Branch Rickey's Six Point Criteria : A Legendary List on Baseball Almanac

Branch Rickey Six Point Criteria

Was there a secret "color line" vote taken by the Major League owners during the late forties and did they truly vote 15-1 against integration? Baseball historians and researchers might never ever know the absolute truth, but what is known for certain is that Branch Rickey (who was reportedly the lone standout during that vote) devised a plan for making integration successful. The plan set forth criteria that would be used in determining the player selected to break the Major League "color line."

"It wasn't my job to decide who could play baseball and who couldn't. It was my job to see that the game was played fairly and that everyone had an equal chance." - Commissioner Happy Chandler

Branch Rickey Six Point Criteria
Number	Criteria
1.	The right man off the field.
2.	The right man on the field.
3.	Positive reaction of black Americans.
4.	Positive reaction of the press and public.
5.	A place for him in the organization (Montreal where race relations would be less of an issue).
6.	Positive reaction of his teammates.
Branch Rickey's Six Point Criteria

Do you believe Jackie Robinson was the best choice for "the job?" Share your opinion on our baseball message boards.

Several sources erroneously report that the first major league manager at Brooklyn that Jackie Robinson played for was Burt Shotton when it was actually Clyde Sukeforth (who managed & won the first two games of the season).

Another serious player considered by Branch Rickey was the legendary Satchel Paige who commented after he heard he was being considered, "Mr. Rickey, as the Bible says, sometimes spake in diverse tongues."

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