Branch Rickey: Baseball's Ferocious Gentleman

$34.95

Lowenfish, Lee (Author)

ISBN: 0803224532

Publisher: Bison Books

Binding: Paperback; 683 pages

Pub Date: April 01, 2009

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 St.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.

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

Lowenfish, Lee (Author)

ISBN: 0803224532

Publisher: Bison Books

Binding: Paperback; 683 pages

Pub Date: April 01, 2009

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 St.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.

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

Review Quotes:

"[A] solid . . . biography of the complicated man who brought Robinson into organized baseball." -Daniel Okrent, Fortune

"It's an impressive achievement in historical reporting on a unique character and will serve scholars for decades to come."-Neil Best, Newsday

"[Lowenfish] delivers a superb biography of one of the most compelling and important figures in American sports. . . . Lowenfish presents this baseball revolutionary not as his admirers or his critics (or Rickey) saw him but as he was, and one can ask nothing more from a biography."-Choice

"Lowenfish weaves the American trifecta of God, family and baseball into Rickey's fascinating life. The significant moments that forever changed the landscape of baseball are all well documented, researched and detailed. So too is the portrait of a man whose life is itself a crucial part of our society and history."-Baseball America

"If you read one baseball book this summer, make it Branch Rickey: Baseball's Ferocious Gentleman by Lee Lowenfish. The author did a remarkable amount of research in bringing to life this incredible baseball man. . . . Lee Lowenfish is to be congratulated for this monumental work. . . . [O]ne of the best baseball books I've read."-Tom Knight, Brooklyn Spectator

"Lowenfish's take is detailed and nuanced. . . . Where Lowenfish is at his best is in explicating the complex and often contradictory impulses that drove his subject, as well as his almost evangelical sense of self. . . . To Lowenfish's credit, he doesn't look for simple answers; despite his own abiding admiration, he never sugarcoats or presents Rickey in anything other than a three-dimensional light."-David L. Ulin, Los Angeles Times Book Review

"A thorough account of the life, character, and exploits of this teetotaler Ohio farm boy, the grandson of a horse trader, and a true conservative revolutionary.'"-Katherine A. Powers, Boston Globe

“If you consider yourself a true baseball fan, then you MUST read The Ferocious Gentleman. Mr. Rickey has influenced how the game is taught more than anyone. Furthermore, his foresight and courage was the major component that permitted the talent level to become Major League with his signing of Jackie Robinson. I was fascinated, and locked in from page one. People often ask me who my heroes are in baseball, the obvious would be to mention a player, Mr. Rickey is among my top baseball heroes. If you haven''t listed him among your heroes to this point, you will after reading this book. Joe Maddon, manager of the Tampa Bay Rays -- Joe Maddon