The Truth About Satchel PaigeRandy Shawbyline‚ Jul. 16‚ 2009I met Satchel Paige in 1971, as he was walking to a bus to go to an Oldtimers Game at the “Big A” Anaheim Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Angels. I felt I was in the presence of a mythic figure. I “knew” Paige’s baseball history, and he played on my favorite Strat-O-Matic Baseball team, the 1948 Cleveland Indians. But it is fair to say after reading Larry Tye’s Satchel that nobody really knew Satchel Paige, not his teammates, friends, or even his wives. Tye’s book is a treasure, providing the most definitive account of Paige since the Hall of Famer pitched his first game over eighty years ago. Tye portrays Satchel Paige as a happy-go-lucky guy, but at times this is a profoundly sad and moving book. Consider this: despite Jim Crow racism, Jesse Owens won Olympic gold medals, Joe Louis became heavyweight champion, Louis Armstrong was a jazz legend, and Paul Robeson was a star actor. But Jim Crow denied Satchel Paige the national stage he deserved, which was a loss to all baseball fans, but particularly for Paige himself. |