RIDGE RUNNER CHRONICLES: Leroy “Satchel” Paige

By Editor | September 23, 2025 |

By Bill Hoagland

With the Cardinals about to end the season with a losing record, baseball for me can’t get over quickly enough. But before we leave the subject of baseball for the year, I have to talk about one of the most unique characters who played the game—Leroy “Satchel” Paige. From a personality standpoint, he is right up there with Dizzy Dean, Yogi Berra and Casey Stengel, guys who, with their personalities, added so much more to the game than just some statistics. For those who know nothing about Satchel, he was a Black professional baseball player who played for 20 years in the Negro Leagues and in Latin America and finally, at the age of 42, made his first appearance in the Major Leagues as a pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. He later played for the St. Louis Browns and the Kansas City Athletics. He was inducted into MLB’s Hall of Fame in 1971.
When it comes to stories about Satchel, it is hard to separate fact from fiction. For example, in one game when his outfielders made several errors, thereby loading the bases, it is said that he made all of his outfielders sit down on the infield while he proceeded to strike out the side. (I have read his autobiography, “Maybe I’ll Pitch Forever” and a few other books about him, so I am reasonably sure most of the stories are accurate, including this one.) The biggest issue obviously involved his age. When asked by reporters how old Satchel was, his mother said she had twelve children and she was not real sure when “Leroy” came along. A check of the birth certificates in Mississippi revealed that he was “probably” born in 1906. That means that he was 42 during his rookie year in the majors, he was 46 when he pitched for the St. Louis Browns, he was 59 when Charley Finley hired Satchel to pitch for Kansas City in 1965, and believe it or not, he was 62 when in 1968 he pitched two innings of exhibition baseball for the Atlanta Braves, retiring the likes of Hank Aaron, Junior Gilliam, Don Drysdale and others.
Satchel made a lot of money playing professional baseball even before he reached the major leagues. That is because his presence in a game drew overflow crowds and under his arrangement with the teams he played for, he got a percentage of the gate receipts. He was actually earning more than most major leaguers in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s. When he played in the Negro Leagues, he would fill Comiskey Park, the Polo Grounds, and Yankee Stadium because so many people, both Black and white, wanted to see him play. He also played against white major leaguers such as Joe DiMaggio, Pepper Martin, Dizzy Dean and other stars long before the major leagues became integrated; many of these players said he was the best pitcher they had ever seen. He would routinely pitch complete games, often striking out 12 or more, and had no problem pitching in 150 games a year playing in the Negro Leagues in the summers and in Latin America in the winters.
He had names for all of his pitches: the blooper, the looper, the jump ball, the bee ball, the screwball, the hurry-up ball and the bat-dodger ball. He also had six rules for staying young: avoid fried meats; if your stomach disputes you, lie down and think cool thoughts; keep the juices flowing by jangling around gently as you can; go very light on the vices; avoid running at all times; and don’t look back—something might be gaining on you.
Satchel was popular enough that he was even cast in a Hollywood movie entitled “The Wonderful Country” with Robert Mitchum and Julie London. (He played a cavalry sergeant in the movie.) He also once ran for the office of state representative in Missouri but lost in the primary. He died at the age of 75. He was clearly one of a kind.
Note: I was fortunately enough to see him pitch for the St. Louis Browns in 1952. When he played for the Browns, he sat in a “lazy-boy” chair out in the bull pen. When called to come in and relieve, he would slowly stroll to the mound to the cheers of the crowd. He had such a presence about him that the crowds loved his “cool” demeanor as if nothing ever bothered him.
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■ Bill Hoagland has practiced law in Alton for more than 50 years, but he has spent more than 70 years hunting, fishing and generally being in the great outdoors. His wife, Annie, shares his love of the outdoor life. Much of their spare time is spent on their farm in Calhoun County. Bill can be reached at [email protected].