sla book review: satchel paige's america

Satchel Paige's America

Reviewed by Duncan R. Jamieson, Ashland University

MAY 19, 2005 archive

While most people are probably vaguely aware of Satchel Paige, few know his first name was Leroy, and only the most knowledgeable realize the breadth of his reach. That he was the world's greatest pitcher, that he spent the best years of his career in the Negro Leagues, that he often organized barnstorming tours, playing against Dizzy Dean's All Stars and Bob Feller's team, that he was recruited and played for the Cleveland Indians at a time when most baseball players, and certainly most pitchers, had retired are facts known to baseball aficionados. What is surprising is he worked with medicine shows, he sang with some of the greatest popular performers of the twentieth century, he sparred with some very famous boxers, and he seemingly knew everyone, from Jelly Roll Morton to Billie Holiday to Louis Armstrong.

When William Price Fox got the opportunity in the early 1970's to interview Paige for an article to appear in Holiday, he went to the Twilight Zone Lounge of the Rhythm Lanes Bowling Alley in Kansas City to meet the famous ballplayer. That first contact developed into a series of meetings in which the two reminisced about everything from making and running moonshine to playing ball for Caribbean dictators. This work reveals almost as much about the author, sportswriter William Price Fox, as it does about Paige. Fox, professor and writer-in-residence at the University of South Carolina, met Paige in the early 1970's, but it took him a couple of decades to bring his material together into this slim volume. Fox never took notes during his interviews with Paige because he soon learned that Paige became so interested in what Fox was writing that he stopped talking, A tape recorder was no better, because as soon as the machine appeared, Paige went "flat." The entire manuscript is based on Fox's notes and memory, which adds to its allure.

This is neither a biography nor a memoir of Paige. Fox never mentions Paige's birth or death dates (1906-1982), or the dates he played in the Negro League (1926-1947) and includes very little specific biographical information. He allows Paige to tell his story, only parts of which relate to baseball history. Paige does recount his signing with the Cleveland Indians, focusing on his first game in the majors in which he pitched nine innings to shut out the Chicago White Sox in Comiskey Park. Ten days later he again shut the White Sox out, this time in the old Cleveland Stadium. In both games people poured into the stands, setting attendance records, to see Satchel Paige pitch. Those two wins helped the Indians win the American League Pennant, and they went on to defeat the Boston Braves in the World Series, four games to two.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is Paige's thoughts on other ball players. He thought Mickey Mantle a genuinely nice person with bad knees. Joe DiMaggio was always loose. Paige saw Ted Williams as the greatest hitter in baseball, although Josh Gibson was perhaps the greatest home run hitter. Paige also had thoughts on a variety of other people, such as medicine show huckster Milton Bartok. On several occasions Paige recounted the vaudeville stories of Mr. Interlocutor and Mr. Bones. In one, Paige was Mr. Interlocutor while the master of ceremonies played Mr. Bones, who asked the famous pitcher to demonstrate his hesitation pitch. Paige stretched the windup out so long Mr. Interlocutor wondered if his arm had frozen. Charley Davis, who played two years in the Negro League before quitting baseball, was with Paige and Fox at this interview, and encouraged Satch to talk about his chicken pitch, a skit in which instead of the ball he threw a rubber chicken to the catcher. These vaudeville medicine shows morphed into circuses, and then into evangelist operations, which, Paige theorized, dramatically reduced the overhead as well as easing logistics.

Paige clearly understood and explored the psychology of pitching. To create the correct impression and get into the batter's head, he would walk from the bullpen looking like a Watusi chief. He believed if he could get the batter thinking about what Paige was up to, then because he kept his face from revealing any emotion, he could get the batter worrying. "And that's right where I want them. I want them worrying, because that's when I can break them down" (p. 119). However important psychology was, Paige had tremendous control. He could throw the ball anywhere the catcher wanted it. Most people believe that Paige could pitch successfully with a postage stamp size strike zone. Given his statistical record, both his control of the ball and the batter's psyche worked to his advantage. While he was in the Negro League and during barnstorming, the advertisements frequently read that either he struck out the first nine batters or the fans got their money back. Very rarely was any money returned.

If you're looking for a biography of Satchel Paige, or a book focused on the Negro Leagues, or a work on baseball, this is not the book you want. This also is not a book that explores the subject of race and sport, or race and society, despite the title. If, however, you've got some time to read an interesting chronicle about a twentieth century legend, then Satchel Paige's America is worthwhile.

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