He spent most of what, by all accounts, was a remarkable career in the Negro Leagues.
If Satchel Paige felt cheated by his late arrival in the Majors, he wasn’t letting on.
Paige was long-retired by 1968, but still an iconic figure in baseball. The Atlanta Braves were still relatively new–just three years removed from their once-happy home in Milwaukee.
It was then that the only real southern-based team decided to hire someone to spread a little baseball cheer in a city and country racked by all kinds of issues.
He was ready with an autograph or a story according to this story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.