Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman
by Lee Lowenfish

“Lowenfish is firmly in the pro-Rickey camp on the question of the man’s motives in signing black ball players but gives equal attention to every phase of an extensive career.”—Library Journal

“Given the high-stakes nature of contemporary baseball, it’s fascinating to get a glimpse of the game’s roots, and Lowenfish deftly etches the frustrations and difficulties of small-market life. . . . Lowenfish’s take is detailed and nuanced, balancing the issue of integration with the economic and competitive imperatives of running a professional baseball team. . . . 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. . . . All this leaves us with a question—or a set of questions—about who Rickey really was. 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. . . . Without him, baseball would not exist as we know it. America would be a different place as well. In these pages Lowenfish traces the evolution of that America through the filter of a remarkable life.”—David L. Ulin, LA Times Book Review

“Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman, by Lee Lowenfish, provides 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, The Boston Globe

“As we mark the 60th anniversary of the breaking of the color line in major league baseball, it’s fair to conclude that Jackie Robinson turned out to be more than Branch Rickey had expected, that Rickey proved to be more than Lee Lowenfish expected, and that this biography will exceed his readers’ expectations. . . . Lowenfish has clearly been captivated by Rickey and by what might be termed the Rickey spell. Thus fascinated, Lowenfish has been able to communicate that fascination to readers.”—John C. Chalberg, The Weekly Standard

“Lowenfish . . . meticulously researches Rickey’s life and presents a three-dimensional portrait of a man who, in addition to his baseball acumen, was a highly religious, socially conscious visionary. . . . Though much has been written about Rickey, the depth and thoroughness of Lowenfish’s research make this the definitive biography of baseball’s most influential executive.” —Booklist

“[O]ur heartiest recommendation: Branch Rickey – Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman by Lee Lowenfish. A fitting and admirable tribute to the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s breaking of the color line. Lowenfish, a respected baseball scholar, reportedly spent 10 years researching and writing this book that, at 600 pages, is chock full of revelations and great anecdotes on Rickey’s life.”—Bill Madden, NY Daily News

“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

“The story of the man who made the Dodgers the pride of Brooklyn makes fascinating reading for any student of baseball history. . . . The details of how Rickey laid the groundwork have rarely been recounted with such a dramatic eye to detail.”—Richard Tedesco, Nassau Herald

“It’s an impressive achievement in historical reporting on a unique character and will serve scholars for decades to come.” —Neil Best, Newsday

“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

“[F]or the first time, a complete background on the man who made the decision to challenge baseball’s unwritten color biases, Dodgers GM Branch Rickey, has been chronicled in delicious detail. . . . The acclaim for Lowenfish’s meticulous research and mellifluous writing style already has impressed baseball’s noted historians.”—Inside Pitch Magazine

“[A] wonderfully written tale. . . . The ferocious gentleman has made an everlasting impact on the sport of baseball and Lowenfish’s [work] is the wonderful story of how that happened.”—At Homeplate.com

“Lowenfish delves into more than just Rickey’s connection to the two signature moments of the formation of the minor league farm system and the breaking of baseball’s color barrier. . . . [He includes] Rickey’s playing days and time as a manager through his tenure as a baseball executive.”—Yankees Magazine

“It’s about time people get to know the many dimensions of this extraordinary legend.”—New York Governor Mario Cuomo

“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

“[A] well-written, carefully researched, judicious appraisal of one of the most energetic, visionary, and creative men ever to inhabit the front office of a baseball team. . . . It is a measure of Rickey’s unflagging energy and creativity that Branch Rickey, a superbly detailed text, is such a lengthy volume: the man accomplished enough for several lifetimes. Lowenfish has given us a definitive portrait of a great American original.”—Elysian Fields Quarterly

“Readers quickly come to trust the author as a biographer who will concede his subject’s nerve and sense of the moment, as well as his bottom-line regard for business.”—Brian Burnes, The Kansas City Star

“[A] thoroughly researched, engrossing biography. . . . Lowenfish has illuminated one man’s life. In doing so, he reveals much about 20th-century America.”—Jewish Book World

“The book title captures the complexity of the man who ‘made a spark that helped shape three cultures—black, white and American.’ Rickey III attended a book signing and lecture by Lee Lowenfish at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Lowenfish wrote the latest book about baseball’s integration pioneer. Rickey III calls it the best of three books about his grandfather, who as an executive with the Dodgers brought Jackie Robinson to the Major Leagues in 1947. ‘It’s a more comprehensive character study with the benefit of insight, the distillation of time, events and history’ grandson Branch Rickey III said.”—Max Utsler, MLB.com