He is that rare American icon who has never been captured in a biography worthy of him. Now, at last, here is the superbly researched, spellbinding...
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Sep 02, 2009
Leroy
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As a lifelong baseball fan and a person who believes in racial equality and the importance of respecting all people, this book was a good read. It was about baseball but also about the struggle for racial equality and respect.
The book probably could have been better organized and the story being told in a non-chronological manner bothered me some--and some of the content seemed a little contradictory. But the book is written in good prose; it flowed well and was a joy to read.
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The book probably could have been better organized and the story being told in a non-chronological manner bothered me some--and some of the content seemed a little contradictory. But the book is written in good prose; it flowed well and was a joy to read.
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Aug 04, 2011
james
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This is an excellent biography of a great baseball pitcher, born Leroy R Page in Mobile, Alabama on July 7, 1906. Later, and more commonly, he is known as Satchel. There is plentyl of discussion of the spelling of his name (Page or Paige) and even his nickname (one L or two.) Also there is a discussion of the conflicting evidence on his true birth date.
In addition to being a biography of Satchel, this book provides excellent insight into the history of baseball and prticularly the Negr More...
In addition to being a biography of Satchel, this book provides excellent insight into the history of baseball and prticularly the Negr More...
Mar 06, 2011
Michael
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It’s been so long since I read this, I think Satchel was still playing. What I recall from two extremely long months ago was that Tye seemed to do a swell job of sifting through the mounds of BS and innumerable “half-truths” surrounding the Paige story – many questionable legends straight from the pitcher’s own two autobiographies…themselves often contradictory. It’s one of those classic riddles stuck inside an enigma wrapped by lousy journalism and I think that, while necessarily incomplete, th
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Oct 30, 2010
Brian
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Probably the saying most often attributed to Satchel Paige is "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you." But one of his I like even better than that is "Work like you don't need money. Love like you've never been hurt. And dance like no one is watching." Not bad words to live by, coming from someone with almost no formal schooling.
Satchel Paige was definitely a true American Legend, for the way he played baseball (blackball in the Jim Crow era, and More...
Satchel Paige was definitely a true American Legend, for the way he played baseball (blackball in the Jim Crow era, and More...
Jul 25, 2009
Steven
rated it: 
This is a well written biography of baseball legend Satchel Paige. He was finally admitted into the "Negro League" wing, a separate area of Cooperstown from the "real" Hall of Fame.
This ably constructed book, authored by Larry Tye, traces Paige's bittersweet life from birth to death. We see how he grew up and how he began to create his own persona (his last name morphed from Page to Paige, for example).
He began playing professional baseball in the Negr More...
This ably constructed book, authored by Larry Tye, traces Paige's bittersweet life from birth to death. We see how he grew up and how he began to create his own persona (his last name morphed from Page to Paige, for example).
He began playing professional baseball in the Negr More...
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May 18, 2011
N-rose
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Larry Tye does a great job of telling the "story" of Satchel Paige in all of it's glory; Paige was a storyteller, for sure, and exaggerated fact, obscured fiction, and promoted himself solidly Tye does a great job of seamlessly letting readers know when fact is fact and when fact has some exaggerated branches.
And he's not afraid to hint that Paige may have been a bit of an asshole, a definite womanizer (without coming out and tarring him for it), and a contract-skipping vaga More...
And he's not afraid to hint that Paige may have been a bit of an asshole, a definite womanizer (without coming out and tarring him for it), and a contract-skipping vaga More...
Jan 15, 2010
Gerald
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An isolated burial place in a Kansas City cemetery is named Paige Island. There lies Leroy Robert Paige, black baseball pitcher of indeterminate age. A graveside memorial bears the words, "Leroy became Satchel. And Satchel became a legend."
Like many another who came to baseball late, rather than having it deposited at my side in the cradle, I believed, as is often claimed, that the black breakthrough into whites-only baseball was made by Jackie Robinson. As far as M More...
Like many another who came to baseball late, rather than having it deposited at my side in the cradle, I believed, as is often claimed, that the black breakthrough into whites-only baseball was made by Jackie Robinson. As far as M More...
Jun 08, 2010
Spiros
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Larry Tye has a good story tell, and he tells it very well. In exhaustively debunking much of the legend of Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (or Page), starting with establishing his true date of birth as July 7, 1906 (which had already been established in 1948, when Satchel joined the Cleveland Indians), he reveals much of Satchel's greatness. The manner in which he battled Jim Crow, and the way in which he promoted Negro Leaugue ball, make it all the more poignant that he was not to be t
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Feb 20, 2011
Jeff
rated it:
Some of my first books were juvenile sports biographies. When my class
would go to the school library, I would pour over the section and read
about Franco Harris and Jim Brown (no I am not that old, but the
library was small). I think my favorite was reading about Franco
Harris' Immaculate Reception. These stories are very white washed of
controversy. As in the Harris case, it has been claimed that his reception was illegal, but the referee was not about to tell a scream More...
would go to the school library, I would pour over the section and read
about Franco Harris and Jim Brown (no I am not that old, but the
library was small). I think my favorite was reading about Franco
Harris' Immaculate Reception. These stories are very white washed of
controversy. As in the Harris case, it has been claimed that his reception was illegal, but the referee was not about to tell a scream More...
Dec 02, 2011
Josh
rated it:
If there has been one good thing about the Royals* only being watchable once every five games or so, it has been that I have found myself with slightly more free time on my hands. Past a cursory look at the standings to see where the Royals are in the running for the Bryce Harper Sweepstakes and trying to catch Greinke’s starts, my time devoted to baseball is shrinking to microscopic proportions.
*I think it is obvious that we’re using the plural form of Royal out of politeness here.
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*I think it is obvious that we’re using the plural form of Royal out of politeness here.
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Jul 12, 2009
Tony
rated it: 
I love baseball. I love books about baseball. And...Satchel Paige! How can someone screw this up? But, this was not great writing. And, if anything, Satchel Paige is diminished in my mind by this book, which I doubt was the author's intent.
At times, the author is investigative reporter, tracking down once and for all the date of Paige's birth. At other times he glides over obvious apocrypha, like the story about a pitch Paige threw, everyone saw it, that no one saw caught. An More...
At times, the author is investigative reporter, tracking down once and for all the date of Paige's birth. At other times he glides over obvious apocrypha, like the story about a pitch Paige threw, everyone saw it, that no one saw caught. An More...
Jul 30, 2009
Bookmarks Magazine
rated it:
"Critics agreed that Tye's greatest challenge was to separate the truth of Paige's life from the fiction, promulgated by the shamelessly self-aggrandizing Paige himself. To this end, Tye researched Paige's life thoroughly, scrutinizing source documents from birth records to FBI files and conducting more than 200 interviews with Paige's family and friends. Tye's fondness for his subject is obvious, but that doesn't prevent him from debunking the myths surrounding Paige's life. However, a cou
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Jan 25, 2010
Tommy
rated it:
(this book counts as 2)
this book was good, it had pictures but it wasent a picture book. it was very good it talked about the life he had and the life he could of have. if he was in the majors he could have the best life but he played in the negro league and life wasent so good down in those leagues.
many people say that satchel threw the hardest of all time. and thats a bold statement. the negro leagues produced some of the games grate players. satchel lived a very hard life. h More...
this book was good, it had pictures but it wasent a picture book. it was very good it talked about the life he had and the life he could of have. if he was in the majors he could have the best life but he played in the negro league and life wasent so good down in those leagues.
many people say that satchel threw the hardest of all time. and thats a bold statement. the negro leagues produced some of the games grate players. satchel lived a very hard life. h More...
Sep 29, 2009
Jim
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Satchel Paige’s story is irresistible to anyone who loves baseball or who is interested in American history. His story, remarkable in itself, is intertwined with the colorful history of the Negro Leagues and of the efforts by African-American and white sportswriters and others to integrate Major League Baseball. His story is already well told in a previous biography, Don’t Look Back: Satchel Paige in the Shadows by Mark Ribowsky. Larry Tye’s fine and thorough (at times, though, perhaps too thoro
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Aug 04, 2010
David
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Larry Tye captures the Zelig-like qualities of this singular ballplayer in his exhaustively researched book. In a career that spanned four decades, there doesn't seem to be a league, organized or not, for which Satchel Paige didn't play #8212;from the American League in Cleveland, to the no-name league team in Bismarck, N.D., to a 3-team setup in Trujillo's Dominican Republic. (The reconstruction of Paige's 1933-1935 record in North Dakota from newspaper accounts [35-2, 25 complete games, 440
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Sep 09, 2009
Justin
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I couldn't decide between 4 and 5 stars, but I'm leaning towards 5. Tye does some excellent reportage, but where he excels is in explaining the context of Paige's life. There's some quality stuff here on Jim Crow, barnstorming, etc. I like Tye's willingness to step out of chronological order for thematic purposes, but there is a confusing moment or two when we're not explicitly returned to the past (but the timeline's useful). There's a nice chapter near the end about mythmaking. Tye's saved som
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Aug 15, 2010
Co2
rated it:
Wonderfully researched and well written work.
Tye succeeds in separating legend from fact when he can and plainly pointing out where he cannot. And that is the underlying premise of the book. In the most statistically driven sport, where numbers define a player's greatness, we don't know exactly how great Paige was.
The two defining themes in the book are the life of Satchel Paige and what Jim Crow America did to those that were segregated from white society and what white Amer More...
Tye succeeds in separating legend from fact when he can and plainly pointing out where he cannot. And that is the underlying premise of the book. In the most statistically driven sport, where numbers define a player's greatness, we don't know exactly how great Paige was.
The two defining themes in the book are the life of Satchel Paige and what Jim Crow America did to those that were segregated from white society and what white Amer More...
Dec 30, 2010
Gary
rated it:
This was a well-researched about a man of whom it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. Tye does his best in sorting out the truth and tells us when it is impossible to settle a matter. He unblinkingly describes Paige's flaws as a man but nonetheless enables to the reader to establish empathy with perhaps the greatest pitcher of all time who until his late forties was forced to play in the hardscrabble Negro Leagues and barnstorm around the country, meanwhile enduring racism on a virtual
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Mar 26, 2011
John
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It is amazing to read about the daily activity of the old time players, especially those in the negro leagues. Being from Pittsburgh, I was very interested to read about his time with the Homestead Greys along with his duels with Josh Gibson. This book highlights Satchel's globetrotting and also makes it clear as to the amount of skill that he possessed. The book also discusses how Satchel is sometimes created for quotes that he may or may not have said much as the way the Yogi Berra is 'quoted'
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Apr 16, 2010
Full life treatment for man who lived the fullest of lives. Paige's legendary career is all on display here one that lasted from the 1920s to 1960s and had him playing in every burgh in the US plus stints in Puerto Rico, the Dominican, Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico and Canada. Interesting was the rivalry with Jackie Robinson never much loved by Paige or vice versa. Also intriguing was the collusion between the majors and negro ball that was in evidence when the NY Yankees specifically asked for Paige
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Jan 23, 2011
This book was very good, it was about an old school player named satchel paige. this book was good because it showed him growing up as a kid and how much he loved baseball, he reminded me of me when i was little because i was always in love with baseball. Thats why this book was very inspiring for me, and he is also a pitcher which is one of my main positions. The thing that also mad this great was that people were racist against black people at this time and there was such thing as the negro le
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Aug 21, 2010
Jim
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Satchel is the biography of the legendary baseball pitcher Satchel Paige. The stories in this book show Satchel as both an extremely talented athlete, who paved the way for breaking the Major Leagues color barrier and a flawed, hard living everyman. One of my favorite stories is of a batter facing Satchels' pitching who didn't wait for a strikeout call. He walked back to the dugout after taking two called strikes, saying to his manager, "I didn't see the first two. What makes you th
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Jul 06, 2009
Eric
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Satchel Paige might be too nice a guy for a gripping biography, but what is fascinating is to think of this player on a constant tour from the deep South to a top-tier Pittsburgh franchise, to Bismarck ND, to Trujillo's all-star team in the Dominican and then back to Kansas City before he eventually got the call to play for the Cleveland Indians.
All his stats remain somewhat ambiguous and fortunately Larry Tye does not get carried away trying to prove Satchel the greatest pitcher of More...
All his stats remain somewhat ambiguous and fortunately Larry Tye does not get carried away trying to prove Satchel the greatest pitcher of More...
Nov 18, 2010
Devin
rated it:
Meticulously researched and well written. Particularly given the challenge of unearthing the truth of Satchel Paige's life and discovering how tightly it was woven to the legends. Many of those legends gleefully perpetuated by the mischievous Mr. Paige. Even pinning down his exact year and date of birth presents a challenge.
_Satchel_ presents a fascinating life lived against the backdrop of Jim Crow and Negro Baseball Leagues and captures the brilliant arc of celebrity and pitching More...
_Satchel_ presents a fascinating life lived against the backdrop of Jim Crow and Negro Baseball Leagues and captures the brilliant arc of celebrity and pitching More...
Feb 09, 2011
Chet
rated it:
Truly an American legend. Tye had to get out of the way of all the myth and published work over his lifetime to make a workable biography. Dwight Jaynes had a nice recollection from his short stint as a Portland Beaver. Paige's painful returns to Mobile to visit childhood family and friends nearly broke my heart. Tye treated those delicate visits with dignity for all but not discounting Paige's humble beginnings and the fact his mother never approved of his profession even though it brought More...
Feb 11, 2012
Lee
rated it:
An excellent biography of Negro League legend Satchel Paige. Nice accounts of the Negro League. A good look at how Barnstorming tours were organized and Satchel's battles against teams led by Dizzy Dean and Bob Feller. Satchel was also baseball's first free agent playing for whoever paid him the most. In addition to the Negro Leagues, he played in the California League, Mexican League, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and numerous tournaments around the country. It also covers hi
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Aug 13, 2009
Richard
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I was looking forward to this new biography as I have a vague memory of seeing him when I was just learning about baseball. Whether in fact I saw him or am just suffering from one of those ‘recovered memories,’ I’m not sure.
Anyway, initially I was disappointed by this book. When I finished it, I didn’t feel I ‘knew’ Leroy “Satchel Paige in the way say I felt I ‘knew’ Lincoln from Ronald White’s recent biography.
I certainly learned a lot about Satch from Tye’s biography, More...
Anyway, initially I was disappointed by this book. When I finished it, I didn’t feel I ‘knew’ Leroy “Satchel Paige in the way say I felt I ‘knew’ Lincoln from Ronald White’s recent biography.
I certainly learned a lot about Satch from Tye’s biography, More...
Dec 27, 2009
Elizabeth
rated it:
This was decent enough, and certainly an interesting subject. I have a lot of sympathy for the author, for it was apparent that he was caught up in a very understandable quandary involving how much background to include. Can you understand the career of Satchel Paige without understanding the Negro Leagues and can you understand the Negro Leagues without understanding Jim Crow and on and on. It landed in one of those places that is probably too much for some readers and not nearly enough for
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Aug 10, 2010
Barry
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Larry Tye did an excellent job of writing about the myth and legend of the man Leroy Satchel Paige. From his impoverished upbringing in the Jim Crow city of Mobile, Alabama to the black reform school at Meigs, Alabama, to the baseball Hall of Fame, Tye covers all the foibles that made up the legend of Satchel. Few of the baseball fans in America ever saw Paige play because of Jim Crow laws and the segregationist attitude of Major League Baseball. That was both Paige and baseball's loss. Paige'
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May 07, 2010
Richard
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A biography of Leroy Satchel Paige, a detailed and well written account of this American baseball idol who had to live with segregation both professionally and as a baseball player and personally as a citizen. He is, probably, the greatest American baseball pitcher, ever, black or white. He was a character, not only in what he did, but also in what he said. He was the 3rd black man to play in the Major Leagues and probably should have been the first, but because of his young age, Jackie Robin
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