"Branch Rickey was one of the most charismatic figures in all of baseball, a trailblazing general manager who helped bring about the desegregation of the majors, airline travel to road games, and the innovation of the minor league "farm" system." "This work focuses on Rickey's tenure as general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, from 1950 through 1955. In addition to contemporary accounts, Rickey's personal correspondence and interoffice memorandums are used to document his struggle to revamp the fate of a small-market team."--Jacket.