A record of the experiences of the 1st Negro to break into major league baseball

Breakthrough to the Big League

ROBINSON, JACKIE

Sports & Outdoors

Harpercollins

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.

I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson

Reference

Ecco

"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

I NEVER HAD IT MADE.

Biographies

PUTNAM. NY 1972

In relating his life, Robinson reveals the struggles of a black athlete in the white-dominated world of American sports

I Never Had It Made

Children's Books

Penguin Adult HC/TR

I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography

A straightforward yet inspiring story of what it took to be the first man of color to break into the white world of professional sports. Jackie Robinson's story is more than a telling of his tremendous talent; it is also a recollection that showcases his tenacious spirit, bravery and the courage of his ideals. From the early influences of family and friends, to his time at UCLA, to the army where he challenged racism and Jim Crow laws, Jackie Robinson traces his life to playing in the black leagues, frustrated by the abuses and restrictions of second-class status in professional baseball. As Branch Rickey, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, began to look around for a player to break the color barrier in 1946, he knew he needed a man of character who could withstand the pressures of his "Noble Experiment." Choosing Robinson gave both of them the chance to prove what they believed in. Struggles that continued in his personal life and in response to the turbulent sixties are interpreted with insight by Robinson and will give listeners an added appreciation for the amazing strength of his character.

Biographies & Memoirs

Sagebrush Education Resources

Jackie Robinson

Benjamin, Lisa

Zaner-Bloser.Inc

In relating his life, Robinson reveals the struggles of a Black athlete in the white-dominated world of American sports

Duckett, Alfred

Community & Culture

Ecco Pr

“That’s what this book is about . . . how integration has come to baseball and how it can be achieved in every corner of the land.”—Jackie Robinson
Back in print for the first time since its initial publication in 1964, Baseball Has Done It is an oral history of baseball and racial integration as told by its greatest players to the man who broke the color line, Jackie Robinson. This one-of-a-kind classic features rare and candid interviews conducted by Robinson with ballplayers who played and lived through the first generation of racial integration in baseball. A who’s who of baseball legends—Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Roy Campanella, Alvin Dark, Larry Doby, Carl Erskine, Elston Howard, Monte Irvin, Don Newcombe, Frank Robinson and Bill White—share the spotlight with players from the Negro Leagues, baseball executives like Branch Rickey and Ford Frick and Jackie Robinson himself to create a diverse look at the effects of integration on baseball and society. Much more than a sports book, Baseball Has Done It is an important document of the struggle for civil rights in the United States, one that speaks to the past while looking toward the future, with the belief that if baseball has done it—achieve integration—the rest of society can too. As Jackie Robinson said, “The ballplayers who have spoken in these pages have told the truth. They reveal that total integration is the only cure for the disease of hatred which is afflicting our America!”
This first-ever reprint edition will feature an introduction from the Academy Award-winning director Spike Lee as well as a selection of vintage photographs that were specifically selected for this new edition.

Baseball Has Done It

Ig Publishing

This book consists of poems based on personal life experiences by the author and/or associates along with family members. These poems depict situations ranging from adolescence to adulthood and greatly identifies with the vast majority of our present culture.

NEXUS OF THE MIND: A JOURNEY WITHIN

Religion & Spirituality

New Age & Spirituality

Independently published

Jackie Robinson: My Own Story

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Smith, Wendell

Kessinger Publishing

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by ROBINSON, JACKIE. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by ROBINSON, JACKIE

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by ROBINSON, JACKIE. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Breakthrough to the Big League

I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson

I NEVER HAD IT MADE.

I Never Had It Made

I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography

Jackie Robinson

I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography

Baseball Has Done It

NEXUS OF THE MIND: A JOURNEY WITHIN

Jackie Robinson: My Own Story