On August 11, 1968 — the Atlanta Braves signed Satchel Paige to a contract. At the time, Paige was in his 60’s, but the Braves took the action so Paige could qualify for a Major League Baseball pension.

In 1968, Paige was 158 days shy of the five years’ playing time needed to qualify for the major league pension. He would reach out to 20 teams and 19 teams would turn him down. The problem was, he was 62. Atlanta signed Paige, becoming an assistant trainer and pitching coach

Nearly three years earlier, he became the oldest pitcher every to play a game when he threw three innings for the Kansas City A’s at 59 years, 2 months and 18 days, against the Red Sox. He only gave up one and he needed just 28 pitches. The hit was by Carl Yastrzemski, the Hall of Famer, then 26 years old.

 
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