Lynn Everett Bell (November 18, 1883 – May 30, 1959) was an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coach and professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player. He played professional baseball from 1906 to 1914 and served as the head football coach for Michigan State Normal College—now known as

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

—in 1918.

Early years

Bell was born in 1883 in

North Adams, Michigan North Adams is a village in Hillsdale County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 452 at the 2020 census. The village is located within Adams Township. History The area was first settled by William Cutler, who moved here from Niag ...

. His father, William Bell (born 1852), was a native of New York and a farmer. His mother, Mary Bell (born 1863), was a native of Ohio. At the time of the 1900 U.S. Census, the family lived in

Hillsdale, Michigan Hillsdale is the largest city and county seat of Hillsdale County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,036 at the 2020 census. The city is the home of Hillsdale College, a private liberal arts college noted for its academics ...

, and Bell was the oldest of five children—four brothers and one sister.Census entry for William Bell and family. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census atabase on-line Census Place: Adams, Hillsdale, Michigan; Roll: T623_713; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 82.

Professional baseball

Bell played professional baseball as a second baseman from 1906 to 1914. He played in the

Southern Michigan League The Southern Michigan League was a Minor League Baseball circuit which operated between 1906 and 1912. It was classified as a Class D league from 1906 to 1910 and as a Class C league from 1911 to 1912. After that, the league was known as the Sou ...

for Saginaw in 1906 and the Kalamazoo Kazoos in 1907 and 1908. During the 1909 and 1910 seasons, he played for the

Springfield Senators The Springfield Senators were a minor league baseball team based in Springfield, Illinois that played on-and-off from 1889 to 1935. The team played in the Central Interstate League (1889), the Three-I League (1904-1912, 1925–1932, 1935) and the Mi ...

in the

Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League The Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League was a Minor League Baseball organization that operated for the better part of 60 seasons, with teams based in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The league began pla ...

. He was sold by the Senators to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

in 1910. One newspaper account noted that Bell made "a brilliant show" during the Cardinals' spring training camp in 1910:

Remember Lynn Bell the fast second baseman with Kinsella's Senators last season, who never let a line drive get through his territory? He's making the big leaguers sit up and take notice in the camp of the St Louis Cardinals at Little Rock, Ark. The sport scribes of the St. Louis newspapers say that Huggins, the former Cincinnati second sacker, will have to travel at a two-minute clip to win the berth away from Bell.

Bell was returned to Springfield in mid-April 1910. At the time of the 1910 U.S. Census, Bell was residing with his parents in

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, and ...

. His occupation was listed as baseball player. Bell also played for the

Scranton Miners The Scranton Miners, known as the Scranton Apollos from 1970 to 1977, were a professional basketball team based in Scranton, Pennsylvania that was a member of the American Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association. Arthur Pacht ...

of the

New York State League The New York State League was an independent baseball league that played six seasons between 2007 and 2012 in New York State and the New York City metro area. Over 500 NYSL players have been signed by professional teams. Players from forty-eight ...

for parts of the 1912, 1913 and 1914 seasons. He also appeared in 50 games for the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as ...

of the American Association in 1912. In July 1914, he was purchased from Scranton by the Syracuse Stars to take over as the team's second baseman. According to the ''Syracuse Herald'', "Bell was not in the best of condition when he was sold by Scranton to the Stars, but he worked hard and kept gamely in his togs when he should have been in a hospital." In the spring of 1915, Bell returned to Scranton due to the failure of the Syracuse team to pay the money due to Scranton for the sale of Bell. Bell was reportedly seeking a managerial position with the Adrian Club in the Southern Michigan League in 1915.

Michigan State Normal

Bell was the head football coach at Michigan State Normal College—now known as

in Ypsilanti, and he held that position for the 1918 season. The season of 1918 was a shorter season of only three game; 1917 and 1919 seasons each had a schedule of seven games.). His coaching record at the school was 1–2. The lone win of the season was a 20–6 victory over in-state rival .

Later years

At the time of the 1920 U.S. Census, Bell was living with his parents in Ypsilanti. He was working as a salesman for an electric company. In September 1918, Bell completed a draft registration card in which he indicated that he was living in Ypsilanti and working as a salesman for the Detroit Edison Co. At the time of the 1930 U.S. Census, Bell was living in Ypsilanti with his wife Ida-May Bell and their two children Mary Bell (age 6) and James Bell (age 1 year, 11 months). Bell's occupation was listed at the time as a life insurance salesman. He died at Ypsilanti on May 30, 1959.Death Certificate Search
ewashtenaw.org

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Lynn 1883 births 1959 deaths Baseball second basemen Eastern Michigan Eagles football coaches Hillsdale Chargers baseball players Kalamazoo White Sox players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Springfield Senators players Saginaw (minor league baseball) players Scranton Miners players Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players People from Hillsdale, Michigan Coaches of American football from Michigan Baseball players from Michigan