On this day in 1948 ...Middle East

JULY 9, 1948

Satchel Paige became the first Black pitcher in American League history.

His debut had been long anticipated, because he was already making headlines as a Negro Leagues pitcher, and sportswriters loved to quote him. Major League Baseball wrote of him, “Paige was baseball’s Mark Twain, but with a much better fastball.” Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio and Dizzy Dean all called him the best pitcher they had ever seen.

Paige was born in 1906 in Mobile, Alabama. At age 13, he was caught trying to shoplift, and he spent the next five years at reform school. While there, his coach Edward Byrd taught him to pitch. He went on to pitch for the Negro Leagues as well as leagues in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Mexico. By 1948, most people thought Paige was too old to pitch in Major League Baseball. He was already 42.

“Age is a case of mind over matter,” he told reporters. “If you don’t mind, it don’t matter.”

Then the Cleveland Indians signed him. He started out as a relief pitcher and made his first start on Aug. 13, 1948, where he threw a five-hit shutout in front of more than 50,000 fans, putting Cleveland back in first place. He helped Cleveland win the pennant and the World Series, ending the year with a 6-1 record with a 2.48 ERA and two shutouts. The Sporting News named him Rookie of the Year.

Paige continued to pitch well into his 50s, retiring in 1953 — only to return in 1965 to pitch three innings for the Kansas City A’s. He faced 10 batters, “relaxing” in a rocking chair between innings. After allowing a first-inning double, he retired the Red Sox in the second and third innings. He was 59 at the time, making him the oldest player in Major League history.

In 1971, he became the first Negro League veteran to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, The Sporting News ranked him No. 19 among the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. He was depicted in the 1996 movie, “Soul of the Game,” about the Negro Leagues.

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