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Business Leader, Civil Rights Activist (1881–1965)
Branch Rickey was an innovative baseball executive known for his groundbreaking 1945 decision to bring Jackie Robinson into the major leagues, thereby breaking the color barrier.
Synopsis
Born in Ohio in 1881, Branch Rickey had a modest career as a baseball player before becoming an innovative figure in the sport's management. In 1919, he designed the farm system of training and advancing players on which Major League Baseball would come to rely. In 1942, he was named general manager and president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, where he broke the long-standing race barrier in 1945 by signing Jackie Robinson, the first black player in the major leagues (Robinson made his major league debut in 1947). Rickey went on to become a prominent civil rights spokesman, and he remained a larger-than-life figure in the baseball world until his 1955 retirement.
Early Years
Branch Rickey was born on December 20, 1881, in Stockdale, Ohio, and was raised in a strict religious setting—one that would become a distinguishing trait of his later baseball career. A natural athlete, when he was 19, Rickey enrolled at Ohio Wesleyan University, paying his way by playing semi-professional baseball and football. After graduating in 1904, he joined the Dallas baseball team in the Texas League, and was picked up at the end of the season by the Cincinnati Reds of the National League. He was quickly dropped from the team, however, when he refused to play on Sundays.
Branch Rickey was an innovative baseball executive known for his groundbreaking 1945 decision to bring Jackie Robinson into the major leagues, thereby breaking the color barrier.
Synopsis
Born in Ohio in 1881, Branch Rickey had a modest career as a baseball player before becoming an innovative figure in the sport's management. In 1919, he designed the farm system of training and advancing players on which Major League Baseball would come to rely. In 1942, he was named general manager and president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, where he broke the long-standing race barrier in 1945 by signing Jackie Robinson, the first black player in the major leagues (Robinson made his major league debut in 1947). Rickey went on to become a prominent civil rights spokesman, and he remained a larger-than-life figure in the baseball world until his 1955 retirement.
Early Years
Branch Rickey was born on December 20, 1881, in Stockdale, Ohio, and was raised in a strict religious setting—one that would become a distinguishing trait of his later baseball career. A natural athlete, when he was 19, Rickey enrolled at Ohio Wesleyan University, paying his way by playing semi-professional baseball and football. After graduating in 1904, he joined the Dallas baseball team in the Texas League, and was picked up at the end of the season by the Cincinnati Reds of the National League. He was quickly dropped from the team, however, when he refused to play on Sundays.
Branch Rickey
Posted from biography.com
Birthday
American History
Baseball
MLB
Business
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 2
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Great share Maj Marty Hogan While this definitely had economic consequences, this decision was a definite groundbreaker in terms of civil rights. And great that he was a proponent of civil rights as well.
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when You consider the outstanding, talented Baseball players that were excluded only on the basis of race Baseball was the loser. Once that was overcome it made the game that much greater and some of those players earned their places in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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