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William Bell Forgotten Heroes: William Bell by Center for Negro League Baseball Research Dr. Layton Revel and Luis Munoz Copyright 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) 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 was known for his consistency, excellent control and ability to paint the corners. 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 his team during his career. In Kansas City with the Monarchs, William Bell played in the shadows of Wilber “Bullet” Rogan and Jose Mendez. Then when he went to the Pittsburgh Crawfords it was Satchel Paige who got all the press. It is important to note that all three 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 Monarchs As a manager he was known as a good teacher and an excellent role 1924 model 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. 1 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 Mars Bell pitching, he posted a won-loss record of 3-1 (.750) in his first Le Mars Globe-Post year 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 .405 2B Newt Allen .302 OF Hurley McNair .332 SS Walter “Dobie” Moore .366 OF Wade Johnston .332 3B Newt Joseph .269 P Bullet Rogan .364 C 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. 2 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). 3 Negro League World Series (1924) Kansas City Monarchs Negro 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) Hilldale Eastern 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.) 4 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.
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