Branch Rickey

Born

December 20, 1881

Died

December 9, 1965 (aged 83)

Known as

baseball player, baseball manager, basketball coach, sports executive

Wesley Branch Rickey was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, sports executive, and team owner.

He 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.

Biography from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.