rickey the life and legend of an american original

In 1980, at age 21, he stole 100 bases, something only two other players had achieved-Maury Wills and Lou Brock. He had more than 100 college scholarship offers to play football, but chose baseball, partially because of his poor grades. Now, in the hands of critically acclaimed sportswriter and culture critic Howard Bryant, one of baseball’s greatest and most original stars finally gets his due. Rickey grew up in Oakland, a hot bed for talented Black players. Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original Hardcover 20 March 2023 by Howard Bryant (Author) 361 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle 28.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook 0.00 Free with your Audible trial Hardcover 40.80 12 New from 40.80 Paperback Audio CD 63.99 1 New from 63. Henderson embraced this shift with his trademark style, playing for nine different teams throughout his decades-long career and sculpting a brash, larger-than-life persona that stole the nation’s heart. And it’s a story of a sea change in sports, when athletes gained celebrity status and Black players finally earned equitable salaries. ＂If you cut Rickey Henderson in half, you’d have two Hall of Famers,＂ the baseball historian Bill James once said.īut perhaps even more than his prowess on the field, Rickey Henderson’s is a story of Oakland, California, the town that gave rise to so many legendary athletes like him. The story takes place in an unnamed Caribbean port town during the late 19th century, and follows the lives of three characters: Florentino Ariza, Fermina Daza.

He holds the record for the most stolen bases in a single game, and he’s scored more runs than any player ever. ＂Seldom does a sports biography-especially a page-turner-so comprehensively explain the forces that made an icon the way they are.＂ - Sports Illustratedįrom the author of The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron comes the definitive biography of Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, baseball’s epic leadoff hitter and base-stealer who also stole America’s heart over nearly five electric decades in the game.įew names in the history of baseball evoke the excellence and dynamism that Rickey Henderson’s does.

Rickey the life and legend of an american original