Julian Bell was an educator and community leader in the state of Tennessee for more than forty years. Born in 1900 and reared near Jellico, Tennessee, he worked in the coal mines as a youth and saved enough money to enter college. A graduate of Tennessee State University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Indiana, Bell was gifted with exceptional athletic abilities. He played professional baseball in the Negro National League during the summers of his college career, one time being a teammate of the legendary Satchel Paige. His teaching and coaching experiences include all grade levels from elementary through college. Bell was instrumental in organizing the Negro State High School Athletic Association in 1934 and served as its executive secretary-treasurer until 1943. Following World War II, Bell served as a member of a statewide curriculum evaluation committee for public education, sponsored by the Tennessee State Board of Education. He coached all sports at Fisk University in Nashville and served as athletic director and head basketball coach at Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. He finished his teaching and coaching career as director of athletics and head basketball coach at Knoxville College, retiring in 1973. A man of great integrity, Julian Bell served with pride and excellence in all of his varied endeavors, and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame is honored to call him one of its members.
