BY RED MULCAHY Special to Beacon Athletics — It was a cool spring Saturday. Over 5,000 raucous fans jammed into Breese Stevens Field in Madison, Wisconsin, for an exhibition game between the local Industrial League All-Stars and the mighty Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League. The year was 1947.

On the mound, the ageless Satchel Page stared bemusedly down at the batter’s box. How many of these young whippersnappers had he mowed down? A year later, he would become the oldest major league rookie ever at 42.

“He kept talking to me, calling me kid,” recalls Dale Myrland, then an 18-year-old first baseman. “He was all arms — it was hard to pick up his pitches. I didn’t come close to hitting him.”