WTHBALLS CUSTOM NEGRO LEAGUE SET: "COOL PAPA" BELL

On the blog today, we take a closer look at another of my custom "Negro League Greats" cards from my recently released set, this one of the great James "Cool Papa" Bell:

 

One of the most popular players of the Negro Leagues, Bell put in over 20 years, starting out with the St. Louis Stars in 1922, for whom he played through the 1931 season, before playing for various other teams including the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords.
An 8-time all-star, he finished with a Negro League career batting average of .316, yet he originally came up as a pitcher!
As a matter of fact the genesis of his all-too-familiar nickname came about because of a strikeout against legend Oscar Charleston early in Bell’s career.
But once he was switched to the outfield, it was ON!
Perhaps the fastest player to ever run the base-paths, the anecdotes and legendary stories of his speed are endless.
One of my favorites:
“Bell was so fast he could turn off the light and be under the covers before the room got dark.”- Satchel Paige.
Classic!
Even at the age of 43, Bell was raking it, as evidenced by his .402 batting average over 95 games for the Homestead Grays in 1946! The year before? A cool .380!
A great player, and from everything I have read from his contemporaries, a great man.

"NEGRO LEAGUE LEGENDS" SPECIAL EDITION SET AVAILABLE NOW!

Hello everyone!

For those interested, my newest custom set, "Negro League Legends", is now available for purchase! See below all photos for ordering instructions.

I've included images of every aspect of the set to give you all as full an idea of what went into this as possible:

 

 

 

There are 25-individual player cards, as well as a title card featuring Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. There is also a raised glossy insert celebrating one of the greatest ballclubs ever to take the field, the 1931 Homestead Grays.

I have also included a four-stamp panel of the stamps I had printed up for the packaging, figuring you'd all like a few of those thrown in to help complete the release.

All of this comes bound in gold foil, then packaged inside a special fold-out folio you see in the images attached.

These sets are numbered, and I have made 80, with an additional 20 possible if needed.

The sets are $20 plus $5.00 shipping, and if you buy more than one set the shipping stays the same, just like with my pack releases. So $5 shipping no matter how many sets you buy!

On top of all of that, once the sets are sold, I will ask you to check your sets to see which one of you ALSO had an extra tag inserted into your set. Only ONE of you will then also win at no extra charge the special 1-of-1 Josh Gibson card I mentioned last week.

I didn't add images here so as not to confuse anyone. But once the set is sold I will send out another email with all the images you need to see which one of you gets the special bonus card!

The 1-of-1 Josh Gibson card is mounted on a gold foil block, which was then mounted on the center panel of the fold-out folio, with special glossy photos of the all-time great decorating the sides. There is only ONE made, and it was a blast creating it!

If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask!

To order, it is the usual paypal address: slogun23@gmail.com

$20 per set, one-time $5.00 postage fee.

Thanks for looking!

Gio

 

NEGRO LEAGUE LEGENDS- "COOL PAPA" BELL

Sooner or later, ANY ongoing discussion about Negro League legends comes to the one and only James “Cool Papa” Bell, one of the greatest players of all-time regardless of league:

One of the most popular players of the Negro Leagues, Bell put in over 20 years, starting out with the St. Louis Stars in 1922, for whom he played through the 1931 season, before playing for various other teams including the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords.
An 8-time all-star, he finished with a Negro League career batting average of .316, yet he originally came up as a pitcher!
As a matter of fact the genesis of his all-too-familiar nickname came about because of a strikeout against legend Oscar Charleston early in Bell’s career.
But once he was switched to the outfield, it was ON!
Perhaps the fastest player to ever run the base-paths, the anecdotes and legendary stories of his speed are endless.
One of my favorites:
“Bell was so fast he could turn off the light and be under the covers before the room got dark.”- Satchel Paige.
Classic!
Even at the age of 43, Bell was raking it, as evidenced by his .402 batting average over 95 games for the Homestead Grays in 1946! The year before? A cool .380!
A great player, and from everything I have read from his contemporaries, a great man.

HALL OF FAME #22: COOL PAPA BELL: CLASS OF 1974

Today's "Hall of Fame Inductee" is legendary Negro League speedster Cool Papa Bell, recognized as one of the fastest men ever to wear a pair of baseball cleats, and inducted into the Hall in 1974.

Check out the card first:

Depending on where you look, Bell played about 21 years in the Negro Leagues, racking up as many anecdotes about his speed as stolen bases or hits.

He'd go on to become one of the most popular Negro League players in history, and was an eight-time all-star.

According to various records, finished his career with a batting average between .315 and .337, though the exact figures may be lost forever because of spotty record-keeping at the time.

Originally a pitcher when he made his debut for the St. Louis Stars in 1922, he was soon converted to an outfielder to utilize his all around athleticism.

He even excelled in the Mexican League from 1938 to 1941,  taking home a Triple Crown in 1940 when he hit a robust .437 with 12 homers and 79 runs batted in, while his career batting average in that league was a sparkling .367.

I won't get into all the hilarious anecdotes about his speed here, but they are all easily available on-line, from many of his Hall of Fame contemporaries.

For those of you not familiar with them, do yourself a favor and seek them out. Definitely worth the read.