1928
Born November 15, 1928
Louisville, KY, USA
Gus Bell Marquee
b. November 15, 1928 · Pittsburgh Pirates 1950–1952, Cincinnati Reds 1953, 1960–1961, Cincinnati Redlegs 1954–1959, New York Mets 1962, Milwaukee Braves 1962–1964
Gus Bell played right field for Pittsburgh before a trade to Cincinnati moved him to center, where he spent most of his career before finishing with Milwaukee and a brief spell with the Mets, retiring in 1964.
He batted .281 with 1,823 hits over 1,741 games, hitting 206 home runs and driving in 942 runs, a durable and productive line across fifteen seasons.
His four All-Star selections came in 1953, 1954, 1956 and 1957, the peak stretch of his career in Cincinnati.
He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 15, 1928, and batted left-handed while throwing right, moving across three outfield spots over the course of his fourteen-season career, and lived until May 7, 1995.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 4 | 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | PIT | 111 | 422 | 62 | 119 | 22 | 11 | 8 | 53 | 28 | 46 | 4 | .282 |
| 1951 | PIT | 149 | 600 | 80 | 167 | 27 | 12 | 16 | 89 | 42 | 41 | 1 | .278 |
| 1952 | PIT | 131 | 468 | 53 | 117 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 59 | 36 | 72 | 1 | .250 |
| 1953 | CIN | 151 | 610 | 102 | 183 | 37 | 5 | 30 | 105 | 48 | 72 | 0 | .300 |
| 1954 | CIN | 153 | 619 | 104 | 185 | 38 | 7 | 17 | 101 | 48 | 58 | 5 | .299 |
| 1955 | CIN | 154 | 610 | 88 | 188 | 30 | 6 | 27 | 104 | 54 | 57 | 4 | .308 |
| 1956 | CIN | 150 | 603 | 82 | 176 | 31 | 4 | 29 | 84 | 50 | 66 | 6 | .292 |
| 1957 | CIN | 121 | 510 | 65 | 149 | 20 | 3 | 13 | 61 | 30 | 54 | 0 | .292 |
| 1958 | CIN | 112 | 385 | 42 | 97 | 16 | 2 | 10 | 46 | 36 | 40 | 2 | .252 |
| 1959 | CIN | 148 | 580 | 59 | 170 | 27 | 2 | 19 | 115 | 29 | 44 | 2 | .293 |
| 1960 | CIN | 143 | 515 | 65 | 135 | 19 | 5 | 12 | 62 | 29 | 40 | 4 | .262 |
| 1961 | CIN | 103 | 235 | 27 | 60 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 33 | 18 | 21 | 1 | .255 |
| 1962 | MLN/NYM | 109 | 315 | 36 | 76 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 30 | 22 | 24 | 0 | .241 |
| 1963 | MLN | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
| 1964 | MLN | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| Career | — | 1741 | 6478 | 865 | 1823 | 311 | 66 | 206 | 942 | 470 | 636 | 30 | .281 |
On this day & linked events
1995
Died May 7, 1995
1950
Major-league debut: Gus Bell
Gus Bell made a major-league debut on May 30, 1950.
1951
Gus Bell Hits for the Cycle, 1951
Gus Bell hit for the cycle for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 4, 1951.
1955
Gus Bell's Three-Home-Run Game, 1955
Gus Bell hit three home runs for the Cincinnati Redlegs against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 21, 1955.
1956
Gus Bell's Three-Home-Run Game, 1956
Gus Bell hit three home runs for the Cincinnati Redlegs against the Chicago Cubs on May 29, 1956.
1964
Final major-league game: Gus Bell
Gus Bell played a final major-league game on May 1, 1964.
Image: Bowman Gum, public domain