A native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighed 165 pounds (75 kg).

After trials with the Cardinals in both 1923 and 1924, he supplanted Howard Freigau and Specs Toporcer to become the Redbirds' regular third baseman in 1925 and finished third on the team in runs batted in with 88, behind only Baseball Hall of Famers Rogers Hornsby and Jim Bottomley.

Bell ranked sixth in the National League Most Valuable Player Award polling as the Cardinals won their first pennant and World Series championship.

In 1927, however, Bell played in only 115 games and his production fell off considerably, and in March 1928 he was traded to the Braves for fellow third baseman Andy High.

During his nine-year Major League career, Les Bell collected 938 hits, with 184 doubles and 49 triples accompanying his 66 home runs.