Satchel Paige (left) and Josh Gibson
September 10, 1942: The men generally recognized as the greatest pitcher and the greatest hitter in the history of the Negro Leagues have a showdown.
Josh Gibson was a catcher, and people who saw him -- nearly all of them black -- said he was the greatest catcher ever. That was defensively. Offensively, some people called him "The Black Babe Ruth." Others called Ruth "The White Josh Gibson." In a career that began in 1930, he starred for the Homestead Grays, who, for reasons I've never been able to figure out, divided their home games between Pittsburgh, near the coal-mining town of Homestead, for which they were named; and Washington, D.C. He also spent significant time with the Pittsburgh Crawfords.
How far could Gibson hit a baseball? He was alleged to be the only man ever to hit a fair ball out of the original Yankee Stadium in New York. No proof of this has ever been found. A historian decided to try to prove it, figuring that, if it had happened, the sources most likely to say so at the time were the black newspapers, such as New York's Amsterdam News, the Philadelphia Tribune, the Baltimore Afro-American, the Washington Afro-American, the Pittsburgh Courier, the Chicago Defender, and the Kansas City Call. He found plenty of references to Gibson playing in games at Yankee Stadium, and a few to him hitting home runs, some very long -- but none to him hitting one that left the complex in fair territory.
Another legend is that Gibson and the Crawfords played the Philadelphia Stars in Pittsburgh, and he hit a ball so far, nobody ever saw where it landed. After the game, the teams got on their respective buses, and went across Pennsylvania to play in Philadelphia the next day. And as they're getting ready to play, a ball comes out of nowhere, and one of the Stars' players catches it. The same umpire was on hand, saw this, pointed to Gibson, and said, "Yer out, yesterday in Pittsburgh!"
Gibson is credited with hitting 84 home runs in a season, and over 800 for his career. However, that's for all the games he played. That means many more than the 154 that major league teams then played in a regular season, because they played wherever they could, both within their league and without, so they could make more money. And how often did Gibson face a pitcher with major league talent? Only occasionally -- but one such pitcher, and then some, was Satchel Paige.
Leroy Robert Paige was known as "Satchel" because he always seemed to be carrying one, because he always seemed to be on the move. He first played in 1926, for the Chattanooga Black Lookouts, named for the all-white team of the same name. He starred for the Birmingham Black Barons, the Kansas City Monarchs, was a teammate of Gibson's on the Crawfords, and, in 1941, pitched for the New York Black Yankees. (They weren't nearly as successful as their namesakes: If there were a "Yankees of the Negro Leagues," it was the Monarchs, with the Grays not far behind.)
In 1942, the Monarchs won the Negro American League Pennant, while the Grays won the Negro National League Pennant. For the 1st time since 1927, there would be a Negro World Series. Oddly, each game was played in a different city.
Game 1 was played at Griffith Stadium in Washington -- one of the Grays' home fields -- on September 8. Paige pitched 5 innings, Jack Matchett 4, and the Monarchs won, 8-0.
Game 2 was played at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh -- the Grays' other home field -- on September 10. In the bottom of the 6th inning, the Monarchs led, 2-0, with Hilton Smith pitching a shutout, but Paige was brought in to relieve. In the 7th inning, the Grays loaded the bases with 2 outs, and Gibson came up to bat.
Gibson and Paige had long speculated as to what would happen if they faced each other in a truly big situation, a case of "the irresistible force vs. the immovable object." Gibson fouled off the 1st 2 pitches. He missed the 3rd: Paige struck him out.
As with the meeting between Grover Cleveland Alexander and Tony Lazzeri in Game 7 of the 1926 World Series, the legend has this confrontation happening in the 9th inning, ending the game, not just the inning. As with the preceding, it actually happened in the 7th inning, and the game was far from over. In the 8th, the Monarchs extended their lead to 5-0. The Grays came back to make it 5-4. But in the 9th, the Monarchs put the game away, and won, 8-4.
Game 3 was played on September 13, at Yankee Stadium. Paige was tired, and left after 2 innings, but Matchett pitched well the rest of the way, and the Monarchs won, 9-3. Game 4 was not played until September 20, at Ruppert Stadium in Kansas City, home of the Monarchs and the Kansas City Blues, the Yankees' top farm team. (It was later renamed Kansas City Municipal Stadium.) Stricken with injuries, the Grays brought in "ringers" like Leon Day. The Grays won, with Day outpitching Paige, but because of the ringers, the Monarchs lodged a protest. It was upheld, and Game 4 was stricken from the record.
So a new Game 4 was played on September 29, at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. (It was later renamed Connie Mack Stadium.) The Monarchs won, 9-5, completing a sweep. In the 5 games, including the one that didn't count, Paige appeared in each, going 16 innings, giving up 6 runs on 8 hits, striking out 18.
In early 1943, Gibson was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He refused the option of surgical removal, and lived the next four years with recurring headaches. In 1944, Gibson was hospitalized in Washington, D.C. at Gallinger Hospital, for mental observation. Gibson continued to play through the 1946 season, with intense pain, self-medicating, and getting addicted to prescription drugs. On January 20, 1947, Gibson died of a stroke in Pittsburgh. He was only 35 years old. Three months later, Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier.
The following year, Paige made his MLB debut, at age 42, with the Cleveland Indians, He helped them win the World Series, and remained in the white majors until 1953, with a one-game return in 1965, at 59, making him the oldest player in major league history.
In 1966, Ted Williams was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In his acceptance speech, he asked that Negro League players be allowed the chance for election to the Hall, specifically naming Paige and Gibson. In 1971, Paige was the 1st such player so honored. The following year, Gibson and his Grays teammate Walter "Buck" Leonard were elected. Paige died in 1982.
Statues of Gibson now stand outside the current ballparks in the cities where he played most of his home games: Nationals Park in Washington and PNC Park in Pittsburgh. A statue of Paige stands in Cooper Park in Cooperstown, New York, around the corner from the Hall of Fame.
*
September 10, 1942 was a Thursday. These games were played in the white major leagues:
* The New York Yankees lost to the St. Louis Browns, 9-0 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Denny Galehouse pitched a 3-hit shutout, while Wally Judnich hit 2 home runs. Joe DiMaggio went 0-for-3 with a walk.
* The New York Giants lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-1 at the Polo Grounds. Stan Musial went 0-for-4. Mel Ott, also the Giants' manager at this point, hit a home run for the team's only run.
* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the Chicago Cubs, 10-2 at Ebbets Field.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Braves, 6-2 at Braves Field in Boston.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Danny Litwhiler doubled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-4 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Ted Williams and Dom DiMaggio hit home runs for the BoSox, but it wasn't enough.
* A doubleheader was split at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The Chicago White Sox won the opener, 7-1. The Washington Senators won the nightcap, 5-4.
* And the Cleveland Indians and the Philadelphia Athletics were not scheduled.
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