Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July
7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB).
His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction into
the National
Baseball Hall of Fame. A right-handed pitcher, Paige first played
for the semi-professional Mobile Tigers from 1924 to 1926. He began his professional baseball career
in 1926 with the Chattanooga Black Lookouts of
the Negro Southern League and
became one of the most famous and successful players from the Negro leagues. On
town tours across the United States, Paige would sometimes have his infielders sit down behind him and then routinely strike out the side. At age 42 in 1948, Paige
made his debut for the Cleveland Indians; 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 stands to this day. Paige 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 had played in the
Negro leagues to pitch in the World Series; the Indians won the Series that
year. He played with the St. Louis Browns from 1951 to 1953, representing the team
in the All-Star
Game in 1952 and 1953. He played his last professional game on
June 21, 1966, for the Peninsula Grays of the Carolina League, two weeks shy of 60.[4] In 1971,
Paige became the first electee of the Negro League Committee to
be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.