I spent the entire show pricing Bell baseballs (I think I counted six of them) when I wasn't waiting in line for the free signers. I kept making notes on my memo function on my phone, and finally jumped on one on the last day of the show.
The vendor wanted $150 for this JSA certified ball. I could have gotten a "pre-stroke" ball (Bell had two strokes before he passed away, and his signature obviously deteriorated), but those were over $300. I asked the vendor if he had a Sunday price for this ball, and I was able to get it for $125.
It came with a copy of Bell's funeral program, as well. It turned out, the vendor had met Bell several years before his passing, and became good friends with him. He would visit Bell at his house in his later years, and sit around talking baseball. The vendor ended up being a pallbearer at Bell's funeral. His eyes welled up when talking about him, and I could tell that he truly meant something to him. The vendor told me that of all of the Hall of Fame baseballs he sells, he enjoys selling Bell's the most, because it allows him to speak on his friendship with Bell.
James "Cool Papa" Bell (b. 1903 - d. 1991) played professional baseball (Negro Leagues, Mexican Leagues, and Independent Ball) from 1922 to 1946. Stats are limited but, according to baseball-reference.com, he had at least 1,259 hits, 34 home runs and 167 stolen bases. Those numbers don't do the legend of Cool Papa Bell justice.
He is widely regarded as the fastest player to ever play baseball. It was always said that he could flip a light switch and be in bed under the covers before the light turned out. He is also considered one of the most popular and legendary former Negro Leaguers, in the ranks of Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige.
Bell was inducted into the Hal of Fame in 1974, the fifth Negro League player to be honored, following Gibson, Paige, Monte Irvin, and Buck Leonard.
Bell is my 140th Hall of Famer on a baseball.
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