JAMES “COOL PAPA” BELL 455
James “Cool Papa” Bell
1 In 1946 one of the greatest baseball players of all time retired after almost twenty–five
years as a pro. No, it wasn’t Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, or any other star you’ve probably heard of.
The man was James “Cool Papa” Bell, star of the Pittsburgh Crawfords of the Negro League.
2 The Negro League was the name of the league where black players were forced to play
until 1947, when major league baseball became integrated. The Negro League had some of the
best players never to be appreciated, and Cool Papa Bell headed that list.
5 And Cool Papa was smooth. In his first game as a pro, the seventeen–year–old, then
known as James, came into the game in the bottom of the ninth inning and struck out one of the
league’s best hitters on three straight pitches. Pretty smooth for a guy who wasn’t even a pitcher.
For playing with the savvy of a seasoned veteran even though he was only a kid, his manager
called him “Cool Papa.”
6 But to say that Cool Papa had style would be an injustice to him. Cool Papa was style.
Whether in his baseball uniform or his Sunday best, Cool Papa had a flair all his own. Some of you
may have seen flip-down sunglasses, a necessity and fashion statement for many major league
players today. Flip-down sunglasses weren’t unknown to Cool Papa. After all, he invented them.
456 COMMEMORATIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
8 But despite the inequalities he faced, Cool Papa kept on playing the game he loved. He
helped pave the way for Jackie Robinson, the first African American in the major leagues, and oth-
ers who followed him. Cool Papa did this by fighting racism the same way he played baseball—
James “Cool Papa” Bell
Commentary
“James ‘Cool Papa’ Bell” is a commemorative speech that deals with one of the greatest baseball players
in the old Negro League, to which black players were relegated before the integration of major league
baseball in 1947. The topic will probably be appreciated most by students who are baseball fans, but the
speech transcends sports to focus on the larger issue of racism in U.S. society and the refusal of “Cool
Body: Composed of paragraphs 3–8, the body of the speech develops three main points. The first is
that Bell was the fastest baseball player of all time (paragraphs 3–4). The second is that Bell
played the game with a style all his own (paragraphs 5–6). The third—and most important—is
that Bell was a pioneer who helped pave the way for Jackie Robinson and other African Ameri-
cans who would later play Major League Baseball (paragraphs 7–8).
Throughout the body of the speech, the speaker provides well–chosen supporting materials
to illustrate Bell’s athleticism and character. The speaker also makes effective use of the re-
sources of language discussed in Chapter 12 to elevate and polish the style of the speech. At
Conclusion: The conclusion consists of the final paragraph. After subtly announcing that the speech is
coming to an end by saying, “So let’s take a few moments . . . ,” the speaker closes by remind-
ing the audience of Bell’s accomplishments as “the speedy baseball star, the stylish innovator,
the man who fought racism just by going to work every day.” The parallel structure of these
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