May 29, 2009

In November of 1920 Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis took on the position of the first Commissioner of baseball. Interestingly enough, Landis continued his duties as a Federal Judge. Members of Congress even sought to impeach Judge Landis in 1921 for attempting the two jobs at once. Finally, in February of 1922, Judge Landis stepped down as a Federal Judge saying, “There aren't enough hours in the day for me to handle the courtroom and the various other jobs I have taken on.”

Landis’ first job as Baseball Commissioner was to restore the integrity of the game that the 1919 Chicago White Sox had tarnished. We won’t rehash the facts of the 1919 World Series between the White Sox and Cincinnati Reds here. It wasn’t until September of 1920 that a grand jury investigated the 1919 World Series and the rumors of the fix by the White Sox. The 1921 trial of the eight White Sox players accused of conspiracy to throw the World Series resulted in the eight players being acquitted. The court’s ruling did not persuade Landis that the players should return to the national pastime. With the intent of quickly restoring the nation’s confidence in the game, Landis ruled the day after the trial that -

With that statement, the eight White Sox who had been acquitted were now out of baseball for life. The legend of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson took off from there.

The saying “acting in the best interest of baseball” was born with Landis’ decision. Landis went on to ban several other players during his career for questionable activities. While some successor Commissioners have been accused of being puppets of the owners, Landis was clearly at times both an enemy of the owners and of the players in his decision making. His relative impartiality toward owners and players notwithstanding, Landis did exhibit racial prejudice. He is regarded as the individual most responsible for continuing baseball’s color line.

Monday : The good and the bad of Judge Landis