Satchel Paige led a life. Some people say other pitchers in the Negro Leagues had better Stats and now they will say they have more WAR. However, that isn’t all that he did. Either for more money or that he was feeling bored Paige didn’t always play in the Negro Leagues. I think Paige didn’t like feeling trap so sometimes he took up other offers and played elsewhere.
He pitched for a Bismarck, ND an integrated team in 1935. The 1935 won the first National Semi-Professional Championship Tournament with a 7-0 record. Paige went 4-0 in the tournament with 60 strikeouts, which is still a tournament record. He also pitched for Bismarck another year. He said he went to Bismarck as he had a sore arm. However, when in Grand Forks he met a young lady from the Sioux nation. According to the story from Paige as I remember it from his biography she took him to meet her father on the reservation a tribal chief. He was told about Satchel’s sore arm and gave Satchel salve to put his arm. Satchel said his arm burned, but the pain went away, and he could pitch great again.
He also pitched in South America and told the story how one group of guys came in and told him they had money on the game and for him to lose. Then another group came in and told him they had money on the game and wanted to win. Satchel said he won the game and snuck out of town as soon as possible.
I don’t know how true these stories are, but they show he had an adventuresome life. He didn’t get to pitch in the American League until age 40 but pitched 5 years even though he missed a year. He saved 27 games in 3 years in his mid-40s when saves weren’t even tracked. Quite a guy and quite a life.
