World's Greatest Baseball Party in 1956

The first baseball game ever hosted in the Orange Bowl in 1956 featured Satchel Paige as the starting pitcher, musical acts, a charity fundraiser and was dubbed "The World's Greatest Baseball Party."

Cover: Aerial view of the game played in the Orange Bowl on August 7, 1956. Courtesy of Casey M. Piket.

On August 7, 1956, the Orange Bowl Stadium hosted one of the most unusual baseball spectacles in Miami history, a game billed as the “World’s Greatest Baseball Party.”

The Miami Marlins hoped to draw more than 80,000 spectators and break the attendance record for a minor league baseball game. To help fill the massive football stadium, the organization turned the evening into an entertainment extravaganza featuring Martha Raye, Margaret Whiting, Russ Morgan and his orchestra, Cab Calloway, and several other notable performers.

Figure 1: Satchel Paige warming up before the game on August 7, 1956. Courtesy of the Miami Herald, photographer Bob East.

The biggest attraction on the field, however, was legendary pitcher Satchel Paige. At the age of 49, the former Negro Leagues star was given the starting assignment for Miami. Paige pitched into the eighth inning and even contributed at the plate, driving in three runs with a double to left-center field.

Figure 2: Headline in the Miami Herald on August 8, 1956, the day after the game. Courtesy of the Miami Herald, photographer Steve Weaver.

Although attendance fell short of the ambitious 80,000-person goal, an impressive 51,713 paying spectators packed the Orange Bowl to watch the Miami Marlins defeat the Columbus Jets, 6–2. Both clubs were members of the Triple-A International League, and despite the elaborate festivities surrounding the event, the matchup counted as an official league game.

The evening was more than a baseball promotion. Gate receipts from the game were donated to several local charities, making the “World’s Greatest Baseball Party” not only a memorable event but also a charitable one as well.

Figure 3: Ticket booth on August 5, 1956, for the game played two days later in the Orange Bowl. Courtesy of the Miami Herald, photographer not listed.

Related Content:

• Orange Bowl Stadium (1937 – 1947)

• Orange Bowl Stadium (1948 – 1957)