Tommy Bell (March 13, 1923 – July 14, 1994) was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

boxer. As a professional, he faced legendary fighters such as Jake LaMotta,

Fritzie Zivic Fritzie Zivic (May 8, 1913 – May 16, 1984), born as Ferdinand Henry John Zivcich ( hr, Živčić), was an American boxer who held the world welterweight championship from October 4, 1940, until July 29, 1941. His managers included Luke Carney, ...

, and

Kid Gavilán Gerardo González (January 6, 1926 – February 13, 2003), better known in the boxing world as Kid Gavilan, was a Cuban boxer. Gavilán was the former undisputed welterweight champion from 1951 to 1954 having simultaneously held the NYSAC, WB ...

. Bell fought for the

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

title against

Sugar Ray Robinson Walker Smith Jr. (May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989), better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He is often regard ...

in 1946.

Early years

Bell was born in Ogelthorpe, Georgia, a son of Shed and Bessie Howard Bell. When he was still a child, his family relocated to

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...

, a steel-production center near the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

border. Bell attended Scienceville High School before embarking on his amateur career. Bell's nephews

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

(also known as "Kool") and Ronald would go on to form the acclaimed rhythm and blues band

Kool and the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. T ...

Boxing career

During his career as an amateur boxer, Bell won 22 fights and lost three. In 1942, he won the Ohio AAU Welterweight Championship. In his professional career, Bell participated in 82 fights and won 59. At one point in his career, he scored 34 wins in a row. In a five day period, he once knocked out five opponents. Bell was best known for a 15-round welterweight title loss to Sugar Ray Robinson, on December 20, 1946.

Later years

Bell returned to Youngstown after retiring from the ring in 1951. He was active as a coach and trainer, and in 1985, he was inducted into the community's Curbstone Coaches Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Tommy 1923 births 1994 deaths African-American boxers American male boxers Boxers from Youngstown, Ohio Welterweight boxers 20th-century African-American sportspeople