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Wesley Branch Rickey

Chronology



1881 Born December 20 in Little California (later renamed Stockdale), Ohio
1901 Enrolls at Ohio Wesleyan University
1903 Becomes baseball coach at Ohio Wesleyan. Plays minor league baseball during summer at Terre Haute, Indiana and Le Mars, Iowa
1904 Earns B.Litt. from Ohio Wesleyan
1904-05 Plays for Dallas of Texas League. Signs contact with Cincinnati Reds; dismissed for refusing to play Sundays. Contract returned to Dallas. Traded to Chicago White Sox and, subsequently, to St. Louis Browns. Plays part of 1905 season with Browns
1904-06 Coaches football and baseball at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, plus teaching
1906 Earns B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan. Marries Jane Moulton in June. Plays 65 games for Browns and has his best year as a player, batting .284, third highest on team. Sold to New York Highlanders in December
1907 Plays 52 games for Highlanders. On June 28, Washington Nationals (later known as Senators) steal a record 13 bases on Highlanders catcher Rickey (who had been pressed into service despite a bad shoulder), setting a record. Enters law school at University of Michigan in fall
1909 Diagnosed with tuberculosis; spends time at sanatorium in Saranac Lake, New York
1910-13 Coaches baseball at University of Michigan. Earns J.D. degree in 1911
1913-16 Serves in executive capacity for St. Louis Browns, with responsibility for acquiring players and making trades. Also serves as team's field manager from September 1913 to end of 1915 season
1916 Hired as president by St. Louis Cardinals
1918 Serves in Chemical Warfare Unit of U.S. Army
1919 Becomes field manager of Cardinals (retaining title of president)
1920 Sam Breadon buys a controlling interest in Cardinals, takes over as president, and demotes Rickey to vice-president
1925 Rogers Hornsby is named player-manager of Cardinals, replacing Rickey, who remains as vice-president and business manager
1942 Resigns as Cardinals GM and becomes president of Brooklyn Dodgers
1944-45 Rickey and associates Walter O'Malley and John Smith acquire controlling interest in Dodgers
1945 Rickey announces plan (later acknowledged to be a ruse to obscure his real intentions) to form Brown Dodgers team as Brooklyn's entry in proposed new Black United States Baseball League
1945 Signs Kansas City Monarchs shortstop Jackie Robinson to minor league contract
1947 Announces that Dodgers have purchased Robinson's contract from Montreal farm team
1950 Resigns as president of Dodgers. Named executive vice-president and general manager of Pittsburgh Pirates
1955 Steps down as Pirates GM and moves into advisory role with team
1959 Resigns as CEO of Pirates and becomes president of proposed Continental League (which disbands in 1960 without playing a game)
1962 Rejoins Cardinals as senior consultant for player development
1964 Fired from consulting job with Cardinals
1965 Collapses on November 13 while giving speech in Columbia, Missouri and dies on December 9

Additional topics

Famous Sports StarsBaseballWesley Branch Rickey Biography - Raised On A Farm, Tentative Steps In The Big Leagues, Becomes Major League Executive, Develops Farm System - SELECTED WRITINGS BY RICKEY: