Satchel Paige: Baseball's Larger-than-life Talent, Showman
He had various other official roles in Major League Baseball, including as a pitching coach for the Atlanta Braves in 1969. On February 9, 1971, baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn announced that the first Nego League player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame would be Paige. Paige was married twice, to Janet Howard and Lahoma Brown, and had eight children. He died on June 8, 1982. The name Satchel Paige is well-known throughout baseball circles. A statue of him has prominent place in Cooper Park, in Cooperstown, N.Y., home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. An elementary school in Kansas City is named for him. He is widely regarded as one of the most talented players ever to play the game. Major League Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio, Dizzy Dean, Bob Feller, and many others, say that Paige was the best they ever saw. Complete statistics for Paige, and for many African-American players, are not available. Paige himself recalled that he had pitched more than 2,500 games and had thrown 300 shutouts and 55 no-hitters. Among the stats that are verifiable are these:
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Satchel Paige's final Major League appearance was for one game, for the Kansas City Athletics, in 1965. He was 59. He pitched three scoreless innings and played up his age by sitting in a rocking chair in the bullpen between innings.
Paige's reputation as a great pitcher was more than equalled by his ability to command attention. He was easily the most famous player in the Negro Leagues. He was also one of baseball's most quotable figures. Among the many famous things that he said are these:
