Bob Malinak Wants You to Know About Ricky Braddock's Roadblocks

Richard S. Braddock III, later to be known as “Ricky,” was marked for the legal profession before he was conceived in his mother’s womb. His grandfather, Richard S. Braddock, was a war hero who began his career as a lawyer in Huntsville, Texas. Ricky’s parents, Richard S. Braddock, Jr. and Elizabeth Braddock, both of whom were regarded by their clients and peers as exceptional lawyers and human beings, followed in his footsteps. The natural inclination was that their one and only son would continue their tradition.

However, while he was a budding elementary school student, Ricky attended a baseball game at the Astrodome in Houston. There he was smitten by the baseball bug, and after that, the lives of the Braddock family were forever changed. It soon became evident to his parents that once Ricky made his mind about something, it soon became his reality. Baseball became his life, and the pursuit of becoming a major-league All-Star became his obsession. However, life has a way of throwing its own curveballs, as Ricky found out at a high point in his career when he ran into what seemed to be an insurmountable roadblock.

Roadblocks is a modern-day novel with an old-fashioned flair about a hometown boy that almost made it to the top of his game. Will he recover or become the “quitter,” he’s been so readily labeled by the town folks after tragedy knocks him off the pitcher’s mound? The answers can only be found in the pages of this invigorating novel by Bob Malinak.

About the Author: Bob Malinak, a native Texan, graduated from Temple High School in 1954. He received a B.A. degree from Rice Institute in 1958 and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1961. He joined the Baker Botts law firm in Houston in 1961 and retired as a senior partner in 1999.