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1948 Satchel Paige Rookie Photograph Used for 1948 Leaf Rookie Card (PSA Type III)
Satch [Paige] was the greatest pitcher in baseball," said Hall of Famer Ted Williams. Yet, because of baseball's long-standing "color line," Hall of Fame right-hander Paige would not make his Major League debut until 1948, when he was already 41 years old. Presented is a 1948 Satchel Paige Associated Press Type III wire photograph used for his '48 Leaf Rookie Card. Paige began his major professional career with the Birmingham Black Barons in 1927 when he was only 20 years old. He played for numerous teams in the Negro Leagues, but mainly for the Kansas City Monarchs, for the Negro American League. Paige played baseball year 'round, and he played in Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba. Signed by Cleveland Indians' owner, Bill Veeck, Paige became the first African American pitcher in the American League in the modern era. In his rookie season, Paige went 6-1 with a 2.48 ERA, and he was a member of the '48 World Champion Indians. Paige also pitched in 1949 for Cleveland, and then from 1951-53 with the St. Louis Browns. In 1965, he made a special appearance for the Kansas City Athletics when he was 58 years old, pitching three innings in a regular season game and throwing three scoreless innings, allowing only one hit. The 8x10" black and white photograph depicts Cleveland's ace right-hander, Hall of Famer Bob Feller sitting alongside Paige. The area behind the heads of Feller and Paige has been whitened to provide visual contrast. The caption of the photo reads, "CLEVELAND, O., JULY 7 --VETERANS-- Leroy (satchel) [sic] Paige, negro [sic] pitcher signed today by the Cleveland Indians talks with Bob Feller in the dugout before the game with Chicago here tonight. President Bill Veeck purchased Paige's contract from the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League....1948." The back of the photo shows a newspaper clipping of the photo as it appeared in an unnamed newspaper. The back of the photo is also stamped "1948 July 8." The front shows visible pencil lines for possible cropping, and there is some creasing. The area behind the heads of Feller and Paige has been whitened to provide visible contrast. There is a small paper tear on the lower right corner. Also on the front is a partial sticker (with uneven tears) for editing purposes that reads, "Engraving Room Order Slug. Paige." The photo has some tiny paper loss along the bottom. This photo was used to create Paige's 1948 Leaf card. The 1948 Leaf baseball cards are sometimes referred to as the 1948-49 Leaf cards, since they came out after the 1948 season. Leaf used the colorized, cropped version of this photo to produce Paige's valuable card (#8). The photo has been encapsulated and graded PSA AUTHENTIC.
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