At 42 years old, Leroy Satchel Paige made his Major League debut for the Cleveland Indians, making him the oldest rookie in MLB history. Paige officially ended his career at the age of 59, making him the oldest player to play Major League Baseball, a record that stands to this day.
Paige was able to complete an astounding 95 of the 195 games in which he started for a total completed game percentage of 48%.
With a combined 1,729 2/3 innings pitched between the Negro Leagues and the Major Leagues, Paige achieved a total FIP rating of 2.17.
*Fieldi...
On July 9, 1948, Paige became the oldest man ever to debut in a National League or American League game, at the age of 42 years and two days...
Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige was an American professional starting pitcher who played in Negro Leagues and Major League Baseball. His career spanned over five decades and culminated with his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
As a right-handed starting pitcher, Paige first played for the semi-professional Mobile Tigers from 1924 to 1926.
He began his career in professional baseball the next year playing in the Negro Leagues for the Chattanooga Black Lookouts of the Negro Southern League in 1926, where he became one of the most recognizable and successful players to come from the Negro Leagues.
On town tours across the United States, Paige would occasionally have the infielders playing defense behind him sit down, then striking out the side. [3]
At age of 42, Paige made his debut for the Cleveland Indians in 1948.
To this day, this makes him the oldest debutant in the National League or American League history. Additionally, Paige was 59 years old when he played his last major league game, which is also a record that Satchel holds as the oldest player to pitch in a Major League game.
Satchel was the first black pitcher to play in the American League and was the seventh black player to play in Major League Baseball. Also in 1948, Paige became the first player who pitched in both the Negro Leagues and pitch in a World Series (MLB).
The Cleveland Indians won the Series in 1948 and have not won another championship since. He alsoplayed with the St. Louis Browns for 3 seasons from 1951 to 1953, representing the Indians in the All-Star Game in 1952 and 1953.
Paige would play his last professional game on June 21, 1966, for the Peninsula Grays of the Carolina League, just two weeks shy of his 60th birthday. In 1971, Paige became the first electee of the Negro League Committee to be inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame. [5]
According to Paige, his nickname originated from his childhood, spent toting bags at the train station. He complained he was not making enough money at a dime a bag, so he used a pole and a rope to build a contraption that allowed him to cart up to four bags at once. Another kid supposedly yelled, "You look like a walking satchel tree." [11]
A different itiration of the story told by boyhood friend and neighbor Wilber Hines, who said he gave Paige the nickname after he was caught trying to steal a bag. [12]
At the age of 10, Paige was playing a fan of playing "top ball", which was what got him into baseball. "Top ball" was a kids' game that lower income families often played using sticks or broom handles as bats and bottle caps instead of baseballs.
Satchel's mother, Lula, commented on her sons devotion to the game, even commenting on how Satchel would rather "play baseball than eat. It was always baseball, baseball." [13]
On July 24, 1918, just seventeen days after his 12th birthday, Paige was sentenced to six years—or until his 18th birthday, whichever came first—at the Alabama Reform School for Juvenile Negro Law-Breakers in Mount Meigs, Alabama, owing up to his truancy in school along with his tendency to grab things that did not belong to him. [14]
While in reform school Satchel would learn the fundamentals of pitching. Learning from Reverend Moses Davis, Paige became increasingly interested in pitching . Reverend Davis was was also a trustee of the school and devoted much of his time coaching boys baseball.
Davis was even able to find sponsors for his team, striking a deal with a local sporting-goods store in Montgomery to secure the team's first personalized uniforms. Reverend Davis was African American, as was much of the teaching staff at Mount Meigs, including the school's founder, Cornelia Bowen, a graduate of Tuskegee Institute. [15]
Paige was released from the institution in December 1923, seven months short of his 18th birthday. He summed up his years of incarceration by stating: "I traded five years of freedom to learn how to pitch. At least I started my real learning on the Mount. They were not wasted years at all. It made a real man out of me." [16]
A former friend from Mobile, Alex Herman, was the player/manager for the Chattanooga White Sox of the minor Negro Southern League. In 1926 he discovered Paige and offered to pay him $250 per month, of which Paige would collect $50 with the rest going to his mother. He also agreed to pay Lula Paige a $200 signing bonus, and she agreed to the contract. [19]
The local newspapers—the Chattanooga News and Chattanooga Times—recognized from the beginning that Paige was an special talent on the rise in local baseball.
In April of 1926, shortly after his arrival with the White Sox, he recorded nine strikeouts over six innings against the Atlanta Black Crackers. Partway through the 1927 season, Paige's contract was sold to the Birmingham Black Barons of the major Negro National League.
According to Paige's first memoir, his contract was for $450 per month, but in his second stated that it was for $275. [21]
Pitching for the Birmingham, Satchel threw hard but was wild and awkward in his delivery. His first big game came in late June of 1927, against the St. Louis Stars.
Paige incited a brawl between the teams when his fastball hit the hand of St. Louis catcher, Mitchell Murray. Murray then charged the mound and Paige raced for the dugout, but Murray flung his bat and struck Paige above the hip.
The police were summoned, and the headline in the Birmingham Reporter described the game with the headline "A Near Riot." [22]
Paige improved his pitching mechanics and matured through the help of his teammates, Sam Streeter, Harry Salmon, and his manager, Bill Gatewood were all instrumental figures for Paige during his growth and development as a player. He finished the 1927 season with record of 7–1 striking out 69 batters, while issuing 26 walks in 89 1⁄3 innings of play.
In June 1931, the Crawford Colored Giants, an independent club owned by Pittsburgh underworld figure Gus Greenlee, made Paige an offer of $250 a month to play for his team. [36]
On August 6, Paige made his debut for the Colored Giants against their hometown rivals, the Homestead Grays. Paige was summoned in the fourth inning, holding the Grays scoreless for the duration of his innings, finishing with six strikeouts, while issuing no walks over five innings of relief work to get the win. [37]
On July 7, 1948, Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck contacted Paige to gauge his interest in trying out for the Indians with supervision from player-coach Lou Boudreau.
On that same day, his 42nd birthday, Paige signed his first major league contract, for $40,000 for the three months remaining in the season. With that he became the first black pitcher in the American League and the seventh African American to cross the color barrier overall.
On July 9 of the same season, Paige became the oldest man ever to debut in a National League or American League game, at the age of 42 years and two days.
Paige got his first big league victory on July 15, 1948. The previous night Paige had pitched in an exhibition game against the Brooklyn Dodgers with 65,000 fans in attendance at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. His first victory would come at Philadelphia's Shibe Park.
With the Indians up 5–3 and the bases loaded in the sixth inning (in the second game of a double header), He got Eddie Joost to fly out to end the inning, but gave up two runs the next inning when Ferris Fain doubled and Hank Majeski hit a home run. Paige buckled down and gave up only one more hit the rest of the game, getting five of the next six outs on fly balls.
On August 3, the Indians were just one game behind the Athletics in the division, Cleveland manager Lou Boudreau started Paige in a critical game against the Washington Senators at home. The game was of such importance that it attracted 72,562 fans to the Indians home field Municipal Stadium. The game set a new attendance record for a Major League Baseball.
Penniless, Paige decided to return to his barnstorming days after being released from the Indians. When Veeck bought an 80% interest in the St. Louis Browns he soon signed Paige to play for his team during his time back in the Negro Leagues.
Satchel would eventually find his way back to the Major Leagues. In his first game back, on July 18, 1951, he pitched against the Washington Senators.
In his return to the Majors, Paige pitched six innings of shutout ball until the seventh inning when he gave up three runs. He ended the season with a record of 3–4 and a 4.79 earned run average.
In 1952, Rogers Hornsby took over as manager of the Browns, and despite past accusations of racism, Hornsby was less hesitant to use Paige than Boudreau was four years before. Paige was so effective that when Hornsby was fired by Veeck, his successor Marty Marion seemed not to want to risk going more than three games without using Paige in some form sometimes as a relief pitcher.
By July 4, Paige had appeared in 25 games.
This prompted Casey Stengel to name him to the American League All-Star team, making him the first African American pitcher on an AL All-Star team. The All-Star game was cut short after five innings due to rain and Paige officially entered the game. Impressed with his ability, Stengel resolved to name him to the team the following season.
Satchel ended that season with a record of 12-10 and an earned run average of 3.07, while his team that lost ninety games. [129]
Stengel kept his word by naming Paige to the 1953 All-Star team, despite Paige not having a very good year. Paige ended the year with a disappointing record of 3–9. Paige was soon released at the conclusion of the season, coinciding with Veeck's decision to sell his controlling interest in the St. Louis Browns.
Discouraged, Paige again returned to barnstorming in the Negro Leagues. On August 14, 1955, Paige signed a contract with the Greensboro Patriots of the Carolina League.
Veeck once again came to Paige's rescue when, after taking control of the Phillies' Triple-A farm team, the Miami Marlins of the International League. Veeck had taken to Paige and signed him to a contract for $15,000, plus a percentage of the gate receipts.
Paige finished that season for the Patriots with an 11–4 record and an ERA of 1.86. He also struck out 79 strikeouts batters, issuing only 28 walks.
Veeck would eventually leave the organization, however this time Paige was allowed to stay on. He continued playing for the team for an additional two years.
In 1957, the [Florida] Marlins International League team finished in sixth place. Paige had a 10–8 record with 76 strikeouts versus 11 walks and 2.42 ERA. The following year, Paige finished 10–10, stating that he would not return to Miami in 1959.
Later that year, Paige returned to his barnstorm roots and signed a contract to pitch for the Havana Cuban Stars who were owned by Dempsey Hovland. Paige carried on his life in and out of baseball, pitching sporadically, over the next decade.
Astonishingly, at the age of 55, Paige signed with the Triple-A Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League, pitching 25 innings, striking out 19 and giving up eight earned runs. He failed to record a single decision in his stint with the Beavers in 1961. [130]
In 2010, sportswriter Joe Posnanski, writing for Sports Illustrated, named Paige as the hardest thrower in the history of professional baseball. He based this, in part, on the fact that: "Joe DiMaggio would say that Paige was the best pitcher he had ever faced.
Bob Feller would also say that Paige was the best he ever saw.
Hack Wilson said that the ball looked like a marble coming out of Paiges hand and when it crossed the plate.
Dizzy Dean would say that the combination of Paige's fastball and unorthodox delivery made his fastball look like a changeup. [151]
Posnanski further noted that for the entirety of his career Satchel Paige rarely threw anything but fastballs. He had different names for them—Bat Dodger, Midnight Rider, Midnight Creeper, Jump Ball, Trouble Ball—but essentially they were all fastballs. Despite his diversity in pitch selection he was still unhittable for the better part of 15 years.
One of his fastball variations reminded a lot of hitters of Mariano Rivera cut fastball, except Satchel was a starting pitcher and Rivera was a closer.
Paige completed games with ease. For Paige to complete 48% of the games he pitched in his fastball must truly have been incredible.
Paige was perhaps the most precise pitcher in baseball history—throwing it on time and on target. He finished his career with an imprecise tally as far as innings pitched. Paige almost certainly pitched more innings than he is given credit for, especially in relief.
In 1999, he ranked Number 19 on Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. On July 28, 2006, a statue of Satchel Paige was unveiled at Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooper Park, Cooperstown, New York.
The statue was in commemoration of the contributions of the Negro Leagues to baseball history and to Paiges unfortunate career, in which he is the oldest rookie to ever play in MLB at 42 years old.
Oscar Charleston played and managed in the Negro Leagues as an outfielder, first baseman and pitcher. Charleston would later become manager of the Indianapolis Clowns.
Cool Papa Bell played centerfield in the Negro Leagues from 1922 to 1946. played for the powerhouse Kansas City. Monarchs, Pittsburgh Crawfords, and Homestead Grays.
Buck Leonard, along side Josh Gibson formed the best three-four, hitting tandem in the History of the Negro Leagues, leading the Homestead Grays to dominance.
Satchel Paige began his 20 year career in the Negro Leagues pitching for the Chattanooga Lookouts. He would later make his MLB debut at age 42 for the Cleveland Indians.
Cum Posey was a veteran Negro Leagues team owner, player, and league executive. He is the founding member of two leagues, and a Hall of Fame Basketball player.
Jackie Robinson is the first African American to play Major League Baseball. He broke baseball's color barrier in 1945, by signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Roy Campanella played one season in the Negro Leagues, signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers just one season after Jackie Robinson’s debut in Major League Baseball.
Gus Greenlee was a driving force behind the organization of the Negro National League I. During his time involved with Negro Leagues he owned several profitable side businesses.
Major League Baseball’s all-time leader in home runs with 755, few know Aaron began his baseball career in the Negro Leagues as a shortstop for the Indianapolis Clowns.
Candy Jim Taylor was a professional third baseman, manager, and brother of four professional playing Negro Leaguers. His career in baseball spanned over 40 years.
Cristóbal Torriente, often called the Babe Ruth of Cuba, played as an outfielder in the Negro Leagues from 1912-1932. He was most known for his incredible power to all fields.
Considered one of the best pitchers of the early 1900s, and perhaps the most influential figure in Negro League history, Rube Foster founded the NNLI and managed the Chicago American Giants.
Larry Doby was the second African-American baseball player to break baseball's color barrier and the first black player to play in the American League.
Even at the catchers position, Josh Gibson's display of power in his famed Negro Leagues career is something rarely seen in the history of Major League Baseball.
King Solomon "Sol" White played baseball professionally as an infielder, manager and league executive. White is considered to be one of the pioneers of the Negro Leagues.
Born in July 1888, Ben Taylor was the youngest of 4 professional Negro Leaguers, including Candy Jim Taylor, C.I. Taylor, and Johnny Steel Arm Taylor.
Biz Mackey was regarded as one of the Negro Leagues premier offensive and defensive catchers, playing across several leagues from late 1920s and early 1930s.
Nathaniel Strong was a Negro Leagues sports executive, businessman, team owner and founding member of the Negro National League I,
After joining the Giants, Irvin flourished as one of the early African-American players in MLB. Irvin appeared in 2 World Series for the New York Giants, playing along side Willie Mays.
Norman Turkey Stearnes played professionally in the Negro Leagues, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
Gatewood pitched the first no-hitter in National Negro League history when he defeated the Cincinnati Cuban Stars on June 6, 1921.
John Boyce Taylor was the second-oldest of 4 baseball-playing brothers, the others being Charles, Ben and James. For the 1899-1900 seasons, Taylor won 90% of his games starting pitcher for the Giants.
Buck signed with the Memphis Red Sox for their first year of play in the newly formed Negro American League (NAL). His contract was sold to the Kansas Monarchs the following year.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience.