Paige was born on  July 7,  1906 (or there about), the seventh child of twelve (including a set of twins) to John Page, a gardener, and Lula Coleman Page, a domestic worker, in the Mobile, Alabama slum known as South Bay. When asked about the year Satchel was born, his mother said, "I can't rightly recall whether Leroy was first born or my fifteenth." On a separate occasion, Lula Paige confided to a sportswriter that her son was actually three years older than he thought he was. A few years later she has another epiphany – he was, she said, two years older. She knew this because she wrote it down in her Bible.
 
    Paige got his nickname Satchel from a friend and next door neighbor, Wilber Hines, when they used to go down to the Louisvelle and Nashville Railroad station and carry bags for the passengers for money. Hines gave him the name the day Paige got caught trying to steal one of the bags that he was carrying. On July 24, 1918, at age 12, Paige was sent to the Industrial School for Negro Children in Mount Meigs, Alabama for shoplifting and truency from W.C. Council School. There he developed his pitching skills under the guidance of Edward Byrd. It was Byrd that taught Paige how to kick his front foot high and to release the ball at the last possible instant. After his release, shortly before Christmas of 1923, Paige joined the semi-pro Mobile Tigers where his brother Wilson was already playing. Also on the team was future Negro League stars Ted Radcliffe and Bobby Robinson.

    Paige was a colorful and larger-than-life figure in the Negro leagues, prone to stunts such as sending the infield players into the dugout while he pitched or deliberately loading the bases before pitching to Josh Gibson, a hitter of great renown. His showmanship and popularity caused white baseball fans to take greater notice of the players in the Negro leagues, which perhaps hastened the integration of baseball. Despite the color bar, Paige faced the best major league players in exhibition games before 1948. He once struck out Rogers Hornsby, probably the greatest right-handed hitter in baseball history, five times in one game. In Hollywood in 1934, Paige scored a spectacular 1–0 victory in 13 innings over Dizzy Dean, who won 30 games for the St. Louis Cardinals that year.

    In his later years, Paige derived much amusement from the controversy about his age; his birth date is sometimes placed as early as December 18, 1899. He was surely well past his prime in 1948 when team owner Bill Veeck signed him for the Cleveland Indians; whatever his exact age, he was the oldest rookie ever to play in the major leagues. He helped to spark that team to American League pennant and World Series victories that year. When Veeck purchased the St. Louis Browns, Paige joined that team, and he was its most effective relief pitcher from 1951 through 1953. He also pitched three scoreless innings for the Kansas City Athletics in 1965, which made him the oldest to pitch in the major leagues.

    The issue went beyond Paige's age: He was the American League's first African-American pitcher. Although Jackie Robinson had broken the color barrier the year before, integration of baseball was still new.  Paige answered critics in his own fashion. He went 6-1 with one save and a 2.48 ERA and the Indians won the pennant by one game.  He also brought out the crowds. More than 200,000 came to see his first three starts, including a Cleveland record for a single game of 78,382.  Packing stadiums was nothing new to Paige. He was the hottest gate attraction in the Negro Leagues. During his entire career he performed before crowds estimated at 10 million in the U.S., Caribbean, and Central America, according to The New York Times Book of Sports Legends.  With Paige pitching, there was almost always a great show. He was known to wave his outfielders in to sit behind the pitcher's mound while he struck out a batter. He advertised promises that he would strike out the first nine batters.

    With Paige pitching, there was almost always a great show. He was known to wave his outfielders in to sit behind the pitcher's mound while he struck out a batter. He advertised promises that he would strike out the first nine battersOn Sept. 25, 1965, he became the oldest to pitch in the major leagues. Ever the showman, the 59-year-old Paige sat in a rocking chair in the bullpen while a nurse rubbed liniment on his arm. Then he threw scoreless three innings for the Kansas City Athletics against the Boston Red Sox, allowing only one hit, a double by Carl Yastrzemski 1971, Paige was the first of the Negro League stars to be elected into the Hall of Fame.

    He died of emphysema at 75 on June 8, 1982, in Kansas City. Paige's impact on baseball will last even longer than he did. He blazed a wide trail for generations of African-American players during every slow stroll out to the mound. He never ran. Never jangled.

    Paige was famous for his pithy remarks. One well-known quotation on on “How to Stay Young” reads:

1. Avoid fried meats, which angry up the blood.
2. If your stomach disputes you, lie down and pacify it with cool thoughts.
3. Keep the juices flowing by jangling around gently as you move.
4. Go very light on the vices, such as carrying on in society. The social ramble ain't restful.
5. Avoid running at all times.
6. Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you.

    Satchell Paige was also known for quotes such as:

• "If a man can beat you, walk him."
• "I don't know how old I am because the goat ate the Bible that had my birth certificate in it. The goat lived to be twenty-seven."
• "Don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines."
• "Don't look back; they may be gaining on you."
• “How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?” 

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