Branch Rickey
General Manager
St. Louis Cardinals
Laureate 2006
Wesley Branch Rickey was born in 1880 and grew up on a modest farm in southern Ohio. His parents instilled Branch with strong Christian values that would remain with him throughout his life. Schooled in a one room schoolhouse, he taught himself Latin and Greek and went on to attend Ohio Wesleyan University where he played baseball and football. While still in college, he was invited to play professional baseball. Wanting his parents’ approval for his involvement in pro ball, he pledged to them to never go into a baseball stadium on a Sunday, a promise that became a lifetime commitment. After a short stint as a catcher with the St. Louis Browns and New York Highlanders, he went on to complete his law degree at the University of Michigan. After coaching for a short time at Michigan, he spent most of the next ten years managing in the major leagues. It was Branch’s sharp eye for talent that brought him to the business side of baseball, where he would revolutionize the game. As General Manager for the St. Louis Cardinals, Rickey originated the concept of the “farm system”, utilizing minor league farm clubs to develop talent for major league teams. Soon the Cardinals were a National League power and teams everywhere were copying Branch’s system. Thanks to Rickey’s innovation and determination, the Cardinals produced nine pennants and six world championships from 1926 -1947. Later as president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Rickey decided that in order for baseball to be truly “the national pastime,” a long tradition of whites-only would have to be broken. In 1947 Rickey desegregated baseball with the signing of Jackie Robinson, who became the major leagues’ first African-American player. His success in building the Dodgers took them on to many championships even as he moved to Pittsburgh to run the Pirates. Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967, Branch was recognized for pioneering the business of baseball. Although Branch Rickey was seldom seen without a cigar, he never drank, nor cursed, and not once did he attend a game on Sunday.
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