Rickey, Branch, 1881-1965, American baseball executive, b. Stockdale, Ohio. As manager or executive, he was with the St. Louis Browns (1913-15), the St. Louis Cardinals (1917-42), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1943-50), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1950-59). He was the first to institute the minor league farm system (1919) and integrated the major leagues by signing (1945) Jackie Robinson to a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers.