num_pages: 352
description: The rst full biography of the star Negro Leaguer and Hall of FamerJames Cool Papa Bell (19031991) was a legend in black baseball a lightning fast switch hitter elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. Bells speed was extraordinary; as Satchel Paige famously quipped he was so fast he could  ip a light switch and be in bed before the room got dark.In The Bona Fide Legend of Cool Papa Bell  experienced baseball writer and historian Lonnie Wheeler recounts the life of this extraordinary player a key member of some of the greatest Negro League teams in history. Born to sharecroppers in Mississippi Bell was part of the Great Migration and in St. Louis baseball saved Bell from a life working in slaughterhouses. Wheeler charts Bells ups and downs in life and in baseball in the United States the Dominican Republic and Mexico where he went to escape American racism and MLBs color line. Rich in context and suffused in myth this is a treat for fans of baseball history.
language: English
title: The Bona Fide Legend of Cool Papa Bell: Speed, Grace, and the Negro Leagues
publisher: Harry N. Abrams