Fern Bell
From BR Bullpen
Fernando Jerome Lee Bell (Danny) born Fern Oran Bell
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.
- Debut April 17, 1939
- Final Game May 6, 1940
- Born January 21, 1913 in Ada, OK USA
- Died August 29, 2000 in Rancho Mirage, CA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Oklahoma native Fern Bell spent thirteen active seasons in professional baseball from 1931 to 1943. He also spent two years in the United States Navy (1944-1945) in the Pacific Theater of War, during World War II.
Fern had a good first season as an 18-year-old rookie. He spent his opening year with three different teams - the Beckley Black Knights of the class C Middle Atlantic League, the Charlotte Hornets of the class C Piedmont League and the Memphis Chickasaws of the class A Southern Association. The young outfielder appeared in 161 games with 509 at-bats, hit 24 home runs and carried a .310 batting average.
Fern would not get a shot at the major leagues until the 1939 season but had some good years on his way up the ladder. 1934 was one of those years as he hit .350 with 28 home runs and slugged at a .626 mark for the Tyler Governors of the class C West Dixie League and the Hollywood Stars of the AA (then the highest classification of the minors) Pacific Coast League, in a split-season affair.
1936 was another notch on his bat when he appeared in 133 games for the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League. Fern hit .313 with nine homers and slugged at a .470 mark. In 1938, his last stop before the big leagues, while with the Louisville Colonels of the AA American Association and the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League, he hit .321 with 14 homers while slugging at a .483 mark.
Fern was with the major league Pittsburgh Pirates for the entire 1939 season. He appeared in 83 games and had 262 at-bats but hit just two homers and had a .286 batting average with 34 RBI. The following season, he appeared in just six early games for the Pirates. On May 7, 1940, his contract was purchased by the Philadelphia Athletics. Fern was sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the class AA International League, where he finished out the year by hitting .250 with four homers.
Fern played in three more seasons (1941-1943), all in the minors. Bell hit 18 homers for the St. Paul Saints of the AA American Association in '41, but couldn't seem to play up to his credentials in the last two years and left the game for the United States Navy, after the 1943 season.
After baseball, and his years in the service, not much is known about his life and times. Fern died on August 29, 2000 at his home in Rancho Mirage, CA at the age of 87.
