Baseball as American

Fall 2014
Discussion Questions for I Never Had it Made: the Autobiography of Jackie Robinson
1. There are numerous cases of ‘the first person to do ______.’ There is the first African American
female to become a judge, the first African American to receive an Academy Award, and the list
goes on. Why is Jackie Robinson’s role as the ‘first African American man to play Major League
Baseball' especially important for America? Does baseball in general, or Major League Baseball
have anything to do with that?

2. This book was published in 1972. How realistic do these African American experiences regarding
racial bigotry and segregation feel considering that you were born in an era in which many
professional athletes are African Americans?

3. On p. 76, Jackie Robinson says, “I suffered then because I hoped to provide a better future for
my children and for young black people everywhere, and because I naively believed that my
sacrifices might help a little to make America the kind of country it was supposed to be.” Do you
think Americans have achieved much in terms of racial equality during the past 40 years? Is it
only in sports? What about education? Living conditions? Was Robinson really naïve? If not, did
his sacrifices make a difference? If so, in what?

4. Throughout the book, Jackie Robinson states that many people unwillingly succumbed to the
idea of integration in baseball ONLY after they realized that integration would bring more
financial benefits. Can we truly say that we are making moral progress if we change our
behaviors and stereotypes because doing so will result in more money?

5. Jackie Robinson repeatedly gives credit to his supporters for his success. They include Mr.
Rickey, his wife, African American baseball fans, and many political figures. Which supporter, do
you think, played the most crucial role in his success and why?

6. An ample portion of the latter half of the book is devoted to the story of Jackie Robinson’s son,
Jackie Jr. He tells of the pressure his son must have felt due to the ceaseless comparison to his
father from his neighbors and onlookers. Jackie Jr. had academic and drug problems, and was
untimely killed in a car accident at the age of 24. Would you rather have a father who is hero to
all, or a father who is a hero just to you? What are the perks and downsides of having a celebrity
as your father?
7. There is a term invented by Sigmund Freud called ‘Parapraxis.’ It means ‘slip of the tongue,’
referring to an incident in which a person says something that he does not intend. However, this
term applies to literature also. The writing might reveal what the author does not intend.
Autobiographies are sometimes filled with Parapraxis. Can you find any in the first part of the
book? For example, in the second part he talks at length about his son (and only his first son)
when he is busy talking about how politically involved he was. Doing that may show he feels
guilty or that he is trying to vindicate himself by writing about his son’s achievements. Are there
other similar parts in the first section?

8. Jackie Robinson admits that all of his newspaper columns were written with other freelance
writers. Ronald Reagan, commenting on his autobiography, famously said, “I hear it’s a terrific
book! One of these days I’m going to read it myself.” Can a book truly be called an
autobiography if it is ghostwritten by others? Considering that Jackie Robinson died of a heart
attack right before the book’s publication, people might speculate that some or most of this
book was written by a ghostwriter. Would that change your reading experience? Especially a
book subtitled ‘autobiography’? Why or why not?