September 30, 2009 – News & Views

Memorabilia from Branch Rickey’s time at Ohio Wesleyan is on display through Nov. 10 in Gallery 2001 of Beeghly Library. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Photo by Linda O’Horo

Branch Rickey Memorabilia on Display in Gallery 2001
“Baseball’s last wise man” digital information can be shared with the world

Legendary baseball coach Branch Rickey graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1904, and remained close to the University as a coach, athletic director, and lifetime trustee. He is credited with breaking the color barrier in baseball when, as president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, he signed Jackie Robinson.

The general public and campus community have an opportunity to view some of the historical Rickey materials housed in the University archives in Beeghly Library. Digital reproductions of rare historical photographs, university publications, and other materials featuring Rickey are on exhibit through Nov. 10 in Gallery 2001 in the lobby of Beeghly Library, 43 Rowland Ave., Delaware.

OWU President Rock Jones will speak about Rickey’s legacy at a reception for the exhibit at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3 at Gallery 2001.

This photo shows Branch Rickey (left) with George Gauthier, OWU Athletic Director, at his retirement party in 1955. Gauthier was hired in 1921 with Rickey’s endorsement.

Photo courtesy of Ohio Wesleyan University Digital Archives

Ohio Wesleyan is proud to announce that these historical materials and others from the archives also are available in a digital collection online. The Branch Rickey Collection is part of OhioLINK’s Digital Resource Commons, a statewide platform for saving and sharing—free of charge—the instructional, research, historic, and creative materials produced by the University System of Ohio and Ohio’s private colleges.

“In 1913, Rickey wrote that ‘Ohio Wesleyan has been very largely responsible for whatever good is in me, and is to be credited with whatever good I may have done,’ ” Jones notes. “He continues to inspire the world with his courage and vision, and we are proud to honor him with these exciting projects.”

In addition to the Branch Rickey Collection, the University will be launching another digital collection, “Our Shared History: Delaware, Methodism and Ohio Wesleyan University,” which will be available online later this fall. This project was funded through a one-year $47,000 Library Services and Technology Act grant administered by the State Library of Ohio using funds provided by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services. Ohio Wesleyan is collaborating with the Delaware County Historical Society to digitize and place online an estimated 1,200 rare documents recounting the history of the University, the Delaware community, and their ties to the Methodist faith.

“By providing a space for each institution to have its own branded institutional repository for digital collections, OhioLINK is assisting the state’s academic libraries in transitioning to a new form of scholarly communication,” says Theresa Byrd, OWU’s chief information officer and director of libraries. “In addition, OhioLINK saves all academic institutions in Ohio money because it provides one institutional repository for the state. OhioLINK’s institutional repository has allowed Ohio Wesleyan University’s libraries to be at the forefront of the digital collection movement for small libraries.”

– Linda O’Horo