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He is known today for his longevity and age. It is true that he was the oldest major league rookie ever, when he joined the Cleveland Indians in 1948, and that he was pitching professionally into his late fifties. What this overlooks is the fact that in his youth, Paige was the pitching star of the Negro Leagues. At a time when African-Americans were barred from the major leagues, Paige drew huge crowds, black and white, who came to see him pitch. His pitching propelled the [Pittsburgh Crawfords]? to the top of the Negro National League in the early 1930s, and then did the same for the [Kansas City Monarchs]? during their four-year skein of [Negro American League]? pennants from 1939 to 1942. |
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He is known today for his longevity and age. It is true that he was the oldest major league rookie ever, when he joined the Cleveland Indians in 1948, and that he was pitching professionally into his late fifties. What this overlooks is the fact that in his youth, Paige was the pitching star of the Negro Leagues. At a time when African-Americans were barred from the major leagues, Paige drew huge crowds, black and white. His pitching propelled the [Pittsburgh Crawfords]? to the top of the Negro National League in the early 1930s, and then did the same for the [Kansas City Monarchs]? during their four-year skein of [Negro American League]? pennants from 1939 to 1942. |
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After Jackie Robinson was signed to play major league baseball, many thought it was a shame that Paige, now in his forties, never got the same chance. [Bill Veeck]?, the Indians owner, took a chance and signed Paige in midseason 1948. Paige won six games and lost only one, and pitched in relief in others, down the stretch as the Indians won their first pennant in 28 years, putting to rest the talk that Veeck had merely signed him as a publicity stunt. Of course, the publicity didn't hurt. Paige drew over 70,000 fans during two of his starts, an attendance record for baseball at the time, and helped the Indians set the season attendance mark that year. |
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Paige was the biggest drawing card in Negro League baseball. His presence guaranteed large crowds. Paige was often tempted to jump from team to team or league to league, to get a bigger paycheck. In 1937, he led a large group of Negro Leaguers to the Dominican Republic, to play for a team owned by Dominican president [Rafael L. Trujillo]?. The move decimated the Crawfords, from which Paige and most of the players hailed. Later, Paige went to play in the Mexican League. It was in the Mexican League that Paige's fabled arm went dead. He could barely lift his arm, much less pitch. Having burned a number of bridges behind him in the States, only one ballclub owner was willing to give Paige a chance to play ball again -- J.L. Wilkinson of the Monarchs. Paige's return to baseball greatness took place without his blazing fastball; Paige now had to rely on control, guile and the occasional trick pitch. After Jackie Robinson was signed to play major league baseball, many thought it was a shame that Paige, now in his forties, never got the same chance. [Bill Veeck]?, the Indians owner, took a chance and signed Paige in midseason 1948. Paige won six games and lost one, and pitched in relief in others, down the stretch. The Indians won their first pennant in 28 years, putting to rest the talk that Veeck had merely signed Paige as a publicity stunt. Of course, the publicity didn't hurt. Paige drew over 70,000 fans during two of his starts, an attendance record for baseball at the time, and helped the Indians set the season attendance mark that year. |
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(from his autobiography, Maybe I'll Pitch Forever, as told to David Lipman, 1962) |
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Paige's rules originally appeared in the June 13, 1953 issue of Collier's. The version below is taken from his autobiography, Maybe I'll Pitch Forever (as told to David Lipman, 1962): |
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