James Rogers Badgett Sr. (July 27, 1917 – June 6, 2005), sometimes spelled as Rodgers Badgett, was an American businessman involved in the construction, coal mining, oil and gas exploration, dredging, aviation, and automotive sales industries, and a key minority partner in the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball from 1978 through 1985.[1] Born in Pettus, Arkansas, he graduated from Memphis' Messick High School and attended the University of Tennessee. He was a longtime resident of Madisonville, Kentucky.[1]
He owned and operated Badgett Construction Company before World War II, and during the war he founded Badgett Mine Stripping Corporation, which mined bauxite in Missouri, then moved into the strip mining of coal in Kentucky's Hopkins and Muhlenberg counties.[1] After the war, his construction and dredging company was involved in major projects throughout North America, such as the St. Lawrence Seaway, and globally, in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.[2]