Toss-back Tuesday: Satchel Paige in the Hall of Fame
February 9, 2016
On Feb. 9, 1971, African American baseball pitcher Satchel Paige (1906-1982) was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Paige’s election was unique at the time, as he was the first player elected for his career numbers in the Negro leagues instead of his numbers in Major League Baseball (MLB). Paige began his career in the 1920’s, long before baseball was racially integrated in 1947. Despite being barred from MLB’s big stage, Paige gained rapid fame for his pitching prowess as well as his electric personality and enthusiasm for the game. Paige at last made it to the big leagues in 1948, when he helped the Cleveland Indians win their last World Series championship.
Leroy Robert Paige was born on July 7, 1906, in Mobile, Alabama. He earned the nickname Satchel from carrying satchels at the Mobile railroad depot as a boy. He began playing baseball professionally in 1924, and often pitched against major leaguers in exhibition games. In 1937, New York Yankee star Joe DiMaggio called him the greatest pitcher he ever faced. Paige pitched for touring black teams and teams in the Negro leagues for more than 20 years.
Paige was past his prime when he joined the Cleveland Indians in 1948 and became the first black pitcher in the American League. At age 42, he was the oldest rookie in MLB history. Paige won 6 games and lost 1 that season and helped Cleveland win the pennant. He appeared in one game for the Indians in their World Series victory over the Boston Braves. Paige pitched again for Cleveland in 1949 and for the St. Louis Browns from 1951 to 1953. He made a final appearance in 1965, pitching in one game for the Kansas City Athletics. Paige’s career major league record was 28 victories and 31 defeats.
Brooklyn Dodgers Jackie Robinson (1962) and Roy Campanella (1969) were the first two African American players elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Robinson and Campanella earned their entry on the strength of their MLB numbers, not their brief careers in the Negro leagues. In the late 1960’s, MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn created a committee to nominate African American players for the Hall of Fame based on their Negro league careers alone. Paige was the unanimous first choice. Paige died in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 8, 1982.