I Never Had It Made: An Autobiograhy - Hardcover

Jackie Robinson; Alfred Duckett

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399110100 ISBN 13: 9780399110108

Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1972

Synopsis

"I guess if I could choose one of the most important moments in my life, I would go back to 1947 in Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was the opening day of the world series, and I was for the first time playing in the series as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers team. It was a history-making day. It would be the first time that a black man would be allowed to participate in a world series. I had become the first black player in the major leagues.

"I was proud of that, and yet I was uneasy. I was proud to be in the hurricane eye of a significant breakthrough and to be used to prove that a sport can't be called national if blacks are barred from it. Branch Rickey, the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, had rudely awakened America. He had chosen me as the person to lead the way.

"It hadn't been easy to fight the resentment expressed by players on other teams and by their owners and the bigoted fans screaming 'nigger.' The hate mail piled up. There were threats against me and my family and even out-and-out attempts at physical harm to me. In one game a black cat was thrown at me from the stands.

"But on that historic day in 1947 the air was sparkling and the sunlight was warm. The band struck up the national anthem. It should have been a glorious moment for me as the stirring words poured from the stands. However, as I write these words twenty years later, I cannot stand and sing the national anthem. I have learned that I remain a black man in a white world. I never had it made."
-Jackie Robinson

About this title

From the Back Cover:

The Autobiography of a Boy of Summer Who Became a Man for All Seasons

Before Barry Bonds, before Reggie Jackson, before Hank Aaron, baseball's stars had one undeniable trait in common: they were all white. In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke that barrier, striking a crucial blow for racial equality and changing the world of sports forever. I Never Had It Made is Robinson's own candid, hard-hitting account of what it took to become the first black man in history to play in the major leagues.

I Never Had It Made recalls Robinson's early years and influences: his time at UCLA, where he became the school's first four-letter athlete; his army stint during World War II, when he challenged Jim Crow laws and narrowly escaped court martial; his years of frustration, on and off the field, with the Negro Leagues; and finally that fateful day when Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers proposed what became known as the "Noble Experiment"—Robinson would step up to bat to integrate and revolutionize baseball.

More than a baseball story, I Never Had It Made also reveals the highs and lows of Robinson's life after baseball. He recounts his political aspirations and civil rights activism; his friendships with Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, William Buckley, Jr., and Nelson Rockefeller; and his troubled relationship with his son, Jackie, Jr.

Originally published the year Robinson died, I Never Had It Made endures as an inspiring story of a man whose heroism extended well beyond the playing field.

About the Author:

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was an American baseball player who became the first black Major League Baseball (MLB) player of the modern era.

About this edition

• Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons
• Publication date: 1972
• ISBN 10: 0399110100
• ISBN 13: 9780399110108
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 287