The room was filled with people to honor the latest members of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Several prominent Missouri sports figures were being inducted. The most beloved of them spoke to the crowd, “I’m going to tell you a story from the Bible about spiritual courage.” A few moments later he collapsed; he died less than a month later. He had left the people with the word ‘courage’- a word by which he had lived a long and full life. Branch Rickey was one of the greatest administrators major league baseball had ever known. His career on the diamond spanned more than six decades. He made up for his inability to play well with his ability to innovate and administer.
