KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The former home of baseball legend Leroy "Satchel" Paige will be brought back to life.
The Kansas City, Missouri, Homesteading Authority announced Friday it is requesting proposals to renovate the historic property in the Santa Fe neighborhood.
“The history that was made, the legends who stopped and stayed and were entertained in this home, yeah, we don’t want to lose that," Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, said.
The home is far from what it looked like decades ago when the Paige family resided there. It was built in 1910 and purchased by Paige in 1950.
"Satchel Paige, in my estimation, is the greatest pitcher of all time," Kendrick said. "He’s one of the greatest athletes of all time and you could tell that this home was befitting of someone of his stature and magnitude."
When Paige passed in 1982, the home remained in the family, but time took its toll. The home was sold and continued to fall into a state of disrepair.
In 2018, a fire damaged the home and the city of Kansas City, Missouri, took ownership.
“We are so happy to get to this point, but we’re also excited about what’s to come," Marquita Taylor, president of Santa Fe Area Council, said.
The city now is requesting proposals to renovate the property, but the Paige family is not quite on board. 41 Action News spoke with Linda Paige Shelby over the phone, one of eight children of Paige and his wife. Shelby said the family would like to be on the deed of the home and have more of a say in the rehabilitation process.
“I’m sure there will be some great ideas that will emerge in terms of what will be the best use of this, and I just hope that it will be ideas that the Paige family will embrace and support and be behind," Kendrick said.
