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David Russell Bell
Cincinnati Redlegs
Outfield
Born: November 15, 1928, Louisville, KY
Signed: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1950-1952; Cincinnati Reds 1953-1961; New York Mets 1962; Milwaukee Braves 1962-1964
Died: May 7, 1995, Montgomery, OH (age 66)
Gus Bell was a four-time All-Star for the Reds and a steading hitting, fine fielding outfielder for 15 big league seasons. He'd leave a legacy in the major leagues that continues today with his grandson David as the current manager of the Reds. His son Buddy was a five-time All-Star primarily with the Indians and Rangers throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Before managing the Reds, his grandson David played for 12 seasons with six different teams and another grandson, Mike, appeared briefly in the majors with the Reds in 2000.
Gus' most productive seasons came in the mid-1950s as the regular center fielder for the Reds. He batted .290 or higher in five straight seasons between 1953 and 1957, and he drove in at least 100 runs in four seasons. His best season was perhaps 1953 when he batted .300 with 30 home runs (a career high) and 105 RBIs. A back-up in 1961, Bell saw his only postseason play in that year's World Series, going hitless in three pinch-hitting appearances against the Yankees. Following the series, Bell was selected as the 8th pick by the Mets in the 1961 expansion draft. He'd play sparingly for the Mets and Braves over the final seasons of his career, retiring following the 1964 season. In 1,741 career games, Bell batted .281 with 1,823 hits, 206 home runs and 942 RBIs. He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1964.
Building the Set
July 30, 1994 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #130
My Dad and I bought this card at the annual Ocean City baseball card show held within the famous Music Pier during the summer between my sophomore and junior years in college. We spent $41 on six cards for our 1956 Topps set at this show, with the most expensive card being (for some reason) Rip Repulski's (#201) card for $9. This Bell card cost us $7.
From the flyer (right), it looks as if The Eastern Pennsylvania Sports Collectors Club (EPSCC) had abandoned its sponsorship of this baseball card show by 1994. Honestly after they pulled out, the show was never quite the same and the quality definitely suffered. My Dad would have grumbled at the fact that comic books were now encroaching on the floor space of his beloved baseball card show. 1994 and 1995 were strange years for the baseball card hobby as the player's strike that prematurely ended the 1994 season chased a lot of fans away from the hobby, and some of them have never come back.
Johnny Callison was back signing autographs though, and the former Phillies player was ubiquitous at these events back in the 1980s and early 1990s.
The Card / Redlegs Team Set
Bell's #25 is on display in the action shot as he makes an acrobatic catch in center field. His son Buddy and grandson David would wear #25 whenever possible in honor of Gus. Like many of the subjects so far in this set's second series, Bell was absent from Topps sets in 1954 and 1955, as he appeared exclusively with Bowman. I found the highlight from the first cartoon panel on the back incredible to believe, but Bell is in fact the first Reds player to drive in over 100 runs in a season. The final cartoon panel shows that Bell attributed his hitting success to choking up on the bat. They just don't make baseball card cartoons like they used to!
1956 Season
Bell was at the pinnacle of his career in 1956, making his third All-Star Game and playing in 150 games for the third place Reds. As the team's regular center fielder, he patrolled the outfield with Frank Robinson in left and Wally Post (#158) in right. Bell batted .292 with 29 home runs and 84 RBIs, and was one of five Reds players with at least 25 home runs, joining team leader Robinson, Post, Ted Kluszewski (#25) and Ed Bailey.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1951 Bowman #40
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14): 1951-1953, 1956-1964, 1976, 1985
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2001 Topps Archives #119
87 - Bell non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/24/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Building the Set
My Dad and I bought this card at the annual Ocean City baseball card show held within the famous Music Pier during the summer between my sophomore and junior years in college. We spent $41 on six cards for our 1956 Topps set at this show, with the most expensive card being (for some reason) Rip Repulski's (#201) card for $9. This Bell card cost us $7.
From the flyer (right), it looks as if The Eastern Pennsylvania Sports Collectors Club (EPSCC) had abandoned its sponsorship of this baseball card show by 1994. Honestly after they pulled out, the show was never quite the same and the quality definitely suffered. My Dad would have grumbled at the fact that comic books were now encroaching on the floor space of his beloved baseball card show. 1994 and 1995 were strange years for the baseball card hobby as the player's strike that prematurely ended the 1994 season chased a lot of fans away from the hobby, and some of them have never come back.
Johnny Callison was back signing autographs though, and the former Phillies player was ubiquitous at these events back in the 1980s and early 1990s.
The Card / Redlegs Team Set
Bell's #25 is on display in the action shot as he makes an acrobatic catch in center field. His son Buddy and grandson David would wear #25 whenever possible in honor of Gus. Like many of the subjects so far in this set's second series, Bell was absent from Topps sets in 1954 and 1955, as he appeared exclusively with Bowman. I found the highlight from the first cartoon panel on the back incredible to believe, but Bell is in fact the first Reds player to drive in over 100 runs in a season. The final cartoon panel shows that Bell attributed his hitting success to choking up on the bat. They just don't make baseball card cartoons like they used to!
1956 Season
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First Mainstream Card: 1951 Bowman #40
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14): 1951-1953, 1956-1964, 1976, 1985
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2001 Topps Archives #119
87 - Bell non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/24/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
This was one of my favorite of the original 1956 Topps cards in my collection. I think when my brothers and I were selecting cards out of that pile of '56s from my dad's work friend, I chose this card just for how it looks. I didn't know who Bell was.
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