In an era when American major league sports were a white man's game, African American Leroy "Satchel" Paige achieved legendary fame as Negro League baseball's undisputed star and standard bearer. In a career spanning three decades, the lanky, limber right-handed pitcher hurled a reputed 2,500 games, won nearly 2,000, and came to symbolize the untapped potential of black professional athletes. He later followed Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby into the Major Leagues as one of baseball's first African-American players and solidified his reputation as one of the game's most talented performers. Joe DiMaggio, facing a Paige well past his prime, praised him as "the best and fastest pitcher I've ever faced."

Controversy has surrounded the issue Paige's age throughout his career, and his date of birth has been placed as early as December 18, 1899 and as late as July 7, 1906. By 1930, the young Alabaman had earned a reputation...