Baseball Reference Bullpen maintenance is planned for Wednesday January 25th beginning around 10 AM ET. It will take 4-5 hours during which time the Bullpen will be in read only mode and at times probably inaccessible. This notice will be removed once maintenance is complete.
Cliff Bell
Clifford Bell
(Campanita, Cherry, Clarence)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 10", Weight 180 lb.
- Debut 1921
- Final Game 1931
- Born July 2, 1896 in Kildare, TX USA
- Died April 13, 1952 in Los Angeles, CA USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Cliff Bell was a Negro League pitcher for 12 years. James Riley lists him as being a brother of Fred Bell and Cool Papa Bell, but this has not been verified by biographical research by Patrick Rock.
Bell debuted with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1921, going 8-4 with a 3.95 ERA. He had a 0-3, 3.00 record in limited work in 1922. In 1923, he only pitched three innings (all scoreless) for the Monarchs. He was 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA in 1924, then lost his only decision in the 1924 Negro World Series, dropping game 4 to Rube Currie of Hilldale; Kansas City still won the Series.
In the winter of 1924-1925, the right-hander was with the Los Angeles White Sox. He went 7-6 but led the California Winter League with 84 strikeouts. His two shutouts tied Currie for the lead and he tied Currie for third in wins. Bell was 5-7 in 1925, again the #2 Bell on his team after William Bell. Cliff started and lost game 5 of the 1925 Negro World Series to Currie, dropping a 2-1 decision on a 2-run homer by Tank Carr. This time, Hilldale beat the Monarchs. Cliff was 5-3 in 1926.
Cliff moved to the Memphis Red Sox in 1927 and posted a 9-11 record. In the winter, he was 6-2 for Habana, one win behind Oscar Levis for the Cuban Winter League lead. Bell was 10-7 in 1928 with Memphis. Back with Habana in 1928-1929, he was 9-3, tying Dolf Luque for the league lead in victories and leading in complete games (11). In his third season with the Red Sox, the Texan was just 1-7 in 1929. He was not as sharp his third season with Habana but still was 9-8. He tied for the league lead in losses while making the most appearances (23).
In 1930, Bell was 6-14 for Memphis, tying Luis Tiant Sr. for the Negro National League lead in losses. He was only 1-4 for Habana that winter. He was better in the California Winter League, going 6-2 and tying for second in wins. He split 1931 between the Cleveland Cubs (5-8) and Nashville Elite Giants (0-1), was 1-0 in the 1931-1931 California Winter League. then ended his career with no decisions for the 1932 Monarchs
Overall, Bell was 53-66 in the Negro Leagues, 14-8 in the California Winter League and 25-17 in the Cuban Winter League for a composite 92-91 record. He was 8th in California Winter League history with 127 strikeouts, between Currie and Erv Kantlehner and he tied for 10th with three shutouts.
Notable Achievements[edit]
- NNL Games Pitched Leader (1930)
- Won one Negro World Series with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1924
Sources[edit]
- The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues by James Riley
- The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John Holway
- The California Winter League by William McNeil
- Seamheads Negro League database
- Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History by Jorge Figueredo
We're Social...for Statheads
Every Sports Reference Social Media Account
Site Last Updated:
Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction?
Subscribe to our Free Email Newsletter
This Month in Sports Reference
Find out when we add a feature or make a change
Do you have a sports website? Or write about sports? We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Find out more.