1897
Born August 31, 1897
Hallettsville, TX, USA
William Bell Marquee
b. August 31, 1897 · Kansas City Monarchs 1923–1930, Harlem Stars 1931, Detroit Wolves 1932, Homestead Grays 1932, Pittsburgh Crawfords 1932–1935, Newark Dodgers 1935, Newark Eagles 1936–1937
William Bell won 123 games against 56 losses in the surviving Negro Leagues record, a winning percentage that stands among the best of the era and was earned across eight seasons with the Kansas City Monarchs and four with the Pittsburgh Crawfords.
He was with Kansas City for the Negro National League pennants of 1923, 1924, 1925 and 1929 and pitched in the first Colored World Series. The Crawfords teams that followed carried Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Oscar Charleston, and he was the veteran in that rotation.
Born in Hallettsville, Texas in 1897, Bell completed 127 of his 167 recorded starts and threw twelve shutouts. Bell died in March 1969, at seventy-one.
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | KCM | 6 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .222 |
| 1924 | KCM | 20 | 53 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .189 |
| 1925 | KCM | 20 | 47 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .043 |
| 1926 | KCM | 29 | 75 | 8 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 1 | .253 |
| 1927 | KCM | 32 | 87 | 9 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 1 | .299 |
| 1928 | KCM | 29 | 65 | 7 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .262 |
| 1929 | KCM | 26 | 67 | 10 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .299 |
| 1930 | KCM | 25 | 70 | 11 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .257 |
| 1931* | HAR | 5 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .167 |
| 1932 | DW/HG/PC | 35 | 93 | 10 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 1 | .269 |
| 1933 | PC | 18 | 38 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | .263 |
| 1934 | PC | 23 | 52 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | .269 |
| 1935 | ND/PC | 10 | 18 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .444 |
| 1936 | NE | 11 | 24 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .167 |
| 1937 | NE | 5 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .300 |
| Major leagues | — | 289 | 717 | 76 | 180 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 84 | 51 | 4 | 4 | .251 |
| All seasons | — | 294 | 729 | 80 | 182 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 84 | 54 | 4 | 4 | .250 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | KCM | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 38.0 | 35 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 3.32 |
| 1924 | KCM | 9 | 2 | 16 | 13 | 0 | 108.0 | 109 | 45 | 27 | 33 | 3.75 |
| 1925 | KCM | 10 | 3 | 18 | 11 | 2 | 116.0 | 94 | 40 | 26 | 45 | 3.10 |
| 1926 | KCM | 15 | 6 | 24 | 19 | 0 | 177.0 | 142 | 47 | 44 | 68 | 2.39 |
| 1927 | KCM | 13 | 4 | 24 | 17 | 1 | 162.1 | 155 | 48 | 35 | 52 | 2.66 |
| 1928 | KCM | 9 | 7 | 24 | 15 | 1 | 150.0 | 144 | 48 | 23 | 49 | 2.88 |
| 1929 | KCM | 14 | 4 | 25 | 17 | 3 | 157.0 | 134 | 59 | 31 | 90 | 3.38 |
| 1930 | KCM | 9 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 101.0 | 95 | 30 | 17 | 72 | 2.67 |
| 1931* | HAR | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 32.0 | 27 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 2.53 |
| 1932 | DW/HG/PC | 12 | 4 | 16 | 15 | 0 | 132.2 | 138 | 46 | 36 | 74 | 3.12 |
| 1933 | PC | 7 | 6 | 17 | 13 | 0 | 102.2 | 128 | 62 | 22 | 63 | 5.44 |
| 1934 | PC | 11 | 4 | 21 | 15 | 0 | 135.1 | 141 | 50 | 32 | 68 | 3.33 |
| 1935 | ND/PC | 3 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 47.1 | 64 | 33 | 10 | 23 | 6.27 |
| 1936 | NE | 4 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 58.0 | 67 | 31 | 14 | 13 | 4.81 |
| 1937 | NE | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 28.2 | 26 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 3.77 |
| Major leagues | — | 121 | 54 | 228 | 164 | 10 | 1514.0 | 1472 | 565 | 337 | 673 | 3.36 |
| All seasons | — | 123 | 56 | 232 | 167 | 10 | 1546.0 | 1499 | 574 | 344 | 685 | 3.34 |
Seasons outside MLB's recognized major leagues appear in All seasons, but not in Major leagues or the leaderboards. For William Bell, that is 1931–1931. Why totals can differ.
On this day & linked events
1969
Died March 16, 1969
Image: 1924_Negro_League_World_Series.jpg, public domain