Behind The Scoreboard – A Baseball Star From Brooklyn

Garden City NY

03 August, 2021

9:36 AM

Description

My philosophy is "Everything I ever needed to know about business I learned on the sports field." From Behind The Scoreboard, I feature the sports stories that tell us much more than simply who won or lost. These personal and inspiring experiences of grade school, high school, college, other amateur and even pro athletes allow all of us to reflect a little more on what is important in life. ~ James C. Metzger, Chairman and CEO, The Whitmore Agency _______ The Player Who Got Away From Rickey He played baseball in Brooklyn with his high school and for the Ice Cream League. Eventually, he would have tryouts with the New York Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates and then the Brooklyn Dodgers. The young man, though, did not place all his baseballs in one basket. He also planned to pursue college and an architectural degree. He was off his game at the Giants tryout. At Pittsburgh, he threw pitches that impressed Branch Rickey, who only a handful of years earlier brought Jackie Robinson to the Dodgers. Rickey considered giving the pitcher a $15,000 signing package. The young man returned home to think about the offer. Following a tryout with the Dodgers, he received a $20,000 offer from the home team. The pitcher thought that if the game did not work out for him, at least he now had money for college. Baseball did work out for Sandy Koufax. He was one player, though, who got away from Branch Rickey. Read more about Sandy and Branch in my blog.