Britton was born on January 30, 1879, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Frank DeHass Robison and Sarah Carver Hathaway.

Britton became the owner of the Cardinals,[4] making her the first woman to own a Major League Baseball team.

[6] Both Chicago businessman Charles Weeghman and James McGill, the president of the Denver Bears of the Western League,[7] attempted to buy the Cardinals from Britton,[8] but she resolved to keep the team.

[1] Britton attended National League meetings where other owners spent time trying to persuade her to sell the team because she was a woman.

[15] Bresnahan was upset with Britton when she vetoed a trade that he arranged that would have sent Miller Huggins to the Chicago Cubs.

[17] Bresnahan then petitioned the National Baseball Commission for the remaining salary on his contract, which Britton refused to pay.

[22] Steininger resigned from the Cardinals in June[23] and Britton appointed local attorney James C. Jones as team president.

[1] The debut of the St. Louis Terriers of the upstart Federal League in 1914 harmed attendance and revenues for the Cardinals.

[31] Her husband resigned as team president and the board of directors elected Britton to succeed him in the role.

[34][35] The conditions at Robison Field deteriorated to the point that a member of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen sent an open letter to National League president John K. Tener to seek his intervention.

[36] Britton rejected an offer made by a local syndicate for $250,000 in December 1916 (approximately $7 million in current dollar terms).

[39] They agreed on a price of $350,000 (approximately $8.32 million in current dollar terms) and the syndicate paid half to Britton in May.