Joe Louis and Satchel Paige meet at Comiskey Park on August 13, 1948

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Joe Louis and Satchel Paige meet at Comiskey Park on August 13, 1948

With February being Black History Month, here’s a salute to the great Hall-of-Famer Satchel Paige, who many baseball historians think may be the greatest pitcher ever. This is a repost of an article I wrote on August 27, 2017, the day after the much-hyped fight between Floyd Mayweather and Connor McGregor:

Satchel Paige

With all the hoopla about the Floyd Mayweather-Connor McGregor fight last night, I was hoping to find a baseball connection to the world of boxing. It didn’t take me long. Read on…

The Cleveland Indians won the American League pennant and World Series in 1948, the only year between 1947 and 1953 that the Yankees failed to win it all.  But that didn’t mean Yankee stadium wasn’t home to a championship title. It was just one from a different sport. On June 28, 1948, 42,000 fans packed into the “House that Ruth Built” to see the great Joe Louis successfully defend his World Heavyweight title in a famous rematch against challenger, Jersey Joe Walcot.  Here’s a few words about the match from the “This Day in History” website:

“As the match entered its final rounds, Louis was trailing in points, and needed a knockout punch to retain the title he had held since 1937. To the surprise of many in the audience, the champ was able once again to summon his legendary power and hit Walcott with a right to the jaw that knocked him unconscious. It was the 25th and final time that Louis successfully defended his belt. Louis announced his retirement in March 1949, and with it, vacated his heavyweight belts.”

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Two months later Joe Louis met fellow African-American sports icon Satchel Paige, who had recently signed his first major league contract with the Indians, courtesy of the Indians’ innovative owner, Bill Veeck. The photo below was taken at Chicago’s Comiskey Park, right before Paige tossed a five-hit shutout against the White Sox.

Joe Louis and Satchel Paige had a lot in common: Both hailed from Alabama; both were exceptional, once-in-a-generation talents who dominated their respective sports for an impressively long period of time; and both eventually earned induction into their respective Halls of Fame.

Louis held his title for an amazing 140 consecutive months and successfully defended it an unprecedented 25 times. He boxed his last match at age 37. Paige — widely considered one of the greatest pitchers of all time — dominated the Negro Leagues for many years, then signed with the Indians at age 41. He pitched his last major league game in 1965 when he was 58 years old.

Gary Livacari 

Check out my two books, both now available on Amazon in e-book and paperback:  “Paul Pryor in His Own Words: The Life and TImes of a 20-Year Major League Umpire”and “Memorable World Series Moments.” All profits go to the Illinois Veterans Foundation