"A valuable biography of Paige, who as baseball's first black superstar blazed a trail throughout the Americas that both revealed the economic rationale for integration and exposed white Americans to the abundant talent exclused from organized baseball."—Missouri Historical Review
"Spivey adds an important book to a literature that is relatively sparse given Paige's fame and long career."—The Journal of Southern History
"The problem with legendary figures like Satchel Paige is that their accomplishments are often buried under an accumulation of exaggerations and fables. In his biography of Paige, historian Donald Spivey digs through the mythology to present the first scholarly account of the great pitcher's life. The result of more than a decade of research, ‘If You Were Only White’: The Life of Leroy ‘Satchel’ Paige shows that, even without embellishment, Paige's life was epic, sometimes turbulent, and often humorous."—New Books Network
"Spivey (history, Univ. of Miami) offers an engrossing, exhaustively researched biography of Paige (1906-82), one of baseball's most memorable personalities. Spivey's work spans Paige's lifetime, and he culls information from a variety of sources…As Spivey shows, Paige's life traced the arc of American race relations not only in baseball but in all of American society."—Choice
"This is an excellent biography of Satchel Paige. Spivey has crafted a book that provides readers with interesting and significant information about one of the most legendary figures in American sport history. Most importantly, Spivey offers a very balanced view of Paige's life, willing to discuss weaknesses as well as strengths, and likes as well as dislikes."—David K. Wiggins, author of Glory Bound: Black Athletes in a White America
"This incisive and important biography of Satchel Paige—one of the true legends of American sports, who was the heart and soul of Negro League Baseball—gives us a vivid picture of 'the world's greatest pitcher' and the times that shaped him and were shaped by him. An essential book not only for baseball fans and scholars but for those interested in American Studies and the history of American race relations.”—Gerald Early, author of A Level Playing Field: African American Athletes and the Republic of Sports
"Read this book only if you are interested in sports or history or twentieth century America. Skip it if you don't like great stories. Certainly don't bother if you have no interest in charismatic, larger–than–life heroes. But if you've ever heard of Satchel Paige, this book is for you. And if you've never heard of Satchel Paige, this book is especially for you."—Elliott Gorn, author of The Manly Art: Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting in America
"My original fears of more recycled stores about the legendary Satchel Paige were unfounded upon reading If You Were Only White. Donald Spivey has discovered new information with the most detailed early-day research of Paige's troubled youth, early professional days and personal life, ever published. The author has closed some serious historical gaps regarding baseball's most prolific pitcher. A fantastic and comprehensive read with accounts so contagious you will want to turn the pages."—Larry Lester, Chairman of the Negro Leagues Committee of SABR
