" Age is a question of mind over matter. 

 If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

Baseball's Methuselah, LeRoy "Satchel" Paige was a charismatic pitching star of the Negro Leagues who became a major league rookie in his forties. Paige began playing professionally for the Negro Leagues in 1923, during the era when blacks were blocked from playing in baseball's  all-white major leagues. He played for a variety of teams in the southern and midwestern states, usually not straying for long from Kansas City. Paige was known for his hard fastball and his crowd-pleasing showboating, including double and triple windups and his "hesitation" pitch. He was often hired to draw crowds as much as to win games. Jackie Robinson broke the major league color barrier in 1947, and the next year Paige joined the ClevelandIndians. Paige was 42 or 43 years old his age was never quite clear making him the oldest rookie in history. He still managed a decent career on the mound, compiling a record of 28-31 while pitching for the Indians in 1948-49 and the St. Louis Browns from 1951-53. Paige still wasn't through: he spent several years pitching in the minors and barn storming, and in 1965 pitched three scoreless innings in a special appearance with the Kansas City Athletics. A national celebrity, Paigeco-starred in a western (1959's TheWonderful Country) and had a bestseller with his autobiography, Maybe I'll Pitch Forever (1962). He was the first of the Negro League players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame (1971). His nickname, "Satchel," is said to come from his boyhood job of

 

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