Rickey Biography Hits Lawsuit Roadblock
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
A sportswriter known for a memoir about the Brooklyn Dodgers is suing his publisher to get out of a contract to write a biography about the outspoken general manager of the club, who is credited with integrating baseball, because the publisher will not tell him if it is interested in the project.
Roger Kahn, who wrote “The Boys of Summer” in 1972, signed a contract with Rodale Books in 2005 to write the biography of Branch Rickey, according to the suit filed in state Supreme Court. While he was working on the project, he received an offer to turn another of his memoirs into a screenplay and was granted a deadline extension.
Despite repeated attempts at contacting the publisher, Mr. Kahn, 79, claims he has had no response from Rodale, according to the suit.
A spokeswoman for Rodale Books called the suit “a contract dispute” and said it does not comment on pending litigation.
