Branch Rickey: Baseball's Ferocious Gentleman - Hardcover

Lowenfish, Lee

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803211031 ISBN 13: 9780803211032

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press, 2007

Synopsis

He was not much of a player and not much more of a manager, but by the time Branch Rickey (1881–1965) finished with baseball, he had revolutionized the sport—not just once but three times. In this definitive biography of Rickey—the man sportswriters dubbed “The Brain,” “The Mahatma,” and, on occasion, “El Cheapo”—Lee Lowenfish tells the full and colorful story of a life that forever changed the face of America’s game.

 

As the mastermind behind the Saint Louis Cardinals from 1917 to 1942, Rickey created the farm system, which allowed small-market clubs to compete with the rich and powerful. Under his direction in the 1940s, the Brooklyn Dodgers became truly the first “America’s team.” By signing Jackie Robinson and other black players, he single-handedly thrust baseball into the forefront of the civil rights movement. Lowenfish evokes the peculiarly American complex of God, family, and baseball that informed Rickey’s actions and his accomplishments. His book offers an intriguing, richly detailed portrait of a man whose life is itself a crucial chapter in the history of American business, sport, and society.

About this title

About the Author

Lee Lowenfish, a historian, journalist, broadcaster, and jazz commentator, is the author of The Imperfect Diamond: A History of Baseball’s Labor Wars.

Reviews

Branch Rickey is mainly remembered for breaking baseball's long-standing segregationist position when he promoted Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, but his influence in the game extended far beyond that single act of courage and foresight. While running the St. Louis Cardinals from 1917 to 1942, Rickey also developed the concept of the "farm system": owning minor-league teams in order to develop prospects for the parent major-league team. Lowenfish, a historian and author of The Imperfect Diamond: A History of Baseball's Labor Wars (1991), meticulously researches Rickey's life and presents a three-dimensional portrait of a man who, in addition to his baseball acumen, was a highly religious, socially conscious visionary. As much as he was revered, particularly in hindsight, Rickey was often in conflict with his peers, who viewed him as arrogant and abrasive, especially toward those who didn't share his values. Though much has been written about Rickey, the depth and thoroughness of Lowenfish's research make this the definitive biography of baseball's most influential executive. Wes Lukowsky
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Edition details

• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0803211031
• ISBN 13: 9780803211032
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 688