Baseball commissioners list
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Commissioner Kenesaw Landis Biography
As Major League Baseball's first administrator, Kenesaw Mountain Landis set the stage for what a commissioner should and shouldn't be. As an acting Federal Judge from 1905-1922, Landis was selected in 1920 to become the first Commissioner of Major League Baseball, serving until his death in 1944. Born in Millville, Ohio, he was named after Kennesaw Mountain in Georgia, which was the site of a battle during the American Civil War. In 1905, he was appointed by President Roosevelt to sit on the bench of the Northern District of Illinois. During that time, he presided over several noteworthy cases including the Standard Oil antitrust trial and a series of trials accusing union leaders from the Industrial Workers of the World of espionage.
Following his appointment as head of Major League Baseball, Landis was ultimately responsible for restoring the integrity of the game in the public eye following the 1919 "Black Sox scandal" after eight members of the participating White Sox were all charged with conspiring to fix the outcome of the
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Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Some said that baseball owners found Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis on the federal bench, but Leo Durocher got it right when he said, “They got him right out of Dickens.”1Ruth put the fans back in the parks, but Landis made sure what they witnessed was honest. The Sultan and the Czar worked different sides of the street but between them, they saved the game.
As baseball’s first commissioner, Landis was the first and last court of recourse. Though standing only 5-feet-6 and weighing about 130 pounds, Landis was an intimidating presence. Players and owners alike quaked when they were called to his Chicago office.
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was born in Millville, Ohio, on November 20, 1866.2 It was only a little over a year after the close of the Civil War. His father, Dr. Abraham Landis, had served as a surgeon with the Union forces. It was no surprise that Kenesaw loved Civil War history.3
In 1869 Abraham Landis relocated the family to Seven Mile, Ohio, and then moved to northern Indiana in 1875, settling in Logansport.4 In 1882 Kenesaw enrolled in an al
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Kenesaw Mountain Landis
American judge and first Commissioner of Baseball (1866–1944)
Kenesaw Mountain Landis | |
|---|---|
Landis, c. 1922 | |
| In office November 12, 1920 – November 25, 1944 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Happy Chandler |
| In office March 18, 1905 – February 28, 1922 | |
| Appointed by | Theodore Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | James Herbert Wilkerson |
| 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 | |
Baseball player Baseball career | |
| Induction | 1944 |
| Election method | Old-Timers Committee |
Kenesaw Mountain Landis (; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal jud
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