Papa earned his nickname almost 70 years ago. However, more often than not, he would simply remark that if he could not play in the "big" leagues, he was happy for the great black stars who came after him. I turned around and saw the ball hit him sliding into second.” – Satchel Paige Cool Papa may well have been the fastest man ever to play the game of baseball. Statistics Pieced Together. The Negro League players occasionally played against the Major League teams and Cool Papa Bell hit .392 versus big league pitchers like Dizzy Dean and Bob Lemon. Survivors include three sons, John T. "Til" Hazel Jr., William A. Hazel and L. Douglas Hazel, all of Broad Run; a brother, Richard E. Hazel of San Diego; 16 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren. The International Council on Archives appointed Mr. Leisinger chairman of its committee on micrographics. Cool Papa Bell once said that the greatest thing to happen in his life was the day he saw Jackie Robinson make good in the Major Leagues. He had a general medical and surgical practice in Arlington in the 1930s, and at the time was the only surgeon in the county. Neat Nicknames: Tom Callahan writes in the Washington Post that former Negro League baseball star James (Cool Papa) Bell, who died last week … The great Negro Leagues catcher Josh Gibson, often called "The Black Babe Ruth," was among those to make the claim that "Cool Papa" was so fast, he could get out of bed, turn out the lights across the room, and be back in bed and under the covers before it got dark. But he did reside on James "Cool Papa" Bell Avenue. Hall of Fame Induction: 1974. The year after Mr. Bell retired, 1947, saw Jackie Robinson become the first black American admitted to the major leagues in modern times. Nobody was ever convicted of any crime in connection with Cool Papa Bell’s memorabilia. ", He said: "They say that I was born too soon. Born In 1903. A month later Bell himself was hospitalized after a heart attack, and he died in St. Louis on 7 March 1991. Bell, a fleet-footed Negro Leagues Hall of Famer, was not only a … When and why he changed his name to "Bell… Cool Papa Bell is considered to be the fastest man ever to play professional baseball. Cool Papa Bell Is A Member Of . I say the doors were opened too late.". Mr. Bell said his specialty as a hitter was punching the ball into the outfield. Elected to Hall of Fame. When he was notified of his election, Bell, as cool as ever, said it was his biggest honor but not his biggest thrill. Courtesy, The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, New York (1903–91). … By the time he singled his next time up, Bell, who had watched Lemon pitch on television, had tagged him as a one-stare pitcher, one who invariably delivered a pitch after a single hard stare to the base runner at first. Certainly, the stories of his speed are the stuff of legend. He hit .417 as a Stars rookie in 1922 and .429 with the Homestead Grays in 1946. In 1966, he relocated his practice to Fauquier County. In 1982 a 200-seat auditorium named for him was built as an addition to Arlington Hospital. He specialized in abdominal surgery. Because of the danger of an explosion from ether, which was used as an anesthetic at the time, many of those babies were delivered in the dark. Bell `` Ah, yes, '' he said around 1940, Dr. Hazel spent years... For 29 years baseball and play in the name of a popular Detroit funk band ) Bell 87. 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