Kansas City Monarchs pitching great Satchel Paige is all smiles as he poses in the dugout at New York’s Yankee Stadium on Aug. 2, 1942, for a Negro League game between the Monarchs and the New York Cuban Stars. Paige was considered a top prospect for the major leagues after baseball’s commissioner ruled that there were no provisions barring players of color from the majors.
Throughout his multi-decade career, Negro League and Major League Baseball pitcher Leroy 'Satchel' Paige was applauded by fans, teammates and league members for his fastballs and his control. Notable in part for being the oldest major league rookie player in the MLB, he was 42 when he signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1948. Paige made a name for himself with his talents, positivity and sense of humor, all of which took him from the Negro Leagues to the Indians, the St. Louis Browns and the Kansas City Athletics. His nearly 40-year career is memorialized in the Hall of Fame, to which he was nominated on Feb. 9, 1971. Take a look back at Satchel Paige’s career on and off the field.
Kansas City Monarchs pitching great Satchel Paige is all smiles as he poses in the dugout at New York’s Yankee Stadium on Aug. 2, 1942, for a Negro League game between the Monarchs and the New York Cuban Stars. Paige was considered a top prospect for the major leagues after baseball’s commissioner ruled that there were no provisions barring players of color from the majors.
Kansas City Monarchs pitcher Satchel Paige warms up at New York’s Yankee Stadium on Aug. 2, 1942, for a Negro League game between the Monarchs and the New York Cuban Stars.
Satchel Paige of the Kansas City Monarchs, left, and former St. Louis Cardinal and Chicago Cubs hurler Dizzy Dean discuss pitching techniques before the start of a game at Wrigley Field in Chicago on May 24, 1942, between Dean’s All-Stars and the Monarchs, an African-American team.
Satchel Paige, right-handed pitcher for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League (NAL), has his pitching arm massaged by team trainer Frank J. Floyd in New York on Aug. 2, 1942.
Satchel Paige signed to the Cleveland Indians in 1948, making it the year of his major league baseball debut. Here, Paige pitches in relief in the 6th inning against the Yankees at New York’s Yankee Stadium on July 22, 1948.
The 1948 Cleveland Indians are seen in their most recent team picture at the time on Oct. 3, 1948, in Cleveland: (front row, left to right) Eddie Robinson, first base; Ken Keltner, third base; Al Rosen, third base; Mel Harder, Coach; Manager Lou Boudreau, shortstop; President Bill Veeck; Muddy Ruel, Coach; Bill McKechnie, Coach; Joe Gordon, second base; and Johnny Beradino, traveling secretary; Sam Zoldak, Ed Kleiman, Steve Gromek, Russ Christopher, Gene Bearden, Bob Lemon, Satchel Paige, Bob Feller, and Bob Muncriff (all pitchers); Lefty Weisman, trainer; (top row) Walt Judnich, Allie Clark, Hal Peck, Larry Doby, Hank Edwards, Dale Mitchell, Bob Kennedy, all outfielders; Jim Hegan, catcher; Ray Boone, shortstop and catcher; Joe Tipton, catcher; and Thurman Tucker, outfielder.
Jesse Owens, center, and pitcher Satchel Paige of the Cleveland Indians are congratulated by State’s Attorney John Boyle, left, upon winning trophies for finishing first and fourth respectively in a nation-wide poll on outstanding Black athletes on Aug. 19, 1949. The presentation of the trophies were made at Comiskey Park in Chicago at a Cleveland-Chicago White Sox game.
Pitcher Satchel Paige signs the contract for his return to major league baseball, starting for the Browns, in St. Louis, on July 18, 1951. Next to him is Bill Veeck, the new owner of the team.
Satchel Paige of the St. Louis Browns, second from the right, a first time All-Star at 46, describes his pitch selection for some of his American League teammates, from left to right, Yankees outfielder Mickey Mantle, Yankees pitcher Allie Reynolds, Boston Red Sox outfielder Dom DiMaggio and Paige in the locker room at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park on July 8, 1952.
Satchel Paige signs his 1953 contract with the St. Louis Browns as owner Bill Veeck looks on on Jan. 10, 1953. The right-handed hurler reportedly received between $25,000 and $30,000. It was the third Brownie contract for Paige, who first came to the Browns in 1951 after Veeck had taken over the club.
Paige briefly played for the Miami Marlins during his career. Here, Paige winds up for the pitch against the Montreal Royals in the second game of the doubleheader on April 29, 1956, in Miami. Paige stayed for seven innings and held the Royals to four hits and no runs. The Marlins took the first game 8-4 and the second 3-0.
New York Yankee pitcher Whitey Ford, left, and Satchel Paige swap pitching talk on steps of the Yankee dugout in New York on Aug. 17, 1961. Paige and Ford talked before the Yankee game with Chicago White Sox, and the Yankees went on to win the game, 5-3.
Satchel Paige, #14, pitcher for the Kansas City Athletics, is shown during workout at the ball park in Kansas City, Mo., on Sept. 13, 1965. The Athletics were Paige’s last MLB team during his career as a player.
Satchel Paige, center, demonstrates his technique to four Kansas City rookie pitchers, from left to right, John Odom, Jim Hunter, Dick Joyce, and Ron Tompkins, on Sept. 24, 1965. The youngsters are part of the A’s youth movement, a development the Athletics management hopes will pay off in a pennant.
Atlanta Braves assistant trainer Satchel Paige does some exercise hopping over a row of bats during his daily workout at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium on March 9, 1969.
Satchel Paige smiles for a photo on Feb. 9, 1971, in New York after just being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, in a special category designed to honor the outstanding stars of the Negro Leagues.
Satchel Paige answers questions from the media in New York on Feb. 9, 1971, after being voted into the Baseball’s Hall of Fame in a special category designed to honor the outstanding stars of the Negro Leagues. Seated is baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, and, in the background, is a photo of Paige in his playing years with the St. Louis Browns.
Satchel Paige, left, receives a plaque designating him as Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame from Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn at the Hall of Fame Building in Cooperstown, N.Y., on Aug. 9, 1971.
Satchel Paige poses in front of his plaque for the Baseball Hall Fame on Aug. 9, 1971.
A stone marking the site of the grave of Hall of Famer Satchel Paige sits on the edge of a donated piece of land where Paige was laid to rest on June 12, 1982. Paige and his wife will be the only people buried on the land, which is surrounded on all sides by roads. A question mark was used instead of a date for his birth because, at the time, the actual date of his birth is unknown. Paige’s birth certificate states that he was born on July 7, 1906.
Bronze statues of Negro League greats, including pitcher Satchel Paige, front, playing their positions on the Field of Legends are seen at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo., on Jan. 27, 2005.
