The Resume

(May 17, 1903-March 7, 1991)
Born in Starkville, Mississippi
Birth name was James Thomas Bell
Played in the Negro Leagues for the St. Louis Stars (1922-31), Detroit Wolves (1932), Homestead Grays (1932,1943-46), Kansas City Monarchs (1932-33), Pittsburgh Crawfords (1933-38), Memphis Red Sox (1942) and Chicago American Giants (1942)
Also played in the Dominican and Mexican Leagues
.341 Negro League batting average
Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (1974)

Why he might be annoying:

He got the mature-sounding 'Cool Papa' nickname when he was only 19. (He got the 'Cool' part for remaining unflappable while pitching a high-pressure game, and 'Papa' was added just because it sounded good with 'Cool.')
He played on an all-star team assembled by dictator Rafael Trujillo (1937).
Satchel Paige liked to say 'Bell was so fast, he could turn out the light and be under the covers before the room got dark,' while omitting one key detail: It happened at one particular hotel where faulty wiring caused a delay between flipping the switch and the lights actually going off.

Why he might not be annoying:

He was widely considered the fastest man in baseball.
During an exhibition game against major league players, he scored from first on a sacrifice bunt.
He reportedly never hit below .300 in a Negro League season.
He was the first player to win the Triple Crown in the Mexican League (1940).
Teammate Ted Page said, 'He was honest. He was kind. He was a clean liver. In fact, in all of the years I've known him, I've never seen him smoke, take a drink or even say one cuss word.'
He observed about never playing in the Major Leagues, 'They say I was born too soon. I say the doors were opened too late.'
He and his wife Clarabelle were married for 70 years, dying less than a month apart.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Baseball Hall of Famers (Ranked: 1974)
• Baseball Players
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 57]
• I Died in 1991 (Ranked: 87)
• I Played Negro League Baseball
• My Nickname is Part of My Name [A-L]
• Profiles 36501-36750 (Ranked: 36542)
• Sporting News' 100 Greatest Baseball Players (Ranked: 66)
• We Celebrated Our Golden Anniversary

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 15 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 9 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 162 Votes: 51.85% Annoying