I Never Had It Made by Jackie Robinson; Alfred Duckett (As told to)Call Number: Gen Coll GV865.R6 A3 1995
ISBN: 0880014199
Publication Date: 1995-04-01
"The autobiography of a boy of summer who became a man for all seasons. Jackie Robinson, America's most celebrated baseball hero, the first black man with enough talent and endurance to break through into the white world of professional sports, tells a life both tragic and triumphant. He was the grandson of a slave. He was saved from becoming a juvenile delinquent by the affection and guidance of his mother, a sympathetic friend, and a young minister. His talent for all sports made him the first four-letter man in the history of UCLA. While there, he met Rachel Isum, who became his wife, the most important person in his life." "The Jim Crow Army of World War II court-martialed him for refusing to move to the back of a bus and threatened a dishonorable discharge. After the war he began to play baseball in one of the black leagues. But again, his talent set him apart and brought him to his moment of destiny, a carefully planned meeting with Mr. Branch Rickey, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers." "At this historic meeting he agreed to become a principal in an arrangement that was to become a legend in the sports world, the Noble Experiment. He became the first black man invited to play in the big leagues." "The years of brilliant victories which it took to win the respect and admiration of the sports world are all here. You learn how the Noble Experiment revolutionized baseball. You relive the exciting moments of some great games, the winning of pennants, and finally his election to the Hall of Fame." "After the game was over, it was a vice-presidency with Chock Full O'Nuts that became a springboard for three new careers - business, politics, and civil rights." "Throughout there are the children - Jackie Jr., Sharon, and David - all growing up with the anxieties of a quickly changing world. There is Jackie Jr.'s addiction to drugs, his extraordinary rehabilitation, and his tragic death. A remarkable but human family comes to life in these pages." "You also learn about the civil rights movement, from the NAACP to Jesse Jackson's Operation Breadbasket, the founding of the Freedom National Bank, the various political alliances and encounters." "And finally, you learn why Jackie Robinson discovered that no matter what his successes were in the white world, he would always remain a black man. This honest, hard-hitting autobiography tells the story of the voyage to that discovery by one of the great baseball stars of all time."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved