Kenesaw Mountain Landis
| Kenesaw Mountain Landis | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois | |
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In office March 18, 1905 – February 28, 1922 |
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| Appointed by | Theodore Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | Christian Cecil Kohlsaat |
| Succeeded by | James Herbert Wilkerson |
| 1st Commissioner of Baseball | |
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In office November 12, 1920 – November 25, 1944 |
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| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Happy Chandler |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 20, 1866 Millville, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | November 25, 1944 (aged 78) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Resting place | Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago. |
| Spouse(s) | Winifred Reed (1895–1944, survived as widow) |
| Relations |
Charles Beary Landis (brother) Frederick Landis (brother) |
| Children | 3, including Reed |
| Alma mater | Union College of Law |
| Occupation | Judge |
| Signature |  |
| Nickname(s) | "The Judge", "The Squire" |
Kenesaw Mountain Landis (/ˈkɛnᵻsɔː ˈmaʊntᵻn ˈlændᵻs/; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death. He is remembered for his handling 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. His firm actions and iron rule over baseball in the near quarter-century of his commissionership are generally credited with restoring public confidence in the game.
Landis was born in Millville, Ohio, in 1866. His name was a spelling variation on the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain in the American Civil War, where his father was wounded in 1864. Landis spent much of his youth in Indiana; he left school at fifteen and worked in a series of positions in that state. His involvement in politics led to a civil service job. At age 21, Landis applied to become a lawyer—there were then no educational or examination requirements for the Indiana bar. Following a year of unprofitable practice, he went to law school. After his graduation, he opened an office in Chicago, but left it when Walter Q. Gresham, the new United States Secretary of State, named him his personal secretary in 1893. After Gresham's death in 1895, Landis refused an offer of an ambassadorship, and returned to Chicago to practice law and marry.
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