SATCHEL & THE BLACK BARONS LEDGER, REMEMBERING TWO REBELS

 

In this post I cover a couple former Montgomery players, recently passed away, who had very unusual moments in MLB, as well as one of the most interesting books I discovered in my recent studies. Satchel Paige is an iconic figure, one who I encountered on many occasions in my research, this book offered some unique info on the legendary hurler's time with the Birmingham Black Barons, as well as what the other players experienced with the team. 

Darryl Patterson

Patterson, Rojas, Gregory in a classic #BullpenLife ca 1966

   Darryl Patterson's MLB career was solid, getting into 111 games with Detroit followed by stops in Oakland, St. Louis and Pittsburgh. Patterson made two appearances in the World Series with the '68 Tigers and came away with a championship ring in his rookie season. Two years before that Fall Classic, Patterson was pitching for the '66 Rebels in Montgomery, winning eight and losing eight with a 4.78 ERA.  

Patterson, born in California, was part Native American - a member of the Mono tribe. After quickly working his was through the Tigers system, Darryl made his MLB debut in relief on opening day of 1968 against the Red Sox, allowing just one hit (an inside the park homerun to Yaz!) in two innings. A dream rookie season for the reliever culminated with the Tigers World Series victory and a $10k bonus. The exhilaration was offset by being drafted into the Army during Viet Nam, which kept him out of baseball until June and he served again the next year as a member of the Army Reserves. Returning to baseball, Darryl then bounced between teams until his retirement in 1975.

As a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1974, Patterson was involved in a bizarre on-field brawl against the Cincinnati Reds. The Pirates and Reds rivalry was well known, on this particular Sunday a doubleheader provided another moment in the ongoing spate between the two clubs. After a Reds pitcher beaned a Pirates hitter, benches emptied and when Reds manager Sparky Anderson stepped on Pirates outfielder Kirkpatricks foot, Kirkpatrick shoved him and chaos broke out across the field. 

In the melee, Patterson was sucker-punched from behind by Reds pitcher Pedro Borbon, Patterson responded by grabbing Borbon and wrestling him to the ground as Borbon BIT him deeply. Patterson afterwards sported a black eye and received a tetanus shot while Borbon was called "Dracula" for the incident. "He fights like a woman!" was Patterson's quote to the press. 

 

Meeler was one of three 6'5" Rebels pitchers

Phil Meeler 

   Virginia native Phil Meeler, who appeared in just seven MLB games in 1972 with the Detroit Tigers, was a staple in the bullpen for the Montgomery Rebels during their dominant early 70's dynasty. A tall right-handed pitcher standing six-foot-five inches, Phil had been a high school basketball standout but signed with the Tigers and soon began working out of the bullpen as a closer where he thrived. In four seasons with Montgomery, Meeler appeared in 91 games and posted a solid 3.12 ERA with ten wins and twenty saves. 

Meeler made his MLB debut in 1972 against the White Sox in a May contest, pitching two innings in relief. He was charged with three earned runs which scored after he was removed from the game and tagged with the loss in his debut. After seven games with the Tigers, Meeler was sent back to the minors where he brought tales of the big leagues to the Montgomery dugout and rookie manager Jim Leyland. 

Injuries were a challenge but Phil kept working to overcome them until 1978 when he was released by the Tigers during spring training. 

Reportedly, Meeler was pitching batting practice as the cuts were announced, hearing his name on the loudspeaker Meeler dialed up his fastest fastball about six feet over the batters head, banging it loudly off the backstop over sixty feet away and never threw another professional pitch.

BBIA RESEARCH NOTES

   While working on my upcoming book, "Black Baseball in Alabama", I was fortunate to have access to a wide array of sources. One of the items I found most curious was the Birmingham Black Barons business ledger from 1926 through 1930. Containing a treasure trove of names, dates and minutia of baseball info, it answered some of my most pressing questions and provided an insight to the daily actions of the team that was worth its weight in gold. 

How this desktop tome survived to the 21st century I have no clue, but peering into the leaves within its leather binding, worn from repeated openings by the hands of the team secretary, shed new light on how the Black Barons managed their finances. It also confirmed some of the players names and gave clues on how the club paid each individual, famous or otherwise.

Satchel got $150 per month salary, but was $128 in the hole at the end of the pay period

 Some events stood out, such as Satchel Paige's fine for staying out all night in Chicago and missing the next days game in St. Louis. Seeing the other two players also fined for being out that night provided me with a chuckle as I pondered how those events must have played out in the clubhouse. Satchel's party night in Chicago cost the three players a combined $35, most of a weeks wages for each of them.

Satchel Paige fined $15

The value of the dollar was an important factor, then as now, though the totals may seem ridiculously low by modern standards. Most players made $35 to $50 a week, getting little or no daily stipend for food meant that the team was often loaning players small amounts for lunches, cab fares, phone calls and telegrams, even laundry and baths. Seeing a player getting a $2 salary advance was not unusual, nor was it to see a player fall into debt to the Black Barons over the course of the season. 

Players who left the team during the season were asked to settle up accounts, as they owed the team more than their parting salaries would cover. Wanna quit the team? You might have to pony up cash just to leave! A few players who returned to the team had their pay packets docked when they re-signed to cover debts they had left with the Black Barons from previous seasons.

 

Black Barons and KC Monarchs debate in this 1940's photo

One of the most enlightening aspects of the ledger was the open account the Black Barons had with the local sporting goods store. Cleats usually cost $7.50 - unless you are a pitcher, those were $9, as they came with the old style toe-plate. Gloves ran between $6 and $9, depending on size and demand. 

Baseballs cost $10 a dozen and were often being reordered, which also prompted a chuckle from me as I watched the account ledger start with one dozen, then two, then three as the team struggled to figure out how many they needed per homestand. Finally one player was charged for a dozen baseballs, I wondered who caught him swiping them and how that went down!

 

Not all player fines were defined with reasons given, and not all salary advances were clarified, though some were obvious. Satchel was fined five dollars for missing a game in Baltimore, then took a $30 advance to cover "travel from Baltimore to Birmingham" and it is apparent he missed the train as well as the game. Not long after that Satchel took to driving himself to games in his personal maroon Cadillac. 

Satchel and his car

Players were charged for laundry service when they asked for their uniforms to be cleaned. One Birmingham player, Geechie Meredith, seemed to show a preference for a clean uniform and also took frequent baths for which he was charged by the club (usually 40-75 cents), who covered his hotel bills on the road before deducting the cost from his salary. Geechie, who worked his offseasons in the coal mines, was one of the Black Barons most popular players before his tragic and sudden passing. The ledger revealed him as a bit of a dandy, which did not dull my fondness for him. 

 

Rush Hotel in Birmingham

New players on the club could rent a room at the Rush Hotel in Bham (from the owners wife) for $2 a week. They could get meals from the restaurant at the hotel, have their laundry done and ride around town in taxi's covered by the team. However each charge came out of the players paycheck, with many players pages showing they enjoyed the services on arrival but refrained from them after learning the impact on their pay packages. 

A frequent occurrence was to see the notation of a sizeable salary advance, often $20 or more, put down on the players tab with the clarifying reason of "Mrs. Streeter" or "Mrs. Davis" which also stirred the mental pictures of what may have led to the transaction.  

 

 

The Black Barons financial ledger was a fascinating read, though not the usual type of thing I find myself checking out, it was a real page-turner for this history buff. I hope you enjoyed hearing about it and will take the time to check out my book when it is published at the start of 2026!