UNK Maurice Bell

Maurice Bell was born July 30, 1924, in Montgomery, Alabama. Maurice Solomon “Red” Bell played at Sidney Lanier High School before joining the University of Alabama, where the diminutive, red-haired guard earned All-Southeastern Conference recognition. As an Alabama freshman, he scored eight points in a 41–32 victory over Kentucky and 12 when the Wildcats won the rematch 67–41 in Lexington.

After eight months in the Army Air Corps, Bell received a medical discharge because of a lingering shoulder injury and enrolled at Kentucky as a pre-med student. He joined Adolph Rupp’s Wildcats in January 1944 after his transfer credits were accepted and appeared in two games, against Wright Field and Fort Knox A.R.T.C. Bell did not score in either appearance, but the campus newspaper remembered the quick newcomer as “a super flash from Alabama.”

Bell returned to Alabama and later faced his former Wildcats in the championship game of the 1945 SEC Tournament. He led the Crimson Tide with 13 points, but Kentucky won 52–41 to capture the conference title. After basketball, Bell graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law and became a successful Montgomery criminal attorney known for his compassion, courtroom skill, and commitment to fairness. He also mentored young attorneys and helped develop local basketball players before his death on December 24, 2012.