Side A: Branch Rickey, a pivotal figure in the history of baseball, was raised in this house with his brothers, Orla and Frank. Rickey started baseball’s farm team system while he was president, vice president, and manager of the St. Louis Cardinals from 1917-1942. As president of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1942-1950, he signed Jackie Robinson to a major league contract, which resulted in the desegregation of baseball. “The Mahatma,” as Rickey was known, also ran the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1950-1955. Rickey’s career in major league baseball began in 1904 as a Cincinnati Red. Later he played with the St. Louis Browns and the New York Highlanders (now known as the Yankees). Branch Rickey was born in 1881 and died in 1965. He was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967. His grave is located approximately one mile southeast of this marker on the eastern edge of Rush Township Cemetery.