Ban Johnson Essentials Positions: Bats: Throws: Weight: Born: Year: 1865 in Norwalk, OH USA Died: 3 28 1931 in St. Louis, MO USA Debut: Last Game: Hall of Fame: Inducted as a Pioneer/Executive in 1937 by Centennial Full Name: Byron Bancroft Johnson
Five of baseball’s pioneers are added to the Hall of Fame: Connie Mack‚ John McGraw‚ Morgan G. Bulkeley‚ Ban Johnson‚ and George Wright.
1931 – Ban Johnson dies in St. Louis, Missouri, at the age of 67. Johnson served as the first president of the American League, guiding the “junior circuit” until 1927. He will be elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1937.
On February 28, 1931,Ban Johnson dies in St. Louis, at age 57. Johnson had served as the founder and first president of the American League from 1901 to 1927. He was a dynamic and dictatorial leader until subdued by the advent of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who took office as the first Baseball commissioner in January 1921. Johnson will gain election to the Hall of Fame in 1937.
On January 23, 1927, In the continuing clash between Commissioner Kenesaw Landis and American League President Ban Johnson, the AL owners are prepared to censure Johnson. But his serious health problems convince them to change their stance and Johnson is given an indefinite leave of absence instead. Detroit Tigers President Frank Navin takes over control of the league on an interim basis and the…
On November 29, 1926, Tris Speaker resigns as manager of the Cleveland Indians. Speaker led the Indians to a respectable second-place finish in 1926. Stories of a thrown game and betting on games by Ty Cobb and Speaker gain momentum when Judge Landis holds a secret hearing with the two stars and former P-OF Joe Wood. The story and testimony…
1923 – Citing the unsavory characters associated with the sport, American League president Ban Johnson persuades AL owners to prohibit boxing matches in their parks. The National League declines to go along with it.
1923 – A four-piece bat used by Babe Ruth is banned by American League president Ban Johnson because of the glue used on it. A protest is made against the Browns’ Ken Williams for using a bat with a wooden plug in it. Johnson rules that all bats must be one piece with nothing added except tape extending to 18 inches up the handle.
After being called out for trying to stretch a single into a double, Babe Ruth throws dirt the umpire’s eye, then goes after a heckler in the stands, and finishes his tirade by standing on the dugout roof calling the crowd “yellow” cowards. These actions will result in a one game suspension and a $200 fine, and will cost the ‘Bambino’ his Yankee captaincy, a position he has held for less than a week.
1920 – At a meeting to depose Ban Johnson as the American League president, a new 12-team National League, made up of the dissenting 11 teams plus one of the five teams loyal to Johnson, is agreed to. John Heydler will be its president and federal judge Kenesaw Landis the proposed chairman of the new commission. This revolutionary plan for a new senior circuit will be discarded a few days later, after four of the five American League clubs still backing Johnson agree to a joint meeting on November 12th in Chicago, IL.
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