Postcard of James "Cool Papa" Bell Baseball Hall of Fame plaque: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Postcard featuring a photograph of a brass plaque on a yellow background. Handwritten in black ink at the top of the card is "James 'Cool Papa' Bell." The plaque has a depiction of Bell in a baseball uniform. Under the portrait is the text, "JAMES THOMAS BELL / "COOL PAPA" / NEGRO LEAGUES 1922 - 1950." The back of the postcard is unused. Preprinted green text at the top reads: [National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum / Cooperstown, New York / plaque of / James T. (Cool Papa) Bell / Elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame 1974 / Baseball Hall of Fame Committee on Negro Baseball Leagues] next to that text at the top is stamp box. Below the stamp box additional green text reads: [Post Card]. There are also two pieces of tape on the far right edge of the back of the postcard.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1974
• Created by: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, American, founded 1936
• Printed by: Curt Teich & Company, American, 1898 - 1978
• Subject of: James "Cool Papa" Bell, American, 1903 - 1991
• Signed by: James "Cool Papa" Bell, American, 1903 - 1991
• Type: postcards
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 5 7/16 x 3 7/16 in. (13.8 x 8.7 cm)
• Place depicted: Cooperstown, Otsego County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Athletes
• Topic: Baseball
• Topic: Segregation
• Topic: Sports
• Object number: 2012.172.21.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Paxton and Rachel Baker
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.