The contract for this ms. has been canceled at the request of the author, 3/14/2023. A teacher and a lawyer before he was a player and a manager, Branch Rickey is best known for his pivotal role in breaking baseball's color line by signing Jackie Robinson to a Major League contract. Known as "the Mahatma," Rickey became one of the most influential sports figures of the 20th century by revolutionizing the minor league farm system and encouraging social justice reform on a national scale. This full-length biography chronicles the remarkable six-decade career of the Hall of Famer who transformed baseball and opened opportunities for black and Hispanic players.