In this Aug. 2, 1942, file photo, Kansas City Monarchs pitcher Leroy Satchel Paige warms up at New York's Yankee Stadium before a Negro League game between the Monarchs and the New York Cuban Stars. (AP file photo) Before Jackie Robinson (1919-1972) became the first African American to debut in Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1947, Black ballplayers were allowed to play only in their "own" leagues which, by today's standards, bore the racist name of the Negro Leagues. The latter played unofficial games with the MLB and proved quite formidable. Nonfiction author Kazuo Sayama quotes Negro League ace pitcher Satchel Paige (1906-1982) as noting to the effect, "To me, a Black team beating a white team is no news because the Negro Leagues are superior."