Branch Rickey

A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress

Prepared by Connie L. Cartledge with the assistance of Paul Colton, Amy Kunze, and Susie H. Moody
Expanded and revised by Connie L. Cartledge

Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

2001

Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html

Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 1998

Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms998023

Latest revision: 2006 March

Table of Contents

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

Names:

Subjects:

Occupations:

Administrative Information

Provenance:

Processing History:

Transfers:

Copyright Status:

Microfilm:

Preferred Citation:

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

Organization of the Papers

Description of Series

Container List

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.

Administrative Information

The papers of Branch Rickey, major league baseball player, manager, and executive, were given to the Library of Congress by his daughters and daughter-in-law, Sue Rickey Adams, Mary Rickey Eckler, Alice Rickey Jakle, Jane Rickey Jones, Elizabeth Rickey Wolfe, and Mary Rickey, in 1972, supplemented by an addition received in 1980.

The papers of Branch Rickey were arranged and described in 1997. This register was revised in 2001 to reflect the microfilming of scrapbooks and the addition of an item received in 1999.

Photographs have been transferred to the Library's Prints and Photographs Division where they are identified as part of the Rickey Papers.

Copyright in the unpublished writings of Branch Rickey in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress is controlled by the donors during their lifetimes. After that time copyright reverts to the public.

A microfilm edition of part of these papers on two reels is available from the Library's Photoduplication Service for purchase subject to the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.). The microfilm may not be borrowed on interlibrary loan.

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Branch Rickey Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

The papers of Wesley Branch Rickey (1881-1965) span the years 1890-1971, with the bulk of the papers concentrated in the period from 1936 to 1965. The majority of the papers document Rickey's innovative leadership and administrative skills as a general manager and executive in major league baseball. Some of his significant contributions to the sport were originating the farm team system; signing the first African American, Jackie Robinson, to play major league baseball; creating pennant winning clubs with the St. Louis Cardinals; developing the championship dynasty of the Brooklyn Dodgers; and establishing the groundwork for future Pittsburgh Pirate winning teams. The papers consist of seven series: Family Papers, Correspondence, Baseball File, Subject File, Speeches and Writings File, Miscellany, Addition, and Oversize.There is also a series of material removed and retained from scrapbooks after microfilming.

The Family Papers, 1890-1969, consist primarily of correspondence and other papers relating to Rickey, his wife, Jane Moulton, and his six children, Sue, Mary, Alice, Jane, Branch, Jr., and Elizabeth. One noteworthy letter, written from Rickey to his parents during Rickey's career as a baseball player, 4 March 1906, conveys his ambivalent feelings about baseball as a profession. Included in the Other Papers file of the series are letters of condolence regarding Rickey's death and the deaths of his son, Branch, Jr., and his brother, Frank W. Rickey. Items relating to Rickey's induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967 are located in the "General" folder pertaining to Jane Moulton Rickey.

Papers in the Correspondence series, 1900-1965, include incoming and outgoing correspondence between Rickey and friends, business colleagues, staff members, government officials, leaders of organizations, and the public. The Correspondence series constitutes almost one third of the papers and is extensive in its documentation of Rickey's personal and professional interests and his association with the many prominent individuals with whom he was engaged in business or social activities.

Because many of Rickey's friends and colleagues were involved in baseball, there is a significant amount of material in the Correspondence series that relates to that sport. For example, there are letters documenting the reaction to Rickey's signing of Jackie Robinson. Also included are several letters chronicling Rickey and Robinson's relationship, such as a letter to Rickey from Robinson, ca. 1950, after Rickey had left the Brooklyn Dodgers in which Robinson thanked Rickey for all he had done for him, his family, and African Americans. A carbon of Rickey's letter to Robinson, 31 December 1950, records his response to Robinson's question about employment in baseball after the end of Robinson's playing career. With some exceptions, the Manuscript Division retained Rickey's arrangement of filing letters of institutions or organizations, particularly baseball teams, by the name of the individual writing the letter.

A few of the notable and frequent correspondents in the Correspondence series are Red Barber, Joe L. Brown, Roy Campanella, Archibald J. Carey, Louis Carroll, Robert H. Cobb, Lester L. Colbert, Jack Kent Cooke, Bing Crosby, Thomas J. Cuff, Arthur Daley, Leo Durocher, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Clarence E. Eldridge, Blake Harper, Herbert Hoover, Rogers Hornsby, Robert L. Howsam, Charles S. Kelchner, Fiorello H. La Guardia, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Alfred M. Landon, Lee MacPhail, Arthur Mann, W. C. ("Wid") Matthews, G. Herbert McCracken, Edward R. Murrow, Walter F. O'Malley, Harry Ornest, Norman Vincent Peale, C. E. Persons, Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Art Rooney, George Silvey, J. G. Taylor Spink, William A. Shea, George M. Trautman, and Raymond Thornburg.

The Baseball File, 1906-1971, constituting another third of the collection, documents Rickey's tenure with the St. Louis Browns, St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Although papers in this series contain a wide array of material, such as correspondence, memoranda, scouting reports, notes, reports, and baseball cards, there is little material about Rickey's early career and his innovative development of the farm system which allowed major league teams to control young prospective players through a chain of minor league franchises.

The majority of the Baseball File chronicles Rickey's role as general manager and other administrative positions with the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1950-1959, and his efforts to form a third major league, 1959-1960. The Pittsburgh files reflect the day-to-day running of the Pirates operation, and the Continental League material indicates Rickey's organizational skills as an administrator and his indefatigable enthusiasm for the project. His plans for a third league were unsuccessful but ultimately led to the expansion of major league baseball in many of the cities to which Rickey had intended to award franchises. Items relating to the Brooklyn Dodgers relate primarily to the sale of Rickey's stock in the Dodgers and contain no material relating to Robinson's integration of baseball. The St. Louis Cardinals papers in the Baseball File pertain chiefly to Rickey's final years with the Cardinals as a consultant. One early item of interest among the Cardinals papers is a report, 1935, describing Dizzy Dean's attributes as a player. Another innovation of Rickey's was instituted during his administrative tenure in Pittsburgh when Pirate players were the first to wear protective batting helmets. The helmets were purchased from the American Baseball Cap Company, a firm started by Rickey.

Scouting reports in the Baseball File document Rickey's skill in analyzing almost every aspect of a player's game and reveal his candor in assessing a player's talent. Some of the players featured in the reports are Hank Aaron, Lou Brock, Steve Carlton, Roberto Clemente, Don Drysdale, Curt Flood, Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays, Bill Mazeroski, Stan Musial, and Pete Rose. The printed matter in the series includes statistical publications of the American and National leagues, press guides of various major league teams, and two Our Sports magazines edited by Jackie Robinson. Also worthy of mention in Rickey's Continental League papers are four original tobacco baseball cards filed under "M miscellaneous," 1909-1910, that were sent as attachments with correspondence. A few of the notable and frequent correspondents in the Baseball File are Red Barber, Robert H. Cobb, Jack Kent Cooke, Bing Crosby, John W. Galbreath, Howie Haak, Ralph Kiner, Arthur Mann, Walter F. O'Malley, Branch Rickey, Jr., Harold G. Roettger, William A. Shea, George Sisler, and George M. Trautman.

Papers in the Subject File, 1905-1965, illustrate Rickey's affiliation with numerous institutions, organizations, and committees, such as Ohio Wesleyan University, Delta Tau Delta fraternity, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, President's Committee on Government Employment Policy, and the Young Men's Christian associations (YMCA), and his work with the United States government to sell war bonds during World War II. Although the Correspondence series contains material concerning various organizations and institutions, the Subject File comprises papers related to those with which Rickey was most actively involved. Also included in this series is a copy of Jackie Robinson's testimony in 1949 before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, with emendations by Rickey, and a lengthy interview with Davis J. Walsh discussing Rickey's life and contributions to baseball, including his signing of Robinson.

Papers in the Speeches and Writings File, 1922-1965, consist chiefly of correspondence, speech texts, articles and other writings, and book drafts. Many of Rickey's speeches reflect his religious beliefs, his patriotism, and his opposition to Communism. The majority of the writings file relates to Rickey's book, The American Diamond: A Documentary of the Game of Baseball, in which he discussed the various aspects of baseball and the sport's "immortals," such as Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, and Jackie Robinson. Items worthy of mention are a speech Rickey made in 1952 about Jim Thorpe and drafts of two forewords Rickey wrote for books by Jackie Robinson and George Sisler.

The Miscellany series, 1901-1967, includes correspondence, appointment books, financial and legal papers, biographical information, printed matter, and scrapbooks. Much of the series relates to Rickey's personal business affairs, particularly, his farm and real estate interests. The numerous awards and honors Rickey received during his lifetime are also well documented. Newspaper clippings constitute the bulk of the printed matter and are also prevalent in the scrapbooks.

The Addition, 1960, consists of a handwritten letter from Rickey to Wheelock Whitney, a Minnesota businessman, conveying advice about the expansion of major league baseball to Minnesota.

Organization of the Papers

The collection is arranged in nine series:

• Family Papers, 1890-1969, n.d.
• Correspondence, 1900-1965, n.d.
• Baseball File, 1906-1971, n.d.
• Subject File, 1905-1965, n.d.
• Speeches and Writings File, 1922-1965, n.d.
• Miscellany, 1901-1967, n.d.
• Material Removed from Scrapbooks after Microfilming, 1926-1967, n.d.
• Addition, 1960
• Oversize, 1935-1967, n.d.

Description of Series

Container List