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Perhaps overshadowed by the sizable pre-release buzz surrounding 2004 Leaf Certified Materials Baseball last week is the fact that the popular product features the industry's first memorabilia cards of the legendary Satchel Paige.
Paige, one of the most prolific pitchers of his era, spent 22 dominant years in the Negro Leagues, six in the majors and entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971. He threw a reported 55 no-hitters during his Negro League career, becoming the league's most popular and recognizable superstar, and its largest gate attraction. He joined the major leagues in 1948 and promptly helped the Cleveland Indians win the World Series that year.
In 1965, at the age of 59 and 12 years since he'd last pitched in the majors, Paige started one game for the Kansas City A's, hurling three shutout innings. Three years later, he was a coach with the Atlanta Braves, where he wore the jersey Donruss officials have incorporated into 2004 Leaf Certified Materials.
"Satchel Paige is a baseball icon and one of the most prolific and popular players in the history of professional baseball," said Ben Ecklar, Donruss' baseball brand manager. "For us to be able to provide the industry with his first memorabilia cards is a great thrill for us, and another example of how we continue doing everything we can to set our products apart from others on the market."
There are several versions of Paige's first memorabilia cards, as they appear in Leaf Certified's Mirror Materials parallel set as well as the popular and tiered Fabric of the Game insert. Fabric of the Game versions numbered out of 100 have been selling in the $100 neighborhood online.
