In many respects Satchel Paige was to Negro League baseball what Babe Ruth was to the majors---a rare combination of talent and personality that captured the imagination of fans across America. Paige's unique brand of showmanship combined with his remarkable skills on the mound to fill ballparks everywhere and keep the fans coming through the turnstyles through even the darkest days of the Great Depression. The widely traveled Paige began his career with the Chattanooga Black Lookouts in the Negro Southern League in 1926. Later with the Pittsburgh Crawfords his legendary performances, which often included gawdy 30+ win seasons, established him firmly as black baseball's premier pitcher. Though records are incomplete, Paige is often credited with having recorded more than 300 career shutouts---not wins, SHUTOUTS! His career win total is estimated at well over 1500 games. In 1939 Paige began a nine-year stint with the Kansas City Monarchs. In this era of his long career he led the Monarchs to four consecutive Negro American League pennants and a Negro World Series championship in 1942. At the age of 42 Paige became the oldest rookie in major league history when he joined the Cleveland Indians during the 1948 pennant race. Joining the team late in the year Satchel posted a 6-1 record to help the Indians clinch the American League title. Joe Dimaggio said that Satchel Paige was the fastest and best pitcher he had ever seen.
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