Biography
Inside forward Ernest “Ernie” Bell was born in Hull and joined the Tigers as a teenager, turning professional on his 17th birthday and making his first team debut when he was 18. He was given his debut in newly installed manager Ernest Blackburn’s first match in charge and Bell rewarded the gaffer by scoring his first City goal the week before Christmas 1936 when he netted the fourth strike in a 5-2 win over Tranmere Rovers (Tynesider Jerry Best scored the other four). For the next four months Bell vied with Welshman William Tabram for the inside right shirt and looked set for greater things in the 1937/38 season.
However the close season signing of Jack Fryer, who had previously played for manager Blackburn when he was in charge at Wrexham, hampered Bell’s game time and only in March and April 1938 did he get a run of starts, scoring his last goal for the Tigers in mid-March in a 1-1 draw against Rotherham.
In May 1938 Bell signed for Mansfield Town where he scored four goals in 36 senior appearances during his inaugural season. However the advent of World War Two curtailed the 1939/40 season after only two expunged games and his time at Field Mill quickly drew to a close.
Bell was a prisoner of war in Germany and Poland for four years during the War and played football for a Prisoners XI. Once repatriated Bell played wartime fixtures for Grimsby and Aldershot as well as 26 games for Hull City during the 1944/45 season. When the Football League returned in August 1946 Bell re-signed for the Tigers and he played in the inaugural game at City’s new Boothferry Park home. However new boss Frank Buckley used Ernie irregularly in that return season and he scored his only goal of the season and final goal for the club in his last appearance, a 1-0 May 1947 win over Tranmere – the same side against which he opened his City account eleven years previously.
Bell joined Scarborough Town in July 1947 and went on to play for the East Coast side for several seasons, then served Hessle Old Boys. He became a civil servant for the Inland Revenue, for whom he excelled at cricket for many years, and resided in Hull for the rest of his life, dying at the tragically young age of 50 in December 1968. Ernie’s son Ian Bell worked at Hull City for several years during the early 2000s, stewarding the player’s entrance at both Boothferry Park and the KC Stadium – Ian died in 2023.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 22 July 1918, Hull
Hull City First Game: 5 December 1936, Hartlepools United H (Division Three North), 18 years, 136 days old
Hull City Final Game: 10 May 1947, Tranmere Rovers H (Division Three North), 28 years, 292 days old
Clubs
Hull City (1935-1938), Mansfield Town (1938-1939), Hull City (1946-1947), Scarborough (1947-1951), Hessle Old Boys (1951-1958)
Hull City Record
Career: 28 apps, 5 goals
Ernie Bell| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935/36 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1936/37 | 14 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1937/38 | 8 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| 1946/47 | 5 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |