This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/2/2022
Jackie Robinson will always be known as the player who broke the color barrier, but it was legendary superstars like Satchel Paige that set the tone for the integration of baseball. An ace hurler considered on par or superior to any in the majors, Paige's flamboyant personality and age (40) excluded him from being major league baseball's first black emissary. In his autobiography, Satchel Paige wrote, "Signing Jackie (Robinson) like they did still hurt me deep down. I'd been the guy who'd started all that big talk about letting us in the big time. I’d been the one who'd opened up the major league parks to colored teams. I'd been the one who the white boys wanted to go barnstorming against." One year after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, 41-year old Satchel Paige was finally a major league pitcher, making his debut for the Cleveland Indians in July of 1948. Even with his skills clearly declining, Paige showed that there was still some magic in his tattered arm, posting a 6-1 record with a 2.48 ERA, including two shutout victories. Maybe it's poetic justice that Satchel Paige's long overdue rookie card comes from the 1948 Leaf set, a collection as enigmatic as old "Satchmo" himself. And fittingly, his debut pasteboard is included as one of the extremely difficult short-prints that are so difficult to find in any condition above EX. But here we go, offering up one of the most stunning examples of one of the most treasured rookie cards ever produced, an SGC 7 graded 1948 Leaf card of Hall of Famer Satchel Paige. The always smiling Paige is perfectly captured on this incredible pasteboard, surrounded by a surprisingly clean sun-soaked yellow backdrop that is almost always marred by a heavy overspray of stray print dots. The image of Paige is slightly out of focus, a common malady among other quality control issues of the series, but the centering is nearly perfect. The reverse has deep black print on classic gray stock that is pristine but the real stars of this museum-quality piece are the endpoints, easily surpassing NM specifications and appearing more in line with cards at the NM/MT level. A fantastic specimen that clearly exceeds the grade in eye appeal.