High atop the mound

He is among the greatest pitchers ever to have played the game of baseball. A Hall of Famer, despite having been blocked from the sport’s biggest stage for much of his career. But Leroy “Satchel” Paige was much more than that – a barrier-breaker, the first African American to pitch in the Major Leagues. A writer, raconteur and family man. Always, a source of inspiration for the city and neighborhood he called home.

Few athletes have risen to the apex of their sport. Few people have moved the world to a better place. Almost none have done both.

From Kansas City, Satchel Paige changed his sport, and our world, forever.

It was here where he spent more seasons than in any other community. Where he led the Kansas City Monarchs to a Negro League Championship. And where, remarkably, at the age of 59, he pitched his final game, with the Kansas City Athletics. But he was much more than a transitory professional athlete. He was a Kansas Citian, known in the community both as a legend and, simply, Satchel. Across four decades, Satchel Paige made his home in Kansas City’s Sante Fe neighborhood. He symbolized constancy and possibility for those in a sometimes-discordant community. And, in time, opened the eyes and minds of those outside it.

Now, it’s our turn to make a difference by restoring his home and preserving his legacy.

In a city that reveres its history, the Satchel Paige Home must stand as one of its most worthy and important landmarks. But time, nature and circumstance have left this important structure in disrepair.

Satchel’s accomplishments speak for themselves. Our support of restoring his home will speak for him.

Early Life

Born into a family of 12 siblings, he gained the nickname “Satchel” as a young boy while working as a railroad porter. A stint in reform school at age 13, for a shoplifting offense, proved a turning point in young Satchel’s life. There, he worked, went to classes and joined the choir. Satchel mastered pitching under the tutelage of a coach who recognized his unique skill and turned him into a generational pitching talent.

Career

After reform school, Satchel began the professional odyssey that would span more than 30 years and take him from semi-pro to the Negro Leagues to barnstorming and, ultimately, a newly integrating Major League Baseball. In addition to his exceptional skills, he was known for his flair, with a legendary windup and leg kick, and much-feared pitches he named himself, including “Midnight Creeper,” “Bat Dodger” and “Bee-Ball.”

Kansas City was at the center of Satchel’s career. In the 1920s and 1930s, he gained fame pitching both for Negro Leagues clubs and barnstorming baseball teams, often pitching year-round.

Following a 1938 injury to his pitching arm while playing in Mexico, he joined the Kansas City Monarchs in 1939. He first played in its minor league organization as a first baseman and then, from 1939 to 1947, his arm having recovered, as a star pitcher on the Monarchs’ Negro League team. In 1942, he led the Monarchs to a Negro League championship.

In 1948, one year after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the Major Leagues, Satchel Paige signed with the Cleveland Guardians. Proving himself to skeptical team management, he threw 9 of 10 pitches over a bubble gum wrapper to showcase his legendary control. At age 42, Satchel became the oldest rookie ever to play at the Major League level. Later that year, as the first Black player to participate in the World Series, he helped Cleveland win the World Series over the Boston Braves. Satchel finished his time In the Major Leagues in 1953, at age 47.

EXCEPT...

A dozen years later, at age 59, on “Satchel Paige Night” in Kansas City, he not only was honored, but also started the game and pitches three scoreless shutout innings against the Boston Red Sox.

Satchel Paige, the baseball player, had come full circle. Satchel Paige, the man, continued to inspire.

Headed Home

Satchel Paige’s linkage to Kansas City extended well beyond the baseball diamond. At his home in Santa Fe neighborhood, beginning in 1950 and across four decades, he and his wife LaHoma built their life together. They raised a family of eight children. They hosted countless celebrities, including Count Basie, Joe Louis and the Harlem Globetrotters. They offered hospitality to many Negro League players who were unable to stay at local hotels. They were an inspiration within a community whose charter had formerly excluded minorities but, after 1950, became a preferred location for many African American families.

In the neighborhood, Satchel was both well-known and unassuming. He was celebrated as a caring father and welcoming neighbor every bit as much as he was respected as a star athlete. Those who knew him saw his deep intellect, often devalued by others. They saw his patriotism as he raised money for the war effort. They saw him as a savvy antiques collector, avid fisherman, devoted music lover, and a master cook. They saw him, rightly, as a champion: of his sport, of his family, of the community where he would live until his passing in 1982.

But the story of Satchel’s home, and the Santa Fe neighborhood, does not end happily there. Many homes, over the years, fell into disrepair as African American residents had trouble securing credit for property upkeep, and most white residents fled to other areas.

The Paige home was not exempt. When the family moved out following Satchel’s death, it began to fall into disrepair. Years later, in 2018, it was damaged by fire.

But the Paige family and community leaders persevered and, like the Santa Fe neighborhood itself, continued determinedly with efforts to restore this historically important community asset.

And now the reward of those efforts is at hand.

Legacy

To honor Satchel Paige’s legacy, and all he has meant to the history of our city, our country and the ongoing aspirations of a neighborhood and a people, the restoration of the Satchel Paige House is at hand. Pitch Perfect KC, in coordination with the Paige family, community leadership, and preservation entities, has partnered with the nonprofit Leroy Satchel Paige Family Home Corp. to undertake the $4.5 million rebirth of this landmark site.

The effort to rebuild Satchel’s House to its full midcentury splendor will take time and resources. Fire damage and vacancy have left it awaiting restoration. With the energy unleashed by this new effort, and the support of the community, our opportunity is here, now.

When rehabilitation is completed, the Leroy “Satchel” Paige Family Home will be owned and operated by a recently formed nonprofit. Led by a diverse and passionate board, this 501(c)3 will be charged with programming and operations for this historic structure, new clubhouse building and landscaped grounds, and managing the ongoing endowment fund.

The Satchel Paige Family Home will be a living cultural asset.

In addition to museum activities and paid entrance to the historic house, the home will have private office space for lease. The clubhouse structure will feature museum-related retail, a catering kitchen, and a large meeting space. These facilities will allow for a wide array of activities, ranging from family gatherings to corporate-sponsored events, that will generate the foot traffic and consistent income necessary to sustain ongoing operations.

But, first, we must bring home the $4.5 million needed to fund redevelopment costs. We are inviting support of The Leroy Satchel Paige Family Home Corp., Inc., the 501(c)(3) charitable organization recently created for this initiative.

Project Timeline

The journey to restore Satchel’s House is just beginning and is likely to last up to three years. It’s a journey that our community will undertake together, with the passion, determination and inclusivity required to bring so worthy an endeavor to its full realization.

Our team

The Pitch Perfect team comprises four Kansas Citians combining decades of experience: Gary Abram, David Oliver, Robert Riccardi and Marquita Brockman Taylor. Their in-depth experience is underscored by a demonstrable track record of commitment to Kansas City’s neighborhoods. Pitch Perfect is committed to an inclusive process that engages the entire community in restoring Satchel’s Home both as a landmark honoring a legend, and a living cultural asset.