Only the Ball Was White, inspired by Robert Peterson's book published in 1970, is the sort of documentary you might expect to see during Black History Month--if you were a sixth-grader circa 1973. But as a documentary of any depth or comprehensive historical background, the film is a cursory glance that falls woefully short of being anything other than an introduction to an introduction to a history lesson. The film gives a rudimentary historical look at the Negro League, which existed because baseball was a segregated sport until 1947, when Branch Rickey brought Jackie Robinson to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, desegregating the sport. The film basically covers the official formation of the Negro League in the early 1920s, but glosses over the rich history of blacks in baseball that dates back to the 1880s. And because of the abbreviated runtime of the film, Only the Ball Was White barely begins to scratch the surface of the rich history of the league, its 24 teams or the hundreds of players. Instead, you get a quick introduction to some of the more well-known players to rise up from the ranks of the Negro League, including Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Roy Campanella, and a historical overview that seems to be playing in fast-forward mode.

Produced and directed by Ken Solarz in 1980, the film actually looks like most of the "contemporary" footage comes from the early 1970s. The result is a documentary that shows its age in a way that makes it seem more like an odd time capsule piece, and can create the incorrect illusion that the film is not as important as it really is.

I want to be very careful not to sound like I'm condemning Only the Ball Was White, because I do think it is an important documentary. At the same time it is too short, and not nearly as comprehensive as it needs to be. For someone who knows nothing about the Negro Leagues, this might serve as a nice way to get them started, but it never comes close to being any sort of indispensable source of information. Taken on those terms, and as long as it clearly understood exactly what it is, then the film has some merit. And if you watched it with the made-for-cable Soul of the Game and the classic Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings, you might be on your way to scratching the surface of Negro League Baseball.

Video:
Only the Ball Was White is presented in full screen format. The picture quality varies, as the film itself is made up of old archival footage and footage shot sometime in the 1970s, as well as what appears to be really old video footage, also from the 1970s.

Audio:
Only the Ball Was White is presented in 2.0 mono. Considering the source material, and the rest of the presentation on this disc, the sound isn't all that bad. The levels are consistent throughout.

Bonus Material:
Are you kidding? There isn't even a menu on this disc.

Final Thoughts:
If you are big into baseball history or Negro League Baseball, you will definitely want to watch Only the Ball Was White, as it does have merits as an educational tool. Since it is only 30 minutes long, you have to ask yourself how much you're willing to pay for either rental or purchase.