Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original

by Howard Bryant

Ellis Island. In 1900, 90 percent of Black people in America lived in the Deep South. Within a decade, they would begin remaking America with one of the greatest mass movements in recorded human history. The Great Migration was a hope, but it was also

But if there was a manual detailing how to make an enemy out of Rickey, mentioning his greatest rival as an example he should aspire to would have likely been in the first paragraph.

‘How do you get Rickey when he’s on first base?’ I said, ‘Throw the ball to third and cut him off at the pass, ’cuz he’ll be there soon.’ Or, ‘Instead of putting him on first, just put him on third and save some time.’”

Pamela would always say that Rickey was an old soul who listened to the wisdom of the elders around him, and it was true. The sweetest stories about Rickey usually revolved around him listening to his mother. Bobbie always knew best. The older guys also had Rickey’s ear. When the A’s had a problem, Jim Guinn could talk to Rickey because there was a better chance that Rickey would listen to him than anyone else. And when it came to the money in the game, another elder had Rickey’s ear above all—the great Willie Mays.