"Some people say Josh Gibson died of a brain hemorrhage. I say he died of a broken heart," claims Ted Page in Josh Gibson. Page had been an outfielder and teammate of Gibson, and the two had palled around for many years. Page reports Gibson's ill health, but remarks that the last he saw of Gibson, the big man still joked with him as he had when they played together. Holway gives to Page the chance to express what Satchel Paige and other players said of Gibson's death: He died of a broken heart.

Page is one of many colorful characters who populate Josh Gibson, as may reasonably be expected of an account of Gibson's flamboyant life. While these figures are not developed in depth, their interaction with Gibson is recounted in enough detail to make clear their importance in Gibson's life. For instance...