Wesley Branch Rickey was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame class of 1967 along with Red Ruffing and Lloyd Waner. Ricky was C\OF\1B with four seasons MLB experience playing with the St Luis Browns (1905-1906, 1914) and New York Highlanders (1907). For his MLB career he hit .239/.304/.324 with 3 HR, 39 RBI, 38 R, 8 SB in 120 games. Rickey also had a career as a manager as he managed for the St Louis Browns (1913-1915) with a 139-179 record and St Louis Cardinals (1919-1925) with a 458-485 record.
However it was his career as a pioneer and executive that warranted his inclusion in the Hall of Fame. He initially had some over lap as manager and General Manager with the Browns (1913-1915, 1919) and Cardinals (1919-1942). He also served as General Manager with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1943-1950) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1950-1955). The Cardinals won four World Series Championships under Rickey in 1926, 1931, 1934 and 1942.
Rickey had laid the foundation for those championship teams by investing in several minor league teams to develop his players. The minor leagues had primarily been independent at that point but he had the vision to use them to funnel players to the Cardinals. Baseball Commissioner Landis made efforts to keep the Cardinals from becoming too dominant and eventually encouraged all the other teams to establish their own farm systems. Rickey also made great strides in expanding the league talent base by breaking down the color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson while with the Dodgers and drafting Roberto Clemente while with the Pirates.
Hall of Fame page
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