On This Day

Branch Rickey is named president and general manager of Brooklyn Dodgers

Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player, manager, sports executive, and team owner.

Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player, manager, sports executive, and team owner. Rickey was instrumental in breaking the baseball color line by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also created the framework for the modern minor league farm system, encouraged the major leagues to add new teams through his involvement in the proposed Continental League, introduced the batting helmet, and created the standard 20-80 scouting scale. He was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967.

Rickey played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Browns and New York Highlanders from 1905 through 1907. After struggling as a player, Rickey returned to college, graduating from the University of Michigan.

Historical Significance

Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player, manager, sports executive, and team owner.

Key People

Branch Rickey

baseball player, manager, and executive

American baseball player, manager, and executive

Events Before

  1. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms speech during his State of the Union address, outlining fr

    US President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms speech during his State of the Union address, outlining freedom of speech and worship and freedom from want and fear [1] [2]

  2. New Fourth Army Incident: Chinese Kuomintang forces under orders from Chiang Kai-shek fire on the surrounded Communist N

    New Fourth Army Incident: Chinese Kuomintang forces under orders from Chiang Kai-shek fire on the surrounded Communist New Fourth Army at Maolin, Anhui Province, killing or capturing about 7,000 troops

  3. Duke Ellington and his Orchestra first record "Take the 'A' Train" written by Billy Strayhorn, at RCA Studio in Hollywoo

    Duke Ellington and his Orchestra first record "Take the 'A' Train" written by Billy Strayhorn, at RCA Studio in Hollywood, California; it goes on to become his signature tune

  4. Future CIA Director William J. Casey (27) weds Sophia Kurz

    Future CIA Director William J. Casey (27) weds Sophia Kurz

  5. American Actress Hattie McDaniel (45) weds real estate salesman James Lloyd Crawford; divorced 1945

    American Actress Hattie McDaniel (45) weds real estate salesman James Lloyd Crawford; divorced 1945

Events After

  1. German officer Claus von Stauffenberg is promoted to Lieutenant Colonel

    Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg was a German army officer who is best known for his failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair, part of…

  2. Negro Baseball League star Josh Gibson suffers a nervous breakdown and is admitted to the hospital for rest and treatmen

    Negro Baseball League star Josh Gibson suffers a nervous breakdown and is admitted to the hospital for rest and treatment; he is released in time for preseason training

  3. Adolf Hitler declares "Total War" against the Allies

    Adolf Hitler declares "Total War" against the Allies

  4. Soviets announce they have broken the long siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany by opening a narrow land corridor, though

    Soviets announce they have broken the long siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany by opening a narrow land corridor, though the siege is not fully lifted until a year later

  5. German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders to Soviet troops at Stalingrad

    Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 – 1 February 1957) was a German Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) during World War II who is best known for his surrender of the German 6th Army…

More from the 1940s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on October 29, 1942?
Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player, manager, sports executive, and team owner. Rickey was instrumental in breaking the baseball color line by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also created the framework for the modern minor league farm system, encouraged the major leagues to add new teams through his involvement in the proposed Continental League, introduced the batting helmet, and created the standard 20-80 scouting scale.
Why is Branch Rickey is named president and general manager of Brooklyn Dodgers significant?
Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player, manager, sports executive, and team owner.
Who was involved in Branch Rickey is named president and general manager of Brooklyn Dodgers?
Key figures include Branch Rickey (baseball player, manager, and executive).

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