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Fire Ant Books
Satchel Paige's America
Captures the sometimes outrageous, often humorous, and always bigger-than-life spirit of the World's Greatest Pitcher, Leroy Satchel Paige
This book began when the author met "the Satch" for the first time at the Twilight Zone Lounge of the Rhythm Lanes Bowling Alley in Kansas City. What started as a simple interview for Holiday magazine quickly grew into an animated conversation that lasted nearly a week as Paige and Fox moved from bar to club to restaurant to auto repair shop and from one topic to the next. Fox describes, with amazement, the reception the legendary baseball player received at Gates' Place, a famous barbecue restaurant, and The Flamingo, a big dance club. Over the course of the week, Paige shared stories about his start in the Negro leagues, his time with the Kansas City Monarchs, and barnstorming around the country, sleeping on the ground because there were no hotels for blacks. He also tells of his breakthrough to the big leagues when he signed with the Cleveland Indians and later pitched two shutouts against the Chicago White Sox. In addition to his baseball career, Paige tells Fox about his childhood in Mobile, Alabama, catching fish during the Jubilee, throwing rocks at white boys, hustling bags at the train station, and working in the Depression era medicine shows. In contrast to these humble beginnings, Satchel recounts his later connections with film and music celebrities like Orson Welles, Jelly Roll Morton, Billie Holliday, and Cab Calloway. He also expounds on his friendships with other sports greats, including Goose Tatum, Meadowlark Lemon, and Sugar Ray Robinson. The ironic intersections between oppression and fame, and between poverty and wealth, that emerge from Paige's narrative memoir exemplify the affliction of talent and genius in an era of racial discrimination and segregation.
This book began when the author met "the Satch" for the first time at the Twilight Zone Lounge of the Rhythm Lanes Bowling Alley in Kansas City. What started as a simple interview for Holiday magazine quickly grew into an animated conversation that lasted nearly a week as Paige and Fox moved from bar to club to restaurant to auto repair shop and from one topic to the next. Fox describes, with amazement, the reception the legendary baseball player received at Gates' Place, a famous barbecue restaurant, and The Flamingo, a big dance club. Over the course of the week, Paige shared stories about his start in the Negro leagues, his time with the Kansas City Monarchs, and barnstorming around the country, sleeping on the ground because there were no hotels for blacks. He also tells of his breakthrough to the big leagues when he signed with the Cleveland Indians and later pitched two shutouts against the Chicago White Sox. In addition to his baseball career, Paige tells Fox about his childhood in Mobile, Alabama, catching fish during the Jubilee, throwing rocks at white boys, hustling bags at the train station, and working in the Depression era medicine shows. In contrast to these humble beginnings, Satchel recounts his later connections with film and music celebrities like Orson Welles, Jelly Roll Morton, Billie Holliday, and Cab Calloway. He also expounds on his friendships with other sports greats, including Goose Tatum, Meadowlark Lemon, and Sugar Ray Robinson. The ironic intersections between oppression and fame, and between poverty and wealth, that emerge from Paige's narrative memoir exemplify the affliction of talent and genius in an era of racial discrimination and segregation.
152 pages, Paperback
First published March 16, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 6, 2020
After reading William Price Fox's "Satchel Paige's America," I'm not sure if it's a biography or the makings of a Broadway play or movie. Neither does the author! In the postscript, Fox said, "It's not a novel or a biography, as a matter of cold fact I don't think I know what it is."
That said, Paige's larger-than-life personality jumps off the pages of whatever you care to call the book. The author first met Paige in the 1970s at the Twilight Zone Lounge of the Rhythm Lanes Bowling Alley in Kansas City, Missouri, Paige's home town at the time. For the next week, Fox followed Paige around town to Gates Barbecue, the Flamingo Club, the Club Oasis, the Muhlebach Hotel, Paige's home, the Midas Muffler Shop and a park.
Along the way, Paige reflected on his decades-long baseball career that included the peak years of the Negro Leagues, Mexico and the Caribbean before he finally got a chance to play major league ball with the Cleveland Indians at age 41 or 42 in 1948.
His description of trying out for the Indians is one of the best parts of book.
"Now this may seem hard to believe but it's as gospel as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I got my Cleveland Indians tryout on the exact day of my birthday July seventh," Paige told Fox. "OK, that was 1948 and I'm exactly forty-two years old and I was so nervous and scared I was about to jump right out of my skin." (Baseball-reference.com lists Paige's age in 1948 as 41. If the tryout actually occurred on July 7, 1948, Paige would have turned 42 that day.)
Readers looking for more insight on Paige's days in the Negro Leagues will be disappointed because he doesn't mention that experience until page 88. However, he credits Kansas City Monarchs owner J.L. Wilkinson of Algona, Iowa, and general manager Tom Baird with saving his career after a "dead" arm in 1938 threatened his career.
All in all, it's a good, easy read for summer time. Fox didn't record his conversations with Paige; neither did he take notes. (Fox feared Paige would clam up if he saw a recorder or would want to edit his notes. So Fox must have a pretty sharp memory to get down what Paige said with the inflection that the baseball legend used.)
Even though it's difficult to put "Satchel Paige's America" into a certain category, Fox describes it as "my favorite" of the things he's written. As of the book's printing, Fox had written nine books.
That said, Paige's larger-than-life personality jumps off the pages of whatever you care to call the book. The author first met Paige in the 1970s at the Twilight Zone Lounge of the Rhythm Lanes Bowling Alley in Kansas City, Missouri, Paige's home town at the time. For the next week, Fox followed Paige around town to Gates Barbecue, the Flamingo Club, the Club Oasis, the Muhlebach Hotel, Paige's home, the Midas Muffler Shop and a park.
Along the way, Paige reflected on his decades-long baseball career that included the peak years of the Negro Leagues, Mexico and the Caribbean before he finally got a chance to play major league ball with the Cleveland Indians at age 41 or 42 in 1948.
His description of trying out for the Indians is one of the best parts of book.
"Now this may seem hard to believe but it's as gospel as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I got my Cleveland Indians tryout on the exact day of my birthday July seventh," Paige told Fox. "OK, that was 1948 and I'm exactly forty-two years old and I was so nervous and scared I was about to jump right out of my skin." (Baseball-reference.com lists Paige's age in 1948 as 41. If the tryout actually occurred on July 7, 1948, Paige would have turned 42 that day.)
Readers looking for more insight on Paige's days in the Negro Leagues will be disappointed because he doesn't mention that experience until page 88. However, he credits Kansas City Monarchs owner J.L. Wilkinson of Algona, Iowa, and general manager Tom Baird with saving his career after a "dead" arm in 1938 threatened his career.
All in all, it's a good, easy read for summer time. Fox didn't record his conversations with Paige; neither did he take notes. (Fox feared Paige would clam up if he saw a recorder or would want to edit his notes. So Fox must have a pretty sharp memory to get down what Paige said with the inflection that the baseball legend used.)
Even though it's difficult to put "Satchel Paige's America" into a certain category, Fox describes it as "my favorite" of the things he's written. As of the book's printing, Fox had written nine books.
January 23, 2018
William Price Fox and James Dickey had a TV show called Writers Workshop where they talked to everyone from Nora Epron to Tom Wolfe the transcripts of that show would make a creative writing guide on par with The Elements of Style and Writing Well...it would remain in print for the next 40 years.
November 15, 2007
Reading this book was like sitting across the table from Satchel Paige and picking his brains.
Not only is Satchel one of the greatest pitchers baseball has ever seen, he also happens to be one of the most entertaining storytellers.
If you're looking for juicy tidbits, or insights as to the integration of baseball, or the workings of the Negro Leagues, I can't say that you'll find it here. It's not so much what Satchel says, it's how he says it.
One of those books you pick up and read from cover to cover before putting down again.
Not only is Satchel one of the greatest pitchers baseball has ever seen, he also happens to be one of the most entertaining storytellers.
If you're looking for juicy tidbits, or insights as to the integration of baseball, or the workings of the Negro Leagues, I can't say that you'll find it here. It's not so much what Satchel says, it's how he says it.
One of those books you pick up and read from cover to cover before putting down again.
May 16, 2011
Learned about this book from Greg Proops' podcast.
Proops said it was a great book, and if anything he understated it. This book was amazing, Fox set out to record Paige's voice above all else and he succeeded brilliantly. It makes an excellent companion piece to Larry Tye's more traditional biography. I recommend reading Tye's book first so you know the course of Paige's life, and then following up with this one which gives a very strong sense of Paige's charisma and personality.
Proops said it was a great book, and if anything he understated it. This book was amazing, Fox set out to record Paige's voice above all else and he succeeded brilliantly. It makes an excellent companion piece to Larry Tye's more traditional biography. I recommend reading Tye's book first so you know the course of Paige's life, and then following up with this one which gives a very strong sense of Paige's charisma and personality.
August 5, 2007
An easy, quick read; very entertaining! Satchel Paige was a real character -- full of stories. William Price Fox (shout out: a writer-in-residence at U of South Carolina, my alma mater) exposes the reader to a side of Satch rarely seen.
April 24, 2008
Boy this sucked. Satchel Paige seems like a fascinating old bastard, but the author just talks about himself and his asinine, juvenile fantasies about baseball and, like, what it means, and stuff. Yeah. Blowhard.
May 6, 2011
Capturing a misunderstood American Icon in his own words.
December 22, 2019
Excellent "time capsule", capturing a baseball icon in the later stages of his life, as well as his take on his career.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews