Branch Rickey Quotes

It is not the honor that you take with you, but the heritage you leave behind.

I cannot face my God much longer knowing that his black creatures are held separate and distinct from his white creatures in the game that has given me all that I can call my own.

Man may penetrate the outer reaches of the universe, he may solve the very secret of eternity itself but for me, the ultimate human experience is to witness the flawless execution of the hit-and-run.

Success is that place in the road where preparation meets opportunity.

If things don't come easy, there is no premium on effort. There should be joy in the chase, zest in the pursuit.

Ethnic prejudice has no place in sports, and baseball must recognize that truth if it is to maintain stature as a national game.

Worry is simply thinking the same thing over and over again and not doing anything about it.

The greatest untapped reservoir of raw material in the history of our game is the black race.

Good luck is what is left over after intelligence and effort have combined at their best. Luck is the residue of design.

There never has been a man in the game who could put mind and muscle together quicker and with better judgment than Robinson.

I don't care if I was a ditch-digger at a dollar a day, I'd want to do my job better than the fellow next to me. I'd want to be the best at whatever I do.

Problems are the price you pay for progress.

Don't worry about your individual numbers. Worry about the team. If the team is successful, each of you will be successful, too.

I am alarmed at the subtle invasion of professional football, which is gaining preeminence over baseball. It's unthinkable.

We win if the world is convinced of two things, that you are a fine gentleman, and a great baseball player.

Never surrender opportunity to security.

He's the best prospect I've ever seen.

A full mind is an empty bat.

Don't look at the hole in the doughnut. Look at the whole doughnut.

Thou shalt not steal. I mean defensively. On offense, indeed thou shall steal and thou must.

The man with the ball is responsible for what happens to the ball.

A great ballplayer is a player who will take a chance.

Leisure is the handmaiden of the devil.

Thinking about the devil is worse than seeing the devil.

The world’s not so simple anymore, I guess it never was. We ignored it, now we can’t.

Baseball people, and that includes myself, are slow to change and accept new ideas. I remember that it took years to persuade them to put numbers on uniforms.

Trade a player a year too early rather than a year too late.

I did not mind the public criticism. That sort of thing has not changed any program I thought was good.

How to use your leisure time is the biggest problem of a ballplayer.

Leo Durocher is a man with an infinite capacity for making a bad thing worse.

Baseball is a game of inches.

Only in baseball can a team player be a pure individualist first and a team player second, within the rules and spirit of the game.

The only thing Abner Doubleday ever started was the Civil War.

He (Leo Durocher) had the ability of taking a bad situation and making it immediately worse.

Branch Rickey made me a better man.

Luck is the residue of opportunity and design.

Fill in any figure you want for that boy (Mickey Mantle). Whatever the figure, it's a deal.

When (Rube) Waddell had control and some sleep, he was unbeatable.

Luck is a residue of design.

A full mind is an empty baseball bat.