Celebrity Graveland

July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982

One of the most celebrated pitchers of the Negro Leagues, Leroy Robert “Satchel” Paige dazzled crowds with his charismatic personality and wide array of pitches. In 1948, Paige became the oldest rookie to play in Major League Baseball when he started for the Cleveland Indians at the age of 42. His five year MLB career was impressive, especially for someone in his 40’s, but his 20+ years touring the country in the Negro Leagues and stints in Latin America were what built his legacy. A natural showman, Satchel was known to tell his infielders to sit down on the field while he struck out batter after batter. He was considered by many of his contemporaries to be one of the best pitchers of all time.

In his post-playing years, he dabbled in acting and politics. And, in 1971, Satchel Paige was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the first former Negro Leaguer to receive that honor.

Burial

Forest Hill Cemetery – Kansas City, MO

Specific Location

Toward the center of the southern section of the park is a small “island” of lawn surround by road, Satchel’s rather large marker dominates this island.

This entry was posted on October 25, 2013 at 8:35 am and is filed under Forest Hill Cemetery (MO) with tags Baseball, Forest Hill Cemetery, Kansas City Monarchs, Negro Leagues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.