Why Satchel Paige might be the most significant figure in Wichita's baseball history

Wichita’s National Baseball Congress has showcased the best collegiate and semipro players in the country for nearly 100 years. But of all the players who have played here, perhaps none is as significant to the city’s baseball history as Leroy “Satchel” Paige.
WICHITA, Kansas — Little did city leaders know what they were setting in motion when they decided in the early 1930s to widen the Arkansas River downtown to prevent flooding.

The decision meant the end of Ackerman Island, which sat on a sandbar in the middle of the river. And the end of Island Park, the baseball stadium there.

In 1934, Raymond "Hap" Dumont helped convince city officials to build Lawrence Stadium, promising to hold a national baseball tournament there if they did.