Aug. 14, 1928

Mobile native Satchel Paige had signed with the Chattanooga Black Lookouts in the semi-pro baseball leagues in 1926 but that team sold his contract to the Birmingham Black Barons in 1928. Little did anyone know at the time of the greatness Paige would have as a pitcher. The first sign of that greatness came in a game against the Kansas City Monarchs on Aug. 14, 1928, when Paige struck out nine batters in less than seven innings. He would pitch shutouts in his next two games on his way to an historic career in the Negro Leagues and later in the Major Leagues.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Cleveland Indians pitcher Leroy “Satchel” Paige, 1949. (Bowman Gum, Wikipedia)

Leroy “Satchel” Paige. (USA Today, Wikipedia)

Leroy “Satchel” Paige first pitched against major league hitters in 1930 when his Birmingham Black Barons played the Babe Ruth All-Stars. He began playing in the Major Leagues in 1948. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, The Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscript Library)

Satchel Paige joined Major League Baseball as a rookie at the age of 42 in 1948 with the Cleveland Indians. He was the first African American to pitch in the American League. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, The Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscript Library)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.