September 25, 1965: The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Athletics, 5-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Lee Thomas and Tony Conigliaro hit home runs for the Red Sox, while Carl Yastrzemski went 2-for-4.
Satchel Paige started the game for the A's. He went 3 innings, allowed no runs, 1 hit, no walks, striking out 1. It was the K.C. bullpen -- Diego Seguí, Don Mossi and John Wyatt -- who lost the game.
So why take Satch out so early? Well, he was 59 years old. He was the oldest player ever to appear in a Major League Baseball game.
His birth name, Leroy Robert Paige, was known. Less known was how he got his nickname: Either his feet were as big as suitcases, or "satchels," and "Satchelfoot" became "Satchel," or "Satch" for short; or his constant traveling, as the loose structure of the Negro Leagues meant that he was always in demand, led to him always carrying a satchel.
Not known for sure, for a long time, was his birthdate. His contemporary, Dizzy Dean, would tell differing stories about his date of birth, place of birth, and real name, most of them lies. But as to his date of birth, Paige simply kept them guessing. He would say things like, "How old would you be if you didn't know how old you was?" And, "A goat ate the Bible that had my birth certificate. That goat lived to be 29 years old."
When Paige was finally brought to the major leagues in 1948, by Bill Veeck, owner of the Cleveland Indians, Veeck decided to find out for himself. He had heard Paige say he was born in Mobile, Alabama, a city which would later produce 2 other Hall-of-Famers, Hank Aaron and Willie McCovey. So Veeck went to Mobile, accepted the possibility that there might not be a birth record for a black child born in the early part of the 20th Century, and found one anyway: With the permission and accompaniment of members of the Paige family, he went to the Mobile County Board of Health, and found that Satch was born on July 7, 1906. That made him 42, the oldest rookie in major league history.
That didn't stop the speculation. One of his former Negro League teammates, Ted Radcliffe, known as "Double Duty" because he could catch and pitch, said he grew up with Paige in Mobile, and Paige was exactly 2 years older. Since Radcliffe's birthdate was established as July 7, 1902, that meant Paige was born on July 7, 1900, making him 48 when he reached the major leagues. (Radcliffe lived to be 103, stuck by his story to the end, and should be in the Hall of Fame.)
A few years after his debut, someone interviewed Paige's mother, and she said he was born in 1904, and she should know, right? Paige said, "She was in her nineties when she told the reporter that, and sometimes she tended to forget things."
So people still wondered. Veeck said he'd seen the birth certificate, but he said a lot of things over the years, some of which were proven to be untrue.
Similarly, Archie Moore, Light Heavyweight Champion of the World from 1952 to 1962, was the subject of questions about his age. He said he was born on December 16, 1916, but his mother said it was 1913. Sonny Liston, Heavyweight Champion from 1962 to 1964, also faced questions about his age: He was officially 32 when Muhammad Ali dethroned him, but, as part of his poetic trash-talking, Ali, then still using his birth name, said, "You're 40 years old, if a day, and you don't belong in the ring with Cassius Clay!" Hispanic players, due to poor record-keeping, have also faced questions about their ages, including the Cuban pitchers Luis Tiant and Orlando "El Duque" Hernández.
Paige got around in the Negro Leagues and the Caribbean leagues. He debuted with the Chattanooga Black Lookouts in 1926, presumably as a teenager for a few weeks. Among his tenures: He played 4 seasons with the Birmingham Black Barons, 4 with the Pittsburgh Crawfords, and 8 with the Kansas City Monarchs. Negro League records are incomplete, but he is known for sure to have at least 118 wins against 80 losses. How many games he won in all those "barnstorming" appearances, God only knows.
As a "rookie" in 1948, Paige helped the Indians win the World Series. He pitched for them in 1949 as well. He returned to the Negro Leagues in 1950, because Veeck sold the Indians, and the new owner didn't want him. Veeck bought the St. Louis Browns in 1951, and brought Paige in. In 1953, with the Browns, at age 47, Paige became the oldest player to appear in the All-Star Game. But Veeck sold the Browns after that season, and they became the Baltimore Orioles. Paige did not go with them, and went back to barnstorming.
In 1955, Veeck bought the Miami Marlins of the Class AAA International League, whose name would later be taken by a major league team. He signed Paige, who stayed through the 1958 season, at 52. He kept barnstorming -- apparently, he needed the money -- until 1961, when he signed with the Portland Beavers of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League.
In 1965, desperate for attendance, Kansas City Athletics owner Charlie Finley, remembering that Paige had played longer in Kansas City than anywhere else, signed him to play one last major league game. Finley invited several Negro League veterans to be introduced before the game. If Finley wanted a big crowd, it didn't work: Only 9,289 fans came out.
Ironically, this last appearance may have delayed Satch's entrance into the Baseball Hall of Fame. At the Hall's 1966 induction ceremony, Ted Williams told the crowd that Paige, catcher Josh Gibson, and other Negro League stars should be eligible for the Hall. The Hall's rules state that a player must be retired for 5 full seasons. Paige was the 1st Negro Leaguer elected, in 1971 -- 5 full seasons after his last appearance. (Gibson had died in 1947, of a brain tumor while still an active player, 3 months before Jackie Robinson made his debut. He was elected in 1972.)
In 1968, Paige reached out to all 20 teams then in MLB, to try and join one of them on the active roster, in order to reach the 158 days he still needed to qualify for the five-year minimum for the Players' Association pension. On August 12, Atlanta Braves owner Bill Bartholomay signed him as an adviser and an assistant trainer, and Paige qualified. With his struggle in mind, the following season, MLB and the Players' Association reduced the requirement from 5 to 4 years, and "grandfathered in" all players who had played up to 1959.
Paige died on June 8, 1982, a month before his presumed 76th birthday, of a heart attack at his home in Kansas City. He was married 3 times, and had 7 children, all with his 3rd wife. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him 19th on their list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. In 2022, ESPN ranked him 41st on their updated 100. In each case, he was the highest-ranking among Negro League players. Statues of him stand in Cooperstown, New York, a block from the Hall of Fame; and in the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.
Satch broke the record of Charley O'Leary, who was just short of turning 59 on September 30, 1934. He appeared as a pinch-hitter, singled and scored, making him the oldest player to get a hit and the oldest player to score a run. He was not then placed in the field. He had last played in the majors in 1913, his 21-year gap between appearances still an MLB record. But he had been a player-manager in the minors for a while, and had coached for the St. Louis Browns that season, activated for the season finale.
For a while, it was thought that Minnie Miñoso, brought out of retirement at 53 for the 1976 Chicago White Sox, as a publicity stunt by, you guessed it, team owner Bill Veeck, was the oldest player to get a hit. But later research found that O'Leary was older than previously thought. Miñoso made 1 more appearance, at 56 in 1980, making him a 5-decade player, but did not get a hit.
Jack Quinn, a pitcher, was the oldest player to appear regularly, last doing so at 50 with the 1933 Cincinnati Reds. He finished with a career record of 247-218. Julio Franco was the oldest position player to appear regularly, last doing so with the 2007 Atlanta Braves, at 49. In 2006, at 48, with the New York Mets, Franco became the oldest player to hit a home run.
In 2012, at 48, Jamie Moyer became the oldest pitcher to win a game, with the Colorado Rockies. Since the National League still didn't have the designated hitter, Moyer had to bat for himself, and also became the oldest player with an RBI.
The oldest players to appear at each position:
Pitcher: 59, Satchel Paige, 1965 Kansas City Athletics
Catcher: 54, Jim "Orator" O'Rourke, 1904 New York Giants
Third Base: 49, Jimmy Austin, 1929 St. Louis Browns
First Base: 48, Hughie Jennings, 1918 Detroit Tigers
Second Base: 48, Johnny Evers, 1929 Boston Braves
Right Field: 46, Sam Thompson, 1906 Detroit Tigers
Shortstop: 44, Omar Vizquel, 2012 Toronto Blue Jays
Left Field: 44, Ichiro Suzuki, 2018 Seattle Mariners
Center Field: 43, Ichiro Suzuki, 2017 Miami Marlins
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September 25, 1965 was a Saturday. This was also the day that Barry McGuire's recording of "Eve of Destruction" became the Number 1 song in America. I have a separate entry for that event.
These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees were swept by the Chicago White Sox in a doubleheader, 3-1 2-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. In the opener, not only did future Yankee Tommy John outpitch Bill Stafford, he hit a home run, the 1st of 5 he hit in a long career. Roy White, who made his major league debut 18 days earlier, went 1-for-3. Bobby Murcer, who made his major league debut 17 days earlier, went 3-for-4 with an RBI.
In the nightcap, Gary Peters (6 2/3rds innings) and Hoyt Wilhelm combined on a 6-hit shutout. White and Murcer didn't play. Roger Maris was injured, and didn't play in either game. Over the 2 games, Mickey Mantle went 1-for-7 with a walk.
* The New York Mets split a doubleheader with the Philadelphia Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The Phils won the opener, and Mets won the nightcap, and both games ended 4-1. Dick Stuart and Clay Dalrymple hit home runs in the 1st game. Greg Goossen and Jim Hickman homered in the 2nd game.
* The Baltimore Orioles swept a doubleheader from the California Angels, 2-1 and 2-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-6 with 2 walks and an RBI over the 2 games. In the 2nd game, Milt Pappas pitched a 3-hit shutout. He pitched 1 more game for the Orioles, and was then traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Frank Robinson, in the greatest trade in Oriole history.
* The Minnesota Twins swept a doubleheader from the Washington Senators, 5-0 and 5-3 at District of Columbia Stadium (later Robert F. Kennedy Stadium) in Washington. In the opener, Jim "Mudcat" Grant allowed only 1 hit, a 3rd-inning double by Don Blasingame. Zoilo Versalles went 4-for-5 with a home run, on his way to winning the American League's Most Valuable Player award. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-7 with 2 walks over the doubleheader.
The next day, the Twins clinched their 1st Pennant in Minnesota, the franchise's 1st since 1933 -- as the previous (though not first) franchise to be known as the Washington Senators.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Al Kaline did not play.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ernie Banks went 0-for-2 with a walk, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Roberto Clemente went 1-for-4. Bill Mazeroski hit a home run. Willie Stargell got a hit as a pinch-hitter.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 1-0 at the Astrodome in Houston. Jim Maloney pitched a 2-hit shutout.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Sandy Koufax pitched a 5-hit shutout.
* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Braves, 7-5 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Willie Mays hit his 50th home run of the season. He would finish with 52, and the National League's MVP, although the Dodgers would edge the Giants for the Pennant. Eddie Mathews hit what turned out to be his last home run for the Braves before they moved to Atlanta the next season. Hank Aaron did not hit a home run, going 1-for-5.
Among the college football games played that day were these:
* Number 1 Notre Dame were upset by Number 6 Purdue, 25-21 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
* Number 2 Nebraska beat Air Force, 27-17 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
* Number 3 Texas beat Texas Tech, 33-7 at Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.
* Number 4 Michigan beat the University of California, 10-7 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.
* Number 5 Arkansas beat the University of Tulsa, 20-12 at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
* Number 7 Louisiana State (LSU) beat Rice, 42-14 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
* Number 9 Syracuse were upset by the University of Miami, 24-0 at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse, New York.
* Number 10 Kentucky beat Mississippi, 16-7 at McLean Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.
* With the other service academies, Army beat Virginia Military Institute (VMI), 21-7 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York; and Navy played Stanford to a tie, 7-7 at the old Stanford Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Palo Alto, Cailfornia.
* And in New Jersey, Princeton beat Rutgers, 32-6 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton, Mercer County.
In New Jersey high school football, East Brunswick of Middlesex County, the school that would one day be my Alma Mater, lost away to Steinert, 13-12 at Steinert High School Football Field (the only name the facility has ever had) in Hamilton, Mercer County (the school is often called "Hamilton East").
And in English soccer, Arsenal beat Manchester United, 4-2 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London.
Also, Basketball Hall-of-Famer Scottie Pippen was born.
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