33c Satchel Paige stamp

Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige is considered the most dominating and crowd-pleasing pitcher to play in the Negro Leagues. He started his professional baseball career in 1926 and played for many teams over the years, and he helped the Kansas City Monarchs to four consecutive Negro American League pennants from 1939 to 1942 and again in 1946. Before professional baseball was integrated, he played many exhibition games against major league players and often astonished and stifled them with his wide assortment of pitches. In 1948, at the reported age of 42, Paige signed with the Cleveland Indians and had a 6-1 record while helping the team win the World Series. In addition to being the oldest rookie to play in the majors, he also became the oldest man to pitch in a major league game, returning in 1965 to pitch three scoreless innings for the Kansas City Athletics.

The Satchel Paige stamp was one of twenty Legends of Baseball Classic Collection commemorative stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 6, 2000. The stamps were designed by Phil Jordan of Falls Church, Virginia, and illustrated by Joseph Saffold of Savannah, Georgia.

Scott Catalogue USA: 3408p
mint; serpentine die cut 11.25

Copyright United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.

Museum ID: 2000.2020.505