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, colorful story of a life that forever changed the face of America's game.
Lee Lowenfish, a historian, journalist, broadcaster, and jazz commentator, is the author of The Imperfect Diamond: A History of Baseball’s Labor Wars.
Table of Contents
Introduction List of Illustrations Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Prologue PART I. THE MAKING OF A BASEBALL BRAIN, 1899-1918 1. Diamond in the Rough 2. From Catcher to Coach 3. Branch Rickey and the St. Louis Browns 4. "War Overshadows Everything" PART II. THE ST. LOUIS PRIME OF BRANCH RICKEY, 1919-1942 5. Necessity Is the Mother of Invention 6. Years of Contention and Frustration 7. That Championship Season 8. The Near-dynastic Years and a Place in Who's Who 9. Another Championship Season and Then Decline 10. Prelude to the Gashouse Gang 11. The Triumph of the Gashouse Gang 12. Years of Frustration 13. More Years of Loss, and Farewells to Dizzy Dean and Charley Barrett 14. Going Out on Top PART III. THE BIRTH OF THE MAHATMA, 1943-1950 15. A Branch Grows in Brooklyn 16. The Secret Path to the "Young Man from the West" 17. An Historic Meeting in Brooklyn 18. Prelude to a Pennant 19. When All Hell Almost Broke Loose 20. When Most of Heaven Rejoiced 21. A Year of Disappointment, Odd Choices, and an Adieu to Leo 22. A Branch Bends in Brooklyn 23. A Branch Is Chopped in Brooklyn PART IV. "MY GREATEST THRILL IN BASEBALL HASN'T HAPPENED YET," 1951-1965 24. A Branch Doesn't Grow Fast Enough in Pittsburgh 25. Mr. Rickey Prepares to Do the Continental 26. The Continental Dance Card Goes Blank 27. Meet Me in St. Louis, Final Chorus Notes Bibliography Index