American judge and first Commissioner of Baseball (1866–1944)
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Landis, c. 1922
1st Commissioner of Baseball
In office November 12, 1920 – November 25, 1944
Preceded by
Office established
Succeeded by
Happy Chandler
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
In office March 18, 1905 – February 28, 1922
Appointed by
Theodore Roosevelt
Preceded by
Seat established
Succeeded by
James Herbert Wilkerson
Personal details
Born
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
(1866-11-20)November 20, 1866 Millville, Ohio, U.S.
Died
November 25, 1944(1944-11-25) (aged 78) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Spouse
Winifred Reed
(m. 1895)
Children
3, including Reed
Relatives
Charles Beary Landis (brother) Frederick Landis (brother)
Alma mater
Union College of Law
Signature
Nicknames
"The Judge"
"The Squire"
Baseball player
Baseball career
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction
1944
Election method
Old-Timers Committee
Kenesaw Mountain Landis (/ˈkɛnɪsɔːˈmaʊntɪnˈlændɪs/; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death. He is remembered for his resolution of the Black Sox Scandal, in which he expelled eight members of the Chicago White Sox from organized baseball for conspiring to lose the 1919 World Series and repeatedly refused their reinstatement requests.[1] His iron rule over baseball in the near quarter-century of his commissionership is generally credited with restoring public confidence in the game.
Landis was born in Millville, Ohio. Raised in Indiana, he became a lawyer, and then personal secretary to Walter Q. Gresham, the new United States Secretary of State, in 1893. He returned to private practice after Gresham died in office.
President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Landis to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 1905. Landis received national attention in 1907 when he fined Standard Oil of Indiana more than $29 million (approximately $800 million in 2021) for violating federal laws forbidding rebates on railroad freight tariffs. While Landis's action was reversed on appeal, he was seen as a judge determined to rein in big business. During and after World War I, Landis presided over several high-profile trials of draft resisters and others whom he saw as opposing the war effort. He imposed heavy sentences on those who were convicted, although some of the convictions were reversed on appeal, and other sentences were commuted.
In 1920, Landis was a leading candidate when American League and National League team owners, embarrassed by the Black Sox scandal and other instances of players throwing games, sought someone to rule over baseball. Landis was given full power to act in the sport's best interest, and used that power extensively over the next quarter century. Landis was widely praised for cleaning up the game, although some of his decisions in the Black Sox matter remain controversial: supporters of "Shoeless Joe" Jackson and Buck Weaver contend that he was overly harsh. Others blame Landis for, in their view, delaying the racial integration of baseball. Landis was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by a special vote shortly after he died in 1944.
^Owens, John. "Buck Weaver's family pushes to get 'Black Sox' player reinstated". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
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KenesawMountainLandis (/ˈkɛnɪsɔː ˈmaʊntɪn ˈlændɪs/; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal...
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