James Rogers Badgett Sr. (July 27, 1917 – June 6, 2005), sometimes spelled as ''Rodgers'' Badgett, was an American businessman involved in the

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

oil and gas A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geologi ...

exploration,

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

, and automotive sales industries, and a key minority partner in the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

from 1978 through 1985.Loving Honors.com, Obituary of J. Rogers Badgett Sr.
/ref> Born in Pettus, Arkansas, he graduated from Memphis'

Messick High School Messick High School was a public high school in Memphis, Tennessee, established in 1908 and operated from 1909 to 1981.Vance LauderdalElizabeth Messick and Messick High School ''Memphis Flyer'', October 20, 2009 The main building was demolished ...

and attended the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

. He was a longtime resident of

Madisonville, Kentucky Madisonville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Hopkins County, Kentucky, United States, located along Interstate 69 in the state's Western Coal Fields region. The population was 19,591 at the 2010 census. Madisonville is a ...

. He owned and operated Badgett Construction Company before World War II, and during the war he founded Badgett Mine Stripping Corporation, which mined

bauxite Bauxite () is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, then moved into the

strip mining Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in which ...

of coal in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Hopkins Hopkins is an English and Welsh patronymic surname derived from the personal name Hopkin and the genitive ending -''s''. Hopkin is itself a pet form of the name Hobb, a shortening of Robert (with alteration of the initial consonant). Notable peop ...

and Muhlenberg counties. After the war, his construction and dredging company was involved in major projects throughout North America, such as the

St. Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway () is a system of rivers, locks, canals and channels in Eastern Canada and Northern United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North America, as far inland ...

, and globally, in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

and the United Arab Emirates.Muhlenberg County, Ky., Death Notices, Genealogy Buff.com
/ref>

Backed 1977 Red Sox ownership bid

In 1977, Badgett teamed with former Red Sox

athletic trainer An athletic trainer is a certified and licensed health care provider who practices in the field of sports medicine. Athletic training has been recognized by the American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American ...

Buddy LeRoux Edward Guy "Buddy" LeRoux Jr. (August 17, 1930 – January 7, 2008) was an American businessman, best known for his time as a general partner of the Boston Red Sox from May 1978 through March 1987. Early life A native of Woburn, Massachuse ...

—and, eventually, club vice president

Haywood Sullivan Haywood Cooper Sullivan (December 15, 1930 – February 12, 2003) was an American college and professional baseball player who was a catcher, manager, general manager and club owner in Major League Baseball. From May 23, 1978, through Novembe ...

—to create an ownership syndicate seeking to purchase the team from the estate of late owner

Tom Yawkey Thomas Austin Yawkey (born Thomas Yawkey Austin; February 21, 1903 – July 9, 1976) was an American industrialist and Major League Baseball executive. Born in Detroit, Yawkey became president of the Boston Red Sox in 1933 and was the sole owner ...

. The LeRoux–Sullivan bid was successful, although the sale was not approved by the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

until May 23, 1978, when Yawkey's widow,

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

, joined the group herself.Gammons, Peter, "Red Sox Sold to Group Headed by Jean Yawkey,"

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

, 24 May 1978 LeRoux, Sullivan and Mrs. Yawkey became general partners under the terms of the sale, with Badgett remaining a

limited partner A limited partnership (LP) is a type of partnership with general partners, who have a right to manage the business, and limited partners, who have no right to manage the business but have only limited liability for its debts. Limited partnership ...

. However, he held 12 of the team's 30 limited partner sharesGammons, Peter, "Red Sox Owners Start a Civil War,"

, 7 June 1983 and at one point he and LeRoux combined controlled 42 percent of Red Sox stock."Buddy LeRoux Heads BoSox Coup,"

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, major ...

, 7 June 1983 The ownership group soon clashed over the Red Sox' operating and fiscal policy, and ruptured publicly on June 6, 1983, when LeRoux (with Badgett's support) attempted to unseat Yawkey and Sullivan and take control of the team, a gambit nicknamed the "Coup LeRoux". After a year-long legal battle, Yawkey and Sullivan prevailed in June 1984. In the autumn of 1985, Yawkey acquired the limited partner shares held by Badgett and the LeRoux faction.

Honors

Badgett received numerous honors and awards recognizing his business career and philanthropy, including "Coal Miner of the Year" from the Western Kentucky Coal Producers' Association, "Man of the Year" from the Lions Club and "Distinguished Eagle Scout" from the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

. He died in Madisonville at age 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Badgett, Rogers 1917 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American businesspeople in the coal industry American Presbyterians Boston Red Sox owners Businesspeople from Arkansas Businesspeople from Kentucky People from Lonoke County, Arkansas People from Madisonville, Kentucky Businesspeople from Memphis, Tennessee