Satch & Me (13 page)

Most of the information in this book came from reading lots of books about Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and the Negro Leagues. If you'd like to learn more, ask your librarian for these:

 

Bruce, Janet.
The Kansas City Monarchs:
Champions of Black Baseball
. Lawrence, Kans.: University Press of Kansas, 1985.

Eckstut, Arielle, and David Sterry, editors.
Satchel Sez: The Wit, Wisdom, and World of Leroy “Satchel” Paige
. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2001.

Heward, Bill, with Dimitri V. Gat.
Some Are Called Clowns: A Season with the Last of the Great Barnstorming Baseball Teams
. New York: Crowell, 1974.

Holway, John.
Blackball Stars: Negro League Pioneers
. Westport, Conn.: Meckler, 1988.

Holway, John.
Josh and Satch: The Life and Times of Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige
. New York: Carroll & Graf, 1992.

Paige, Leroy Satchel, as told to David Lipman.
Maybe I'll Pitch Forever.
New York: Doubleday, 1962.

Paige, Leroy Satchel, as told to Hal Lebovitz.
Pitchin' Man: Satchel Paige's Own Story.
Westport, Conn.: Meckler, 1948.

Peterson, Robert.
Only the Ball Was White
. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1970.

Ribowsky, Mark.
Don't Look Back: Satchel Paige in the Shadows of Baseball
. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.

Ribowsky, Mark.
The Power and the Darkness: The Life of Josh Gibson in the Shadows of the Game
. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.

Rogosin, Donn.
Invisible Men: Life in Baseball's Negro Leagues
. New York: Macmillan, 1985.

• —Avoid fried meats which angry up the blood.
  
• —If your stomach disputes you, lie down and pacify it with cool thoughts.
  
• —Keep the juices flowing by jangling around gently as you move.
  
• —Go very light on the vices, such as carrying on in society—the social ramble ain't restful.
  
• —Avoid running at all times.
  
• —And don't look back. Something might be gaining on you.
  

The author would like to acknowledge the following for use of photographs and artwork: National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, NY: 26, 36, 59, 104, 110. George Strock/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images: 72. Nina Wallace: 7, 99, 132. Collection of John Holway: 134, 144.

 

“Satchel Paige's Rules for Staying Young” were originally published in
Collier's
magazine, June 13, 1953.

Thanks to Bill Burdick of the National Baseball Hall of Fame; John Zajc, Wayne Stivers, and Larry Lester of the Society for American Baseball Research; Marilyn Holt of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh; John Holway; my wife, Nina Wallace; and all the folks at HarperCollins Children's Books.

 

Many thanks also to the great people I met at the schools I visited in 2005:

In Alabama: Brookwood, Mountain Brook, and Cherokee Bend schools in Mountain Brook.

In Arizona: Desert Sun, Pima, Desert Canyon, Laguna, Hohokam, Cochise, Sonoran Sky, and ANLC schools in Scottsdale.

In Connecticut: Ledyard Center School in Ledyard; Butler School in Mystic; Noank School in Noank; Fairfield Country Day School in Fairfield; and Adams, Cox, Jones, Guilford Lakes, and Baldwin Middle School in Guilford.

In Georgia: Lovett School in Atlanta and Dolvin
School in Alpharetta.

In Iowa: Welton and Ekstrand Schools in Welton, Briggs School in Maquoketa, and Camanche School in Camanche.

In Massachusetts: Fessenden School in West Newton and Tenacre County Day School and Fiske School in Wellesley.

In Michigan: Forest, Longacre, Flanders, Gill, Hillside, Beechview, Wooddale, Wood Creek, Eagle, HCC, Lanigan, Grace, and Kenbrook Schools in Farmington Hills.

In Minnesota: Groveland School in Minnetonka, Deephaven School in Wayzata, and Minnewashta School in Excelsior.

In New Jersey: Horace Mann School in Cherry Hill, Strawbridge School in Haddon Township, Tatem and Lizzie Haddon Schools in Haddonfield, Yellin School in Stratford, Indian Fields School in Dayton, Deerfield School in Short Hills, Roosevelt School in River Edge, Stillwater School in Stillwater, McGinn School in Scotch Plains, Lincoln School in Nutley, H. B. Whitehorne Middle School and Brown School in Verona, Chatham Middle School in Chatham, Deerfield School in Mountainside, Yardville School in Yardville, and Hartford School in Mount Laurel.

In New York: Mount Kisco School in Mount Kisco, Bronxville School in Bronxville, Jefferson School in New Rochelle, and Riverdale Country School in the Bronx.

In Oklahoma: Washington, Eisenhower, Madison, Truman, Wilson, Jackson, Cleveland, Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Monroe Schools in Norman.

In Oregon: Errol Hassell School in Aloha; Scholls Heights and Cooper Mountain Schools in Beaverton; and Wismer, Ridgewood, West Tualatin View, and Montclair Schools in Portland.

In Pennsylvania: Colonial School in Plymouth Meeting; Friends Central School in Wynnewood; Seville, Perrysville, and Ross Schools in Pittsburgh; Jenkintown School in Jenkintown; Newtown Friends School in Newtown; Annville School in Annville; Paradise and Salisbury Schools in Pequea Valley; Buckingham School in Buckingham; and Cold Spring, Gayman, and Kutz Schools in Doylestown.

In Rhode Island: Dunn's Corners School in Westerly and Bradford School in Bradford.