i never had it made

[Zac]

Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, he was from Georgia. Jackie was the first black guy to play in the Major League Baseball. He went through a lot, and had many people call him names, and got many nasty letters. After Jackie there were many blacks playing baseball.

The theme in the book is that whatever race you are, you can still do anything you desire. Everyone hated that the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson. White people didn’t want a black person playing baseball with a bunch of white guys. “Jackie was good, so it was hard for the Dodger fans.” His own teammates wouldn't even talk to him, or they would be mean to him. Him, his wife, and his son were threaten a lot of times, it was hard on Jackie, but he pushed through and kept doing what he loved, playing baseball.

The setting in the book was Brooklyn, Dodgers field, other baseball fields, and his home. Him and his family had to move homes because people were threatening him to kill his son. He was thrown at many times by pitchers, he got hit a lot of the time because the pitchers were doing that. The fans would throw thing at him and say some mean names to him.


This book is a great book and I recommend it to everyone. This book can teach you many things, and what people went through back in the day. People were mean and racist, and that's not good at all. This book made me realize how good I have it, and i'm so grateful I haven't gone through anything like that. Read this book, it is so good!

[Scotty]

“I Never Had It Made” is a great read for any sports or baseball junkie. I think most people know Robinson’s story; however, we rarely get to hear it from his own perspective. Robinson shares accounts from his earliest days to his latest years and constant adversity he had to fight through in order to accomplish his aspirations. Despite all the negativity, Robinson persevered and stayed composed and never changed the things he valued the most. In addition to having an incredible baseball career, he remained a loyal family man throughout his entire life. Most people who don’t know his story forget that outside of his career with the Dodgers, he was an awesome four sport athlete for UCLA, which is both a prestigious academic and athletic institution. After his days as a Bruin, Robinson even served for his country before returning to find a job in professional baseball’s negro leagues. He describes the adversity and difficulties of maintaining his relationship with his partner Rachel. He overcomes all doubt as usual and made things work out. After getting his opportunity from the Brooklyn Dodgers of Major League Baseball (today’s Los Angeles Dodgers), Jackie faces challenges with teammates, opponents, and especially opposing fans. He stays composed as best he can throughout it all and he won over a lot of people in the process. Anyone who gives this book a chance will have a great appreciation of his not only his career, but more importantly, who Jackie Robinson is as a person.