Coming Home: My Amazin' Life with the New York by Cleon Jones (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Coming Home: My Amazin' Life with the New York by Cleon Jones R. Zachary Sanzone Cleon Jones with Gary Kaschak Coming Home: My Amazin' Life with the New York. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books, 2022 239 pp. Cloth, $30.00. When I was offered the chance to read Cleon Jones's autobiography and review it for NINE, I jumped at it. I wrote my master's thesis on pro- and anti-war demonstrations in New York City in 1969, using the Mets' World Series victory as a context in which to discuss the historical events. I was looking forward to reading what Jones's perspective was on the war at the time, completely forgetting that his life encompassed so much more than the Mets' World Series victory over the Baltimore Orioles in 1969. While I reminded myself that Jones had a long and respectable career, I was not expecting to read about a life that was so humble, so illustrious, so historical, and so moving. What I took away most from Jones's autobiography though was how genuine he was when he talked about those who had come before him like Jackie Robinson, those—like his grandmother—who helped him reach the majors, and an entire community of people that he still respects and towards whom he still to this day shows appreciation. Jones details how he was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, home to many great major league ballplayers like Hank Aaron, Willie McCovey, Billy Williams, Tommie Agee, and Satchel Paige. Jones talks about the hardships with which he grew up, including segregation and an absent father who, despite being an inconsistent presence in his life, always showed love for his son. Jones talks fondly about Mama Myrt, his grandmother, who raised him to be a good Christian and always remain humble: "What I think about all the time is: you're a product of your community. Everybody thinks it's all about you, but often times it's about everything but you. In my case, it's about my community because I've always looked at my community as a team" (9–10). Jones does not mention this idea in an obligatory way like many other sports autobiographies do. Instead, he makes it clear that that is how he genuinely feels about his community, an idea to which he refers repeatedly in the book. With that said, this autobiography is not so much a story about Jones's life as much as it is about the community from which he came. Jones references the idea of community throughout the book in relation to Mobile as well as in relation to his time in the minors and the Mets. Most importantly perhaps, he references the community of his ancestry. He discusses the ancestors who were brought to America as enslaved people against their will, how they were denied their humanity, and how important it is to ensure that we do not forget that history. It is within these contexts that Jones discusses his identity as an African American baseball player. [End Page 120] Jones played baseball during a turbulent time in America that saw the contentious passage of much-needed Civil Rights legislation, Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, and the Vietnam War. Jones was all too aware of the fact that his identity as an African American would create additional challenges for him throughout his life and career, but he did not hide behind those challenges; he felt a responsibility to help pave the way for future Black baseball players, just as Jackie Robinson had done before him. Jones discusses a time when he and his teammates were initially denied service at a restaurant because of the color of their skin: "We stayed at that restaurant . . . in order to make our point. We were tired of being pushed around and treated the way we'd been treated . . . And as I thought about all the battles that had been fought by colored folks before us, I realized this battle was part of all that, and we'd won" (58). Jones not only takes the time to reflect on the historical significance of the time, but he also...