Branch Barrett Rickey

Who is Branch Barrett Rickey?

Branch Barrett Rickey, born 1 November, 1945, grandson of Branch Rickey, serves as the president of the Pacific Coast League. He replaced the retiring Bill Cutler, who served as PCL president from 1979 to 1997. Rickey had been the president of the American Association which was disbanded during a realignment by the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues in a scale-down from three Triple-A leagues — the PCL, International League, and AA — to two in 1997.

Rickey is noted for the redevelopment of minor league baseball as a "fan friendly" sport that caters to a broader audience of families, women, and children. Under his watch, the virtually all ballparks in the Pacific Coast League have received facelifts and attendance has risen from the low thousands into the multiple thousands at most the stadiums in the league.

Prior to his involvement as a league president, Branch spent over twenty years in Major League Baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds: as a scout, assistant scouting director during the 1970s, and in the 1980s as director of player development.

At Ohio Wesleyan University, Rickey played baseball, wrestled, and was co-captain of the Varsity Soccer team. He is a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity. He has officiated freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, culminating with his participation as a referee in the Olympic Games.