Ted Page (baseball) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ted Page |
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| Outfielder/First baseman | |||
| Born: April 22, 1903 Glasgow, Kentucky |
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| Died: December 1, 1984 (aged 81) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
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Theodore Roosevelt Page (born April 22, 1903 – died December 1, 1984) was a famous American baseball player. People often called him "Terrible Ted" because he was such a great player. From 1923 to 1937, Ted Page played for many teams in the Negro Leagues. Some of his most well-known teams were the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords. Many people think he was one of the best outfielders ever to play baseball. He is also a member of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
Ted Page's Early Life
Ted Page was born in Glasgow, Kentucky in 1903. When he was nine years old, his family moved to Youngstown, Ohio. He grew up in a neighborhood with many different families. Ted said that many of his childhood friends were from Polish and Italian families.
Ted was a talented athlete. He was so good that representatives from the Ohio State University football team wanted him to play for them. His friend, Joe Donchess, also received interest from colleges. Joe became a star football player at the University of Pittsburgh. Ted, however, chose a different path and did not finish high school.
Ted Page's Baseball Career
Ted Page started his professional baseball journey in 1923. He first signed with the Toledo Tigers, but he did not play any games for them. Over the next few years, he played for many different teams in the Negro Leagues. These teams included the Newark Stars, the Brooklyn Royal Giants, and the Baltimore Black Sox.
Ted played for the Homestead Grays in 1930 and 1931. After that, he joined the Pittsburgh Crawfords. On the Crawfords, he often batted right before another famous player, Cool Papa Bell. The Crawfords were owned by Gus Greenlee. Many players on Greenlee's teams also worked for him during the off-season. For example, Ted Page once worked as a watchman for Greenlee. Another teammate, Judy Johnson, sometimes worked as Greenlee's driver.
In 1934, a popular baseball pitcher named Dizzy Dean organized special exhibition games. He put together a team of famous Major League players and a team of top Negro League players. They traveled to big cities to play against each other. Ted Page was on the Negro League team. Other stars on his team included Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Buck Leonard, and Jud "Boojum" Wilson. The Major League team had players like Paul Dean and Larry French. Ted Page said that his Negro League team won seven out of nine games against the Major League stars.
Later Life and Legacy
After he stopped playing baseball, Ted Page owned and ran a bowling alley in Pittsburgh. His achievements in sports were recognized when he was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1977. Ted Page passed away on December 1, 1984.
In 2013, a group called the Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project held a special ceremony. They placed a marker on Ted Page's grave at Allegheny Cemetery in Pennsylvania. For a while, people thought his ashes were lost, but they were found at the cemetery. It's interesting to know that during his own life, Ted Page helped raise money to mark the grave of another Negro League legend, Josh Gibson, who is buried in the same cemetery.
