1 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:06,000 Speaker 1: Hi, it's mo. When I first came up with the 2 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:09,879 Speaker 1: idea from obituaries in twenty eighteen, it was clear that 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: sticking only with dearly departed people would be too easy. 4 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:18,239 Speaker 1: The fun part was coming up with concepts, countries, things 5 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 1: that had never gotten a sendoff. I mean, things rarely 6 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:26,280 Speaker 1: get obituaries right. The idea of a defunct sports team 7 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 1: was one of the first non human entities that sparked 8 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 1: my imagination back when I was eight. During that brief 9 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 1: stretch when I decided I wanted to play soccer, my 10 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: ever indulgent parents took me to see the Washington Diplomat's 11 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 1: soccer team play the New York Cosmos, both teams no 12 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:46,879 Speaker 1: longer with us. The only thing I remember from the 13 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:50,240 Speaker 1: game is that the great Pele played for the Cosmos, 14 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,800 Speaker 1: and Peley wasn't just a great player, he went by 15 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: one name like Cher. I never actually ended up playing soccer. 16 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: For the podcast, we considered doing an episode on ice 17 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: hockey's Hartford Whalers, and we still may. They have some 18 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 1: super fans step forward to convince us why we should. 19 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 1: And yes, I know, the team didn't technically die, It 20 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 1: just moved south to become the Carolina Hurricanes, but the 21 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:22,240 Speaker 1: logo they had in Hartford was fabulous. Ultimately, my co 22 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:26,800 Speaker 1: author on the Mobituary's book, Jonathan Greenberg, suggested we devote 23 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: a chapter to a team that lasted less than a 24 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 1: year but packed in more drama than the New York 25 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: Jets have in their franchise history. Did I get that right? 26 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: This story includes one of the most celebrated names in 27 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 1: baseball history. It also includes one of the biggest names 28 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 1: in twentieth century dictatorship. It's a whale of a tale. 29 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: That one's for you, Hartford. I'm Morocca and this is Mobituaries, 30 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: This moment death of a sports team, Los Dragones de 31 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 1: Siuda Trujillo, nineteen thirty seven to nineteen thirty seven. If 32 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 1: you don't think of me as a sports guy, I 33 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,079 Speaker 1: get it. You'll hear the mobit for my short lived 34 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,640 Speaker 1: baseball career at the end of this chapter. I'm not 35 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,360 Speaker 1: obviously athletic, although I can do a one handed cartwheel 36 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: with a glass of water in my free hand without 37 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: spilling a drop. But I love drama, and sports is 38 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: guaranteed drama. The sides are always clear. You've got winners, 39 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:53,640 Speaker 1: You've got losers, heroes and villains. I was eleven years 40 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: old when the Americans yay, defeated the Soviets oooh in 41 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: ice hockey at the Lake Platte Olympics. I've heard that 42 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 1: the movie Miracle, which depicts that event, is terrific. I'm 43 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 1: sure it is, but I don't need to see it. 44 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: I can remember the thrill of the Miracle on ice 45 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:15,639 Speaker 1: as it happened. Actually it was on tape delay. And 46 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:18,519 Speaker 1: if you happen to grow up in the Washington, DC area, 47 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: as I did, you may remember that our local news 48 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: anchor actually announced the final score during a commercial break 49 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 1: in the middle of the game. I'm pretty sure she 50 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: had to go into the witness protection program after that. 51 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 1: Even better, I like drama with big personalities. So a 52 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: story about one of baseball's all time great pictures and 53 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: a bloodthirsty Latin American dictator set in the nineteen thirties 54 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 1: on an island nation. I'm in Leroy Satchel Page was 55 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: born on July seventh, nineteen oh six, one of eleven 56 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 1: children born to a poor African American family in Alabama. 57 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: He started work at a young age carrying bags at 58 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 1: the mobile train station for a dime apiece. He realized 59 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:08,800 Speaker 1: he could make a lot more money if he strung 60 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: all the satchels on a pole and carried them in 61 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,800 Speaker 1: a single trip. That's how he earned his famous nickname. 62 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:19,359 Speaker 1: Black players were barred from Major League Baseball starting in 63 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty four, shortly after Toledo's Moses fleetwood Walker became 64 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:27,640 Speaker 1: the first African American to play pro ball. You'll hear 65 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:31,600 Speaker 1: about him later. The ban wouldn't be lifted until nineteen 66 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:35,320 Speaker 1: forty seven, the year Jackie Robinson became a Brooklyn Dodger. 67 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 1: So In nineteen twenty six, at the age of nineteen, 68 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: the tall and sinewy Page tried out for the all 69 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:47,359 Speaker 1: black Chattanooga White Sox, reportedly throwing with such accuracy that 70 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 1: he could from the mound knock over soda bottles lined 71 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:55,040 Speaker 1: up on home plate. Page became known not just as 72 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:59,160 Speaker 1: the hardest thrower around, but also the most creative. He 73 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,040 Speaker 1: was a showman on the mound with his high leg kicks, 74 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: and off the mound, he became known for his homespun wit. 75 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:10,600 Speaker 1: His later six rules for staying young included avoid fried 76 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: meats which angry up the blood. Makes sense to me 77 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:18,280 Speaker 1: over a forty year career, Satchel Page would become one 78 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:22,120 Speaker 1: of history's most beloved players. One of the few Negro 79 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:26,679 Speaker 1: League players known to white fans during baseball's long segregated era, 80 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: Page knew how good he was. He would tell his 81 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:33,720 Speaker 1: fielders to sit down on the grass behind him while 82 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:37,720 Speaker 1: he struck out the opposing team. Joe DiMaggio, who batted 83 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 1: against Page in an exhibition game in nineteen thirty six, 84 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 1: called him the best he'd ever faced. In nineteen thirty one, 85 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:49,200 Speaker 1: he signed with the Pittsburgh Crawfords, one of the greatest 86 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:53,599 Speaker 1: Negro League teams ever assembled, arguably one of the greatest 87 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: baseball teams ever. Page's teammates eventually included cool Papa Bell, 88 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 1: the fastest man in baseball. Page one said that Bell 89 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: could turn off the lights and jump into bed before 90 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,760 Speaker 1: the room got dark, and the great catcher Josh Gibson, 91 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:13,560 Speaker 1: the Black Babe Ruth, who was estimated to have hit 92 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:17,400 Speaker 1: more than eight hundred home runs in his career. The 93 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: team's owner, Gus Greenley, was a larger than life figure. 94 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:24,800 Speaker 1: A machine gunner in the trenches of France during World 95 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:28,680 Speaker 1: War One. The six foot two mixed race Greenley came 96 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:32,120 Speaker 1: back with shrapnel in his left leg, but that didn't 97 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: stop him from running bootleg whiskey to speakeasies. His sprawling 98 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:40,920 Speaker 1: numbers racket basically in illegal lottery, earned at its height 99 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: twenty five thousand dollars a day. Naturally, he opened his 100 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:48,880 Speaker 1: own nightclub and used the profits to buy off police 101 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:52,480 Speaker 1: and politicians and provide loans to black people who had 102 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:57,480 Speaker 1: been rejected by white owned banks. With his outsized personality, 103 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:03,960 Speaker 1: wealth and charm, he dominated Pittsburgh politics, music, business, and sports. 104 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: Greenlee financed the first stadium built exclusively for a black 105 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 1: ball club, Greenlee Field and what else would he call it? 106 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: Even installing lights. For six years, the Pittsburgh Crawfords dominated 107 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:22,680 Speaker 1: the Negro National League, but the end was in sight. 108 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:27,320 Speaker 1: The depression was eroding the Negro League's financial foundation, and 109 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 1: state attorneys general were cracking down on numbers running. Greenlee 110 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: faced a handful of indictments, and he could not be 111 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:37,560 Speaker 1: as free with the salaries as he had been. In 112 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 1: such a climate, The cross with a roster for the 113 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:44,960 Speaker 1: ages assembled by rating. Other Negro League teams were themselves 114 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 1: raided the man who stole their talent. General Lissimo Raphael Trujillo, 115 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: the brutal strong man who had taken control of the 116 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 1: Dominican Republic in nineteen thirty. If there were a Hall 117 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 1: of Fame for bloodthirsty dictators, Trujillo would be voted in 118 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,880 Speaker 1: unanimously on the first ballot. As a boy, he had 119 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 1: collected shiny metal bottle caps to pin on his shirt 120 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 1: in imitation of a military leader. He began his rise 121 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:18,040 Speaker 1: to power by serving in a street gang, and then 122 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 1: worked as the paid muscle for the wealthy owners of 123 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: sugar plantations. After he forced Orasiovaskez from power. Trujillo, then 124 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 1: a general, won the election of nineteen thirty with an 125 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 1: impressively high ninety nine point two percent of the vote, 126 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:37,200 Speaker 1: although the numbers are somewhat less impressive once you learn 127 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 1: that all the other candidates withdrew because of death threats 128 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:45,240 Speaker 1: from Trujillo's goons. Once in power, he renamed the country's 129 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 1: capital city of Santo Domingo Siudad Trujillo. He renamed the 130 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:54,800 Speaker 1: country's tallest mountain, Pico Trujillo. He renamed the province of 131 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:59,840 Speaker 1: San Cristobal Trujillo Province. He made his three year old son, 132 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:03,480 Speaker 1: Ramphis a colonel. To be clear, a three year old 133 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:08,600 Speaker 1: in military uniform is kind of cute on Halloween. Trujillo 134 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:12,120 Speaker 1: later did allow an opposition party to organize such a 135 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:15,360 Speaker 1: policy he believed made it much easier to identify and 136 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:20,040 Speaker 1: murder his political enemies. The story of how Page came 137 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:23,840 Speaker 1: to play for Trujillo is told in Avril Ace Smith's 138 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:28,440 Speaker 1: terrific book The Pitcher and the Dictator. Trujillo himself was 139 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 1: not much of a baseball fan, but he knew that 140 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 1: the Dominican people loved the game, and he thought a 141 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:37,440 Speaker 1: successful team would be good for public relations. During the 142 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 1: upcoming pseudo election of nineteen thirty seven, he directed a 143 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:47,839 Speaker 1: diminutive dentist named Enrique Ibar to form Lostragonos des Sioudad 144 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:52,720 Speaker 1: Trujillo the Trujillo City Dragons. The goal was to defeat 145 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:58,079 Speaker 1: the reigning Island Champs Lasestreas Orientales of San Pedro the 146 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:03,559 Speaker 1: San Pedro Eastern Stars, with Trujillo bankrolling him. Eyebar traveled 147 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 1: to New Orleans in the winter of nineteen thirty six, 148 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:10,280 Speaker 1: where Page was training. Iebar offered Page a contract of 149 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:14,079 Speaker 1: thirty thousand dollars, a ridiculous sum to a player who 150 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:17,560 Speaker 1: was receiving a few hundred a month from Greenley. Page 151 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:21,200 Speaker 1: knew he was underpaid in the Negro leagues. That bunch 152 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:23,920 Speaker 1: would hold on to a dollar bill until Old George 153 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: screened in pain, he said of the Negro League owners. 154 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:30,800 Speaker 1: What's more, he was tired of the segregation he faced 155 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:33,240 Speaker 1: when playing in the South, where it could be hard 156 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:35,959 Speaker 1: to find a restaurant or hotel, or even a gas 157 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:39,439 Speaker 1: station that would serve black people. Page took the money 158 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:44,440 Speaker 1: with one condition. He insisted on bringing his catcher, Cy Perkins. 159 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:49,319 Speaker 1: The two became the toast of Siudad Trujillo and were 160 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:53,199 Speaker 1: soon joined by other Negro League stars. The American players 161 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 1: were thrilled with the music, the food, the beer, and 162 00:10:56,480 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 1: what Ace Smith discreetly calls las casas deccika us. Page 163 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:04,559 Speaker 1: was not one for monogamy. The story goes that he 164 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:07,240 Speaker 1: was once served with divorce papers on the bound at 165 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:11,319 Speaker 1: Wrigley Field. Never be unfaithful to a lover, except with 166 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:15,000 Speaker 1: your wife, he equipped. Satchel and Cy had the money 167 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:17,920 Speaker 1: to enjoy it all, and not a single establishment was 168 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,080 Speaker 1: closed to them because of the color of their skin. 169 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:24,400 Speaker 1: In Trujillo's dictatorship, they had more freedom than they'd had 170 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:28,199 Speaker 1: at home in the States. But Page's first outing was 171 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,920 Speaker 1: rougher than expected. He gave up six runs in five innings. 172 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:37,719 Speaker 1: Soon enough, a pseudonymous newspaper column suggested that stricter off 173 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:40,559 Speaker 1: the field control of the high paved players was needed. 174 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:43,920 Speaker 1: The late nights and sleepy mornings were catching up with 175 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 1: the American stars. At the same time, the two other 176 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,200 Speaker 1: Dominican clubs there were just three teams on the island 177 00:11:51,559 --> 00:11:55,439 Speaker 1: were bringing in their own ringers from stateside. The president 178 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:58,120 Speaker 1: of one of those clubs flew to Pittsburgh to court 179 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:02,640 Speaker 1: Greenley's remaining stars. Greenley, already in a rage over the 180 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:06,160 Speaker 1: defection of Page, had the visitors arrested by his friends 181 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:10,880 Speaker 1: in the Pittsburgh Police Force. Alas, unlike Trujillo, he lacked 182 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 1: the power to imprison people who hadn't committed any crime, 183 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:18,079 Speaker 1: and the Dominicans were released. Back in the dr Satchel's 184 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:22,520 Speaker 1: performance improved, but his team was still struggling. Another article 185 00:12:22,559 --> 00:12:26,599 Speaker 1: in Trujillo's state sanctioned newspaper called for a curb on 186 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:31,280 Speaker 1: the licentiousness of the American players, whose reckless lifestyle was 187 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:35,920 Speaker 1: undermining the team's success. The head of Trujillo's death squads 188 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:39,679 Speaker 1: was put in charge of discipline, and armed thugs became 189 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:44,720 Speaker 1: constant companions of Satchel and the Americans, shadowing them wherever 190 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:49,080 Speaker 1: they went. Bars in nightclubs were off limits. No store 191 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:54,319 Speaker 1: owner would sell them whiskey. As for the casastchkas no chance. 192 00:12:55,679 --> 00:12:59,200 Speaker 1: Evenings instead were spent playing long games of cards at 193 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:03,680 Speaker 1: the hotel. Even team practices lost to their casual, playful air. 194 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:07,280 Speaker 1: I started wishing of his home when all those soldiers 195 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:10,720 Speaker 1: started following us around everywhere we went, and even stood 196 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:12,880 Speaker 1: out in front of our rooms at night, wrote Page 197 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:18,080 Speaker 1: in his autobiography. The new regiment of chastity and sobriety 198 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:20,959 Speaker 1: may have been less fun, but it worked wonders on 199 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:24,440 Speaker 1: the field. By the time the playoffs came around, Page 200 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:29,120 Speaker 1: was sporting a six one record. Los Dragonez defeated Lasstreas 201 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 1: for the championship eight to six. Page really couldn't afford 202 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:36,280 Speaker 1: to let the team down. As he later recalled, he 203 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:39,599 Speaker 1: was terrified of failure, thinking the whole time about the 204 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:42,960 Speaker 1: line of Trujillo's soldiers arrayed on the edges of the field, 205 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 1: knives and guns tucked into their belts clearly visible. The 206 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:52,679 Speaker 1: championship trophy was presented to Trujillo's son, Colonel Raphael L. 207 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:58,600 Speaker 1: Trujillo Martinez, now all of eight years old. This remarkable season, however, 208 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:08,360 Speaker 1: rang the death knell for the Dragones. The Dominican clubs, 209 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:11,680 Speaker 1: for all the excitement of the season, had essentially bankrupted 210 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:15,920 Speaker 1: themselves with their spending sprees, and the entire league was disbanded. 211 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:19,600 Speaker 1: Satchel and the other American players collected their winnings and 212 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 1: moved on. Banned from the Negro leagues for defecting and 213 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:26,760 Speaker 1: unable to play for Major League Baseball, page and the 214 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:30,800 Speaker 1: others had no option but to barnstorm the nation, sporting 215 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:36,000 Speaker 1: the pinstripes of Los Dragones, billing themselves as Trujillo's All Stars, 216 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 1: even defeating the National Negro League All Stars at Yankee 217 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:45,200 Speaker 1: Stadium in September nineteen thirty seven. Eventually, the National Negro 218 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:49,240 Speaker 1: League rescinded its lifetime bans of Satchel and the other defectors. 219 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:54,200 Speaker 1: He continued to pitch, despite age and some injuries. With 220 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,680 Speaker 1: the death of Major League Baseball Commissioner Kennesaw Landis in 221 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:01,160 Speaker 1: nineteen forty four, the time was right for integration of 222 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:04,600 Speaker 1: the major leagues, and Jackie Robinson broke the color line 223 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:08,640 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty seven. The next year, Page signed with 224 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:12,440 Speaker 1: the Cleveland Indians, helping them to win the World Series 225 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 1: they haven't won since. The forty two year old Page 226 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:20,640 Speaker 1: was the oldest rookie in Major league history. He played 227 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:23,360 Speaker 1: for five years in the majors, was twice named an 228 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:26,840 Speaker 1: All Star, and even made a return appearance pitching three 229 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:30,520 Speaker 1: scoreless innings for the nineteen sixty five Kansas City As 230 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:36,480 Speaker 1: at age fifty nine. Yes, that's right, at age fifty nine. 231 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 1: It's great to watch Satchel Page and TV appearances from 232 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:44,720 Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties and seventies, adored by the panelists on 233 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:48,200 Speaker 1: What's My Line and tossing a ball with host Steve 234 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:51,760 Speaker 1: Allen on I've Got a Secret. Dick Cavitt invited him 235 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:54,880 Speaker 1: on in nineteen seventy one, shortly after Page became the 236 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,520 Speaker 1: first negro leaguer to be voted into Baseball's Hall of Fame. 237 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:02,880 Speaker 1: Page is five and gracious, even pretending to be charmed 238 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:06,640 Speaker 1: by fellow guest Salvador Dali, who brought along his pet 239 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:10,720 Speaker 1: ant eater. When Cavit asks Page, how good the players 240 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:14,280 Speaker 1: in the Negro leagues were, he answers, Back in those days, 241 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:17,240 Speaker 1: they had a lot of Satchel Pages. There wasn't just one. 242 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:20,880 Speaker 1: I just pitched more than everybody else back then. I'm 243 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:24,000 Speaker 1: as old as Methuselah, he says, as if to suggest 244 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 1: that his longevity, rather than his great talent, is the 245 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:31,120 Speaker 1: main reason he's remembered. In the last of his six 246 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:35,240 Speaker 1: Rules for Staying young, he wrote, don't look back, something 247 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:39,400 Speaker 1: might be gaining on you. Page had outlasted Greenley, who 248 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:43,280 Speaker 1: died in nineteen fifty two, and the tyrant Trujillo, who 249 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:47,160 Speaker 1: was assassinated in nineteen sixty one, and the fabulous, if 250 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:50,800 Speaker 1: short lived teams on which he had starred. The owners, 251 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:55,040 Speaker 1: the teams, and the leagues themselves passed on, but Satchel 252 00:16:55,080 --> 00:17:01,960 Speaker 1: Page himself seemed to just keep going. And other teams 253 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:08,440 Speaker 1: you can't root for anymore. The Philadelphia SPAZ nineteen seventeen 254 00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:14,160 Speaker 1: to nineteen fifty nine. The letters stand for South Philadelphia 255 00:17:14,320 --> 00:17:19,200 Speaker 1: Hebrew Association, founded by Eddie the Mogul Gottlieb in nineteen eighteen. 256 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:23,280 Speaker 1: The Spas dominated basketball back when it was referred to 257 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:26,800 Speaker 1: as the Jewish game because it required, in the words 258 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:30,480 Speaker 1: of one New York postwriter, an alert, scheming mind and 259 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:35,920 Speaker 1: flashy trickiness. The Svas dominated the American Basketball League in 260 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:40,399 Speaker 1: the nineteen thirties and forties, winning seven titles in thirteen years. 261 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:46,160 Speaker 1: Stars included household names such as Harry Litwack, Csy Caselman, 262 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:52,240 Speaker 1: Moe Goldman, Irv Torgoff, Red Wolf, Max Poznak, and perennial 263 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:58,040 Speaker 1: MVP candidate Shikey Gottoffer. But the demographics of basketball, always 264 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:01,240 Speaker 1: an urban game at heart, were all ready changing. The 265 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:04,760 Speaker 1: Great Migration was bringing millions of African Americans to the 266 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:07,960 Speaker 1: cities of the North, while Jews were moving their families 267 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:12,520 Speaker 1: to the suburbs. Gottlieb sold the Spas to Red Klotz, 268 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:16,879 Speaker 1: a former player, who refashioned them the Washington Generals, a 269 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:21,760 Speaker 1: traveling opponent for Abe Saberstein's Harlem Globetrotters. For the next 270 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:25,000 Speaker 1: forty four years, they served as stooges for the world's 271 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:30,560 Speaker 1: most famous exhibition club. Gottlieb meanwhile founded the Philadelphia Warriors 272 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:34,399 Speaker 1: of the NBA, signed a kid named Wilt Chamberlain and 273 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:41,240 Speaker 1: never looked back. The New Jersey Generals nineteen eighty three 274 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:46,080 Speaker 1: to nineteen eighty five. In nineteen eighty three, the upstart 275 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:50,440 Speaker 1: United States Football League put the formidable National Football League 276 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:54,680 Speaker 1: on notice, paying big salaries for high profile stars, including 277 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:58,639 Speaker 1: Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker and future Hall of Famer 278 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:02,000 Speaker 1: Jim Kelly. The next year, a New York real estate 279 00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:05,840 Speaker 1: baron named Donald J. Trump joined the league, buying the 280 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:09,920 Speaker 1: New Jersey Generals for about nine million dollars. I could 281 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:11,959 Speaker 1: have bought an NFL team, he said to The New 282 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:14,880 Speaker 1: York Times. Is iraburke ou At the time. I feel 283 00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:16,800 Speaker 1: sorry for the poor guy who's going to buy the 284 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:20,399 Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys. He continued. It's a no win situation for 285 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:23,520 Speaker 1: him because if he wins, well, so what they've won 286 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:26,360 Speaker 1: through the years. And if he loses, which seems likely 287 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:28,840 Speaker 1: because they're having troubles, he'll be known to the world 288 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:33,440 Speaker 1: as a loser. Within two years, the USFL collapsed and 289 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:36,120 Speaker 1: Trump ended up twenty two million dollars in the red. 290 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:43,520 Speaker 1: The Cowboys are currently worth five billion dollars. The Washington 291 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:50,200 Speaker 1: Senators eighteen ninety one to nineteen seventy one, the Washington 292 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:55,280 Speaker 1: Senators baseball team died three times. The first Washington Senators 293 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:58,680 Speaker 1: played from eighteen ninety one to eighteen ninety nine. We 294 00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:01,800 Speaker 1: know little about them except that they were awful. In 295 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:05,280 Speaker 1: nineteen hundred, the team folded, but when the American League 296 00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:08,440 Speaker 1: was founded in nineteen oh one, the Senators were reborn. 297 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,000 Speaker 1: They were awful, too, losing so much that in nineteen 298 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:16,760 Speaker 1: oh four sportswriter Charles Dryden equipped Washington first in war, 299 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,480 Speaker 1: first in peace, and last in the American League. On 300 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:25,360 Speaker 1: the bright side, their historic ineptitude inspired the musical Damn Yankees, 301 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,600 Speaker 1: in which a Senator's fan sells his soul to the 302 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:32,320 Speaker 1: devil in exchange for a World Series victory. That's the 303 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:36,000 Speaker 1: show where Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon met. Now that's 304 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:40,920 Speaker 1: a team. In the nineteen fifties, as franchises began moving westward, 305 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:45,880 Speaker 1: owner Calvin Griffith vowed the team would remain in Washington forever. 306 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:49,640 Speaker 1: He decamped with the team from Minnesota two years later. 307 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:54,040 Speaker 1: Senators three point zero, hastily assembled at the behest of 308 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:58,960 Speaker 1: President Eisenhower, lasted only a decade. Their last game was 309 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:03,240 Speaker 1: a riot on September thirtieth, nineteen seventy one, The Senators 310 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:05,840 Speaker 1: were leading in the top of the ninth when irate 311 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:11,399 Speaker 1: fans stormed the field and stole home. They also stole first, second, 312 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:14,960 Speaker 1: and third, grabbed handfuls of the infield grass, and ran 313 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 1: off with the bat boys' chairs. When the umpires couldn't 314 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:23,840 Speaker 1: clear the field, the game was ruled a forfeit. Maurice 315 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:28,760 Speaker 1: Raca's Little league career nineteen seventy nine to nineteen seventy nine, 316 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:34,480 Speaker 1: as reported by my older brother, Lawrence Raca, I don't 317 00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:38,000 Speaker 1: remember if the opponent was Blessed Sacrament or Saint Camillas 318 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:40,920 Speaker 1: or our Lady of Lords. What matters is that the 319 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy nine Little Flower Midget be baseball team was 320 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 1: being humiliated once again, this time in its final game, 321 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:52,080 Speaker 1: another blowout in a last place and soon to be 322 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:57,480 Speaker 1: mercifully completed Catholic Youth Organization season. The culprit this time 323 00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:00,280 Speaker 1: was the hulking fourth grader batting clean up up for 324 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:04,680 Speaker 1: the other team. He'd already crushed two Titanic homers before 325 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:07,080 Speaker 1: coming to bat with the bases loaded in the top 326 00:22:07,119 --> 00:22:09,800 Speaker 1: of the seventh. Sitting on the hill with the rest 327 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:13,720 Speaker 1: of the tiny crowd at Bethesda, Maryland's Westmorland Park. My 328 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:18,160 Speaker 1: parents and I leaned forward in nervous anticipation. The infielders 329 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:21,320 Speaker 1: retreated to the edge of the outfield grass and panicked 330 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:25,600 Speaker 1: self defense. Maurice, who was usually on the bench, betrayed 331 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:28,359 Speaker 1: no feelings in center field, where he was safe at 332 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: least from decapitation. A head taller than the rest of 333 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:37,119 Speaker 1: the players, slugger swung violently, sending a towering fly to left, 334 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:41,800 Speaker 1: eliciting ooze, and as before, it hooked and landed harmlessly foul, 335 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:46,920 Speaker 1: just beyond the left fielder's stumbling, tumbling reach. Again and again, 336 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:50,920 Speaker 1: this happened, the ooze and oz turning to laughs a 337 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:56,000 Speaker 1: fourth time, then a fifth. Another soaring fly ball, another 338 00:22:56,200 --> 00:23:01,119 Speaker 1: round of expectant laughter, building toward crescendo, suddenly stifled by 339 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:05,119 Speaker 1: a blur, a near collision, and the longest split second 340 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:10,440 Speaker 1: of silence in Cyo history. It was Maurice, running full 341 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:14,439 Speaker 1: speed from center past left. At the last possible instant, 342 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:18,359 Speaker 1: he thrust his gloved left hand to the absolute limit 343 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:21,320 Speaker 1: of his reach, his body at a perfect forty five 344 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:24,080 Speaker 1: degree angle to the ground, just the tippy toes of 345 00:23:24,119 --> 00:23:27,119 Speaker 1: his right foot, touching like mercury with a Paul Blair 346 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:31,080 Speaker 1: autographed Wilson. The ball stuck to his palm like belcrow 347 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,480 Speaker 1: as his momentum nearly sent him into a cartwheel, and 348 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:37,280 Speaker 1: it stayed in his glove as the crowd erupted in 349 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:41,440 Speaker 1: wild cheers, and the entire last place nineteen seventy nine 350 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:45,320 Speaker 1: Little Flower Midget Bee baseball team ran out and mobbed 351 00:23:45,359 --> 00:23:48,000 Speaker 1: him on the spot. It took three minutes for the 352 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:51,679 Speaker 1: umpire to restore order and send everyone back to their positions. 353 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:55,879 Speaker 1: My brother was not a great baseball player, nor a 354 00:23:55,920 --> 00:24:00,320 Speaker 1: particularly enthusiastic one. He knew early on that his first 355 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:04,240 Speaker 1: season of cyo baseball would be his last. But what 356 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:06,920 Speaker 1: he lacked in love and skill for the game he 357 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:11,359 Speaker 1: made up in fidelity to two foundational rules. Always hustle 358 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:15,760 Speaker 1: and always back up your teammates. As far as improbable 359 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:19,159 Speaker 1: defensive heroics go, you can have the big money stakes 360 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:23,159 Speaker 1: of Derek Jeter's playoff flip or the perfect cinematography of 361 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:27,080 Speaker 1: Lupas's Bad News Bears miracle. I'll take the one that 362 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:30,200 Speaker 1: jumped right off the pages of Joseph Campbell that day 363 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:42,520 Speaker 1: at Westmoreland Park, I hope you enjoyed this Mobituary. Be 364 00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:46,800 Speaker 1: sure to check out Mobituary's Great Lives Worth Reliving, the 365 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:50,760 Speaker 1: New York Times best selling book, now available in paperback 366 00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:54,720 Speaker 1: and audiobook. It includes plenty of stories not in the 367 00:24:54,840 --> 00:25:00,720 Speaker 1: podcast special thanks to Jonathan Greenberg and Jonathan carp, Richard Rarer, 368 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:04,480 Speaker 1: and Chris Lynch at Simon and Schuster. You can listen 369 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:07,480 Speaker 1: to our final episode of the season in the new year.