The great Satchel Paige. The ageless stalworth of the Negro Leagues. We’re all familiar with Satchel Paige and his greatness, and many of us can even quote a classic Satchel quote or two. But, what you might not have known, is that Satchel Paige was an Atlanta Braves pitching coach once. Well, sort of.
In 1968, Satchel Paige was just 158 days shy of the five years’ playing time needed to qualify for Major League pension. Satchel reached out to 29 teams to give him just one more chance and 29 teams turned the ageless wonder down.