OTD 1948: Satchel Paige Signed to Major Leagues

July 7, 1948: #Indians signed Negro League SP Satchel Paige on his 42nd bday, who pitched 2 seasons for CLE, and then for the St. Louis Browns during their last 3 years pre-move to Baltimore. Paige became the oldest player in MLB history at 58 in 1965 (12 years after final GP) pic.twitter.com/WUiFrsrd5C

— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) July 7, 2021

In the post-Civil War era, it became a dream of many African Americans to be professional athletes in Major League Baseball, yet such opportunities were not afforded to them at the time. In 1920, Hall of Famer Andrew “Rube” Foster, manager of the Chicago American Giants, rounded up a variety of past-team owners to create the Negro National League for African-American ballplayers. 18 years later, and one year after Jackie Robinson made history joining the Dodgers, the Cleveland Indians signed one of the NNL’s most famous pitchers. 

SP Satchel Paige began his MLB career with the Indians at 42 years old. He is the oldest player ever to debut at the big league level. His ‘rookie’ campaign included a robust 6-1 record with a 2.48 ERA in 72.2 innings. He ended the season as the first African American to pitch in a World Series. Cleveland went on to win the title, making him and teammate OF Larry Doby the first African American World Series Champions. Paige ended his Hall of Fame career at 56 with two Major League All-Star appearances under his belt

July 5, 1947: Making his debut with the Cleveland #Indians at 1B, Larry Doby became the 1st black player in AL history a few months after Jackie Robinson debuted for the Dodgers in the NL pic.twitter.com/KSwXkauwgk

— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) July 6, 2021

April 15, 1947: Brooklyn Dodgers 2B Jackie Robinson officially broke baseball’s color barrier, becoming the 1st African American to play in an MLB game
pic.twitter.com/fRFZQyJJYU

— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) April 15, 2021