Don't Look Back: Satchel Paige in the Shadows of Baseball

Such disparate baseball greats as Dizzy Dean and Bob Feller declared that Satchel Paige was the best pitcher ever. Born shortly after the turn of the century (he was cagey about his birthdate), Paige, who died in 1982, played in the Negro Leagues from 1921 to 1948, jumping from team to team as the salary dictated. He pitched in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Venezuela and joined many barnstorming tours. Because of his high box-office appeal, Paige commanded top-dollar and was often unpopular with poorly paid teammates. Signing on with the Cleveland Indians in 1948, he helped the team win the world championship that year. On the All-Star squads of 1952 and 1953, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1971. In this prodigiously researched sports biography, freelance writer Ribowsky astutely captures this complex, often difficult athlete. Photos not seen by PW. (Mar.)