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
- Wesley Branch Rickey - Post-dodger Years
- Wesley Branch Rickey - Signs Robinson
- Other Free Encyclopedias
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