Why did Satchel Paige pitch in 1965? The story behind the pitcher’s MLB appearance at 59 years old

The legendary Satchel Paige broke through the Negro Leagues’ barriers and became a household name, captivating American baseball fans with his remarkable pitching and charismatic storytelling. His exact number of wins and pitching speed remains a mystery, adding to his mystique as a 20th-century folk hero.

Paige received pitching lessons while serving a five-year sentence in a juvenile reform school in Alabama. His coaches at the school realized that Paige’s slender figure gave him an ideal frame to generate power off a mound. He also developed his famous windup. “My coach showed me how to kick up my foot so it looked like I’d blacked out the sky,” Paige later wrote. “And he showed me how to swing my arm around so it looked like I let go of the ball when my hand was right in the batter’s face.”

Paige’s Negro Leagues career began in the late 1920s. He played for various teams, including the Birmingham Black Barons, Baltimore Black Sox, Cleveland Cubs, and Homestead Grays. Paige made significant contributions with the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Kansas City Monarchs, winning four Negro American League pennants with the Monarchs in 1940, 1941, 1942, and 1946.

Unfortunately, official Negro Leagues statistics are incomplete. Still, Satchel Paige’s estimated numbers are mind-boggling: over 2,500 games pitched, around 2,000 victories, 250 shutouts, a personal best of 22 strikeouts in a game, 50 no-hitters, a 21-game winning streak, a 62-inning scoreless streak, a day with three separate victories, and a year with over 150 games played.

First chance at the Major Leagues

In 1948, Hall of Fame owner Bill Veeck said Paige threw four of his five pitches “directly over a cigarette” when he auditioned for the Cleveland Indians. Joe DiMaggio called Paige the “best and fastest” pitcher he ever faced. Satchel Paige was signed with Veeck’s Indians on his 42nd birthday and helped Cleveland win the American League pennant. Paige became the first African-American to pitch in the World Series, and the Tribe won the championship in six games. Cleveland hasn’t won a World Series title since.

After leaving the Indians, Paige joined the St. Louis Browns. He was selected for the All-Star Game in 1952 and 1953 at ages 45 and 46. He then played with the Harlem Globetrotters and later signed with the Phillies’ Triple-A club in Miami, where he had three consecutive seasons with 10 wins and an ERA below 3.00.

Pitching three scoreless innings at 59

At the age of 59, pitcher Satchel Paige had one last shot on September 25tember 25, 1965. Charles O. Finley signed Paige, the legendary Negro Leagues star, first as a publicity stunt to help the team get some audience in an already lost season. Paige had last pitched in the Majors in 1953 - 12 years earlier -- and he was two months past his 59th birthday, though Satch liked to tell people a goat ate the Bible that had his birth certificate tucked in it.

He took the mound for the Kansas City Athletics and delivered three flawless innings against the Boston Red Sox. Remarkably, only Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski managed to get a hit off Paige. When his team was at bat, Paige could be seen relaxing in a rocking chair, showcasing his unique and timeless approach to the game.

The reason he landed the gig was purely economic. In 1965, Paige needed money. He had not pitched long enough to qualify for the MLB pension, and his wife, LaHoma, was expecting their eighth child. They had written to 20 teams asking for a job in the game. Paige signed with promoter Abe Saperstein, owner of the Harlem Globetrotters and former Negro Leagues investor, to make personal appearances.

In June of that year, Paige threw batting practice before a benefit exhibition game between the Cardinals and Tigers at Busch Stadium. After one batter reached the wall, Paige stopped throwing fastballs. He began using his offspeed pitches and offbeat deliveries, leaving Major League hitters unable to get the ball out of the infSeptember 8n Sept. 8, Finley had his young shortstop, Bert Campaneris, play every position, and it drew 21,000 fans to Municipal Stadium, where the A’s were barely drawing 1,000 fans for home games that late in such a lost season. Two days later, he signed Paige, who lived in Kansas City and agreed to pitch now the most famous three innings in MLB history for $3,500.