Jackie Robinson - I Never Had It Made

Normally I don't enjoy autobiographies, but I did thoroughly enjoy this one.  Jackie Robinson is one of the iconic figures of our time.  He was the first African-American major league baseball player in 1947 when owner Branch Rickey siigned him to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers. 

Integrating baseball was tough going.  It took a special person to start it off.  JR was that perfect person.  It is impossible to give Robinson and Rickey too much credit.  Other forces were at work to integrate baseball, and Jackie Robinson in 1947 was not the whole story, but nothing can take away from that story either.

The NY Yankees did not have have a black player until Elston Howard in 1955.  The Boston Red Sox were the last team to integrate.  They didn't have their first black player until 1959.  That's hard to believe but it's true.

Jack Roosevelt Robinson (named after TR) was born in Cairo, Georgia.  His father abandoned the family and luckily the mother was able to move the family to Pasedena, California, where her brother lived.  It's a good thing JR grew up in California rather than Georgia.

JR grew up fighting racial slights.  It was in his nature not to take anything off anybody.  He seemed indifferent to school, but attended Pasadena JC and went from there to UCLA where he littered in four sports.  That would be unheard of today.  He probably could have played professional football.

Fortunately he went the baseball route.  Rickey carefully prepared the way and after playing a year in Montreal where he was treated wonderfully well by the more racially liberal Canadians, he came to play for the Dodgers in 1947.  He promised Branch Rickey that for the first year he would take the insults and the abuse and not retaliate.  JR kept his promise.

The rest is not exactly history for Jackie Robinson.  He had a tumultous career.  His aggressive style of baseball raised hackles, not just because of the color of his skin, but because, well, he played the game hard.  He was electric in the field and particularly on the basepaths; his specialty was stealing home.  Is there anything more exciting in baseball than seeing someone steal home?

After Rickey left the Dodgers for the Pirates, JR didn't get along with new owner Walter O'Malley, the ownder who took the Dodgers to L.A. in 1958.  After the '56 season the Dodgers traded JR to the Giants.  What an insult.  But JR retired and went on to a successful business career.  He died in 1972 from complications from diabetes.

He was active in politics and early on was a Republican.  This was back when there were actually liberal Republicans.  It seems that JR never lost his affection for Nelson Rockefeller and that is OK because Rockefeller was a true liberal and would certainly be a Democrat today. I sort of remember Robinson as a Republican but never would have gussed his affection for Nelson Rockefeller.  He makes Rocky sound like a really good fellow.   Over time Jackie learned the truth about Republicans and people like Richard Nixon and Barry Goldwater.  He supported Hubert Humphrey in 1968.

The saddest part of his life was the death of Jackie, Jr. at the age of 24.  The son battled alcohol and drug addiction and was clean for 3 years before passing away from an auto accident.

His wife Rachel is still alive.  His other son and daughter are still alive and doing well as far as I know.

Jackie Robinson was a true icon and hero for our time.

He ends his story by repeating "I Never Had it Made" as if he is compelled to say that he had to earn everything that he achieved in life.  Okay.  I believe you, Jackie.  Maybe in life a good defense is the best offsense.