On February 9, 1971, Leroy “Satchel” Page became the first Negro League veteran to be nominated and elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. As a pitcher, Paige was one of the greatest to ever play the game. He spent most of his career playing in the Negro League before making his MLB debut in 1948 at the age of 42 with the Cleveland Indians, finishing the season with a 6-1 record and a 2.48 ERA. He retired from the major leagues in 1953, but returned in 1965 to pitch three innings for the Kansas City A’s – at age 59, he became the oldest player in baseball history to ever appear in a game. It is estimated that by the end of his career, Paige had pitched at least 2,500 innings and accumulated 300 shutouts and 55 no-hitters.
When it was finally decided by the commissioner of Major League Baseball, Bowie Kuhn, that a class of Negro League ballplayers should be elected to the Hall of Fame, it was agreed upon that Paige should be the first to enter. It was originally decided that there would be a separate “Negro Wing” within the Hall of Fame made special for African-Americans, but the idea aroused much controversy and was immediately dismissed before August 1971 when Paige was officially inducted.
Satchel Paige’s legacy as one of the greatest to ever pick up a baseball still lives on to this day. He was respected by all who played with him and against. The “Yankee Clipper” himself, Joe DiMaggio, even once referred to Paige as “the best and fastest pitcher I’ve ever faced.” He died on June 8, 1982 in his Kansas City home at the age of 75. “Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you.”
"The Great Task Remaining" 