Rickey

The Life and Legend of an American Original

By: Howard Bryant

Narrated by: JD Jackson

Length: 18 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

From 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.

Few names in the history of baseball evoke the excellence and dynamism that Rickey Henderson’s does. He holds the record for the most stolen bases in a single game, and he’s scored more runs than any player ever. “If you cut Rickey Henderson in half, you’d have two Hall of Famers,” the baseball historian Bill James once said.

But 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. And it’s a story of a sea change in sports, when athletes gained celebrity status and Black players finally earned equitable salaries. 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. 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.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Howard Bryant (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

narrator mispronouncing names

Enjoying story as am in and from area and observed all this as happening, but narrator mispronounces "McClymonds" High School AND "Vida" Blue (both long "i" sounds, not short "i" sound). As McClymonds High School is described as a famous school of champions and of future professional athletes and Vida Blue was a famous all-star baseball player, it bugs the heck out of me that they're not famous enough seemingly to get pronounced correctly! Sloppy audio editing process. Don't know if there are other mistakes. Does take away from enjoying listening some.

It's Rickey time!

Great biography of a one of a kind player and personality. J.D. Jackson's laid back delivery really accentuates the narrative and Howard Bryant's journalistic skills and insights add layers of real world touches that raise this above a paint by numbers biography to a revealing chronicle of a singular talent of the game. There will never be another Rickey Henderson.

Amazing!

I was born and raised in Oakland, six months younger than Rickey. I had to stop listening due to Mr. Bryant brilliantly capturing the spirit and pride that those of us who grew up in Oakland have. It was a wonderful time. Rickey was a great athlete that made all of us proud. Thank you Rickey for displaying the greatness of Oakland sports and thank you Mr. Bryant for such amazing work!

A Rickey Run for Howard Bryant

Howard Bryant hit a Rickey Run with this biography. I became a larger fan of Rickey Henderson after this. Rickey is a baseball genius. Willie Horton and Henderson invented launch angle. Henderson also ushered in load management. I'm from NY and I wish he retired a Met, but I know Bobby Valentine is unable to handle any Black men with talent and an opinion. Love Pamela Henderson, she's the MVP of the book. Mr. Bryant I hope you're working a book on the Bay area. MLB HOF needs to have a wing for Bay Area baseball players. Mr. Bryant, thank you.

Somebody needs to sign Ricky right now

I absolutely love this book. It’s very comprehensive, so if you love Baseball, particularly Baseball from this era, you are going to love this book. When I say very comprehensive I mean it, it literally almost takes you through every season and every year of his life. But that’s not to say that it gets dull, because it’s exciting start to finish. Rickey Henderson career was astounding when you hear it all in one shot. He was a player that showed you something special in short bursts, but to see it all in one large collective, is overwhelming. One of the best players ever.

K Isreal

Terrific story and well written by Mr. Bryant. I encourage all Sports/Baseball fans to give this a listen.

An authentic Rickey experience

Read this after Bryant’s Hank Aaron book and enjoyed this one even more.

This was a beautifully told story with endless excerpts and jaw-dropping statistics from one of the last true icons of baseball. It was very well-paced, historically informative, introduced me to all of the key figures in his life, and was very pleasantly narrated.

It would be my first recommendation among baseball biographies - truly, truly fun to read.

Excitement from the first pitch

Rickey was excitement from the first pitch. Interesting to learn about the great athletes coming from Oakland.

Strong reporting and strong writing - excellent book

I’d recommend this book to anyone who cares about baseball. Howard Bryant has beautifully crafted this biography of Henderson — each layer of the story is brilliantly reported and written and builds upon the previous layers. Given the scope of the task, this is a remarkable feat.

Truly An America Original

I’m a casual baseball fan and was not familiar with the details of Ricky’s storied career. I enjoyed learning about all he contributed to baseball. I’m glad to hear that he ultimately received the recognition that he earned and deserves. Thanks for sharing this story.