satchel paige is in my hall of famer collection

75 years ago today, satchel paige made his major league debut - to be clear it was his al/nl debut - as a 42-ish year old pitcher for cleveland. he was already on his way to the hall of fame at that time, and now he is in my hall of famer collection with this card as his entry:

that is a 2020 panini national treasures card featuring a uniform relic of paige's, numbered 06/10. here's the back:

ok, so it's from a uniform that paige wore as a coach with the atlanta braves following his playing career, but i didn't want to break the bank in acquiring a playing days game-used card for my collection.

paige was the first negro league player voted in to the hall of fame, as the vast majority of his career was spent outside of the boundaries of what was then considered to be major league baseball. today, many baseball outlets, including baseball reference, recognize the negro leagues as a major league. unfortunately, many of the statistics are not confirmable, but by all measures paige was a great pitcher.

i remember very distinctly learning about the existence of the negro leagues during a dodger radio broadcast early in my fandom - most likely 1979. one of the announcers mentioned jackie robinson and the breaking of the color barrier and i asked my dad if it were true that there was a time that dusty baker wouldn't have been allowed to play. he confirmed that fact and mentioned the negro leagues to me, noting that robinson, roy campanella, and others played in that league prior to robinson's debut. in late 1979, i was gifted the book "the image of their greatness" wherein i first learned about paige.

in subsequent years, i heard and learned more about him and his career. from a hobby standpoint, i saw his 1953 topps card at a show in 1980 and was disappointed to find that he did not have a card showing him as a member of the a's when i began collecting a's cards back to 1965 during the billy ball years. 1965 was the year that paige appeared in one game for kansas city - the last game of his big league career - and i didn't yet understand that one game isn't going to get you on a baseball card.

there are so many great stories and quotes about and from paige, but i think my favorite is part of his "how to stay young" advice: "keep the juices flowing by jangling around gently as you move". i often jangle my arms while i walk in deference to paige's wisdom, and i don't feel old. yet.

you can see paige and the other players in my hall of famer collection here!