1945 – Happy Chandler becomes the second baseball commissioner. The major league owners unanimously elect the former governor of Kentucky on the first ballot and reward him with a seven-year contract. Chandler succeeds Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the game’s first commissioner, who died in 1944.
1944 – Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the first Major League Baseball Commissioner, dies of a heart attack at age 78 in Chicago. Landis had ruled over baseball since November 1920 in the wake of the Black Sox scandal, and wielded authority perhaps unparalleled in any other industry. Landis had entered the hospital on October 2nd. He will elected to the Hall of Fame on December 9th in a special ballot.
On July 10, 1944, the second Hall of Fame induction ceremony is held after a four-year wait, mostly due to World War II travel restrictions. Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis is the lone inductee. Four months later, Landis will pass away.
Commissioner Landis suspends William Cox indefinitely after the Phillies owner acknowledges making some “sentimental” bets on his team, not knowing it was against the rules. The gambling allegations first surfaced in July when the club’s recently fired manager, Bucky Harris, revealed he had evidence that his former boss was wagering on games played by Philadelphia.
1943 – Teams agree to start the season later than usual and prepare to train in northern areas because of World War II. Resorts, armories, and university facilities are chosen for training sites. The Boston Red Sox go to Tufts University; the Brooklyn Dodgers will train at Bear Mountain, NY, and the New York Yankees try Atlantic City, NJ. In Chicago, the Cubs and White Sox agree to start the season later than usual and prepare to train in areas north of the so-called Eastman-Landis Line, named after Joseph Bartlett Eastman, head of the United States Department of Transportation, and Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis – an area East of the Mississippi river and North of the Ohio and Potomac rivers. Meanwhile, the St. Louis teams, the Browns and Cardinals are excluded, though they will train in Cape Girardeau, MO.
Baseball is the only game you can watch on the radio. Join the community today and listen to hundreds of broadcasts from baseball’s golden age! Sign Up or learn more October 2, 1942, Satchel’ Paige’s feat of tossing 5 1-3 innings of the hitless ball while pitching the Kansas City Monarchs to victory over…
On January 15, 1942, “I honestly feel it would be best for the country to keep baseball going.” – FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, U.S. President sends his famed “Green Light” letter to Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, encouraging major league baseball to continue playing during World War II. Despite the loss of many star players to military…
On January 14, 1940, 91 players in the Detroit Tigers farm system are set free by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who rules that the organization had improperly handled the players and makes them free agents. Among the notable players effected by the ruling who go on to major league careers are outfielders Roy Cullenbine, Benny McCoy, Dutch…
Pinterest Instagram Facebook Youtube In a decision which foreshadows a significant blow to Detroit’s farm system, Kenesaw Mountain Landis voids the last month’s trade which would have sent Tiger hurler George Coffman and second baseman Benny McCoy to the A’s for outfielder Wally Moses. The commissioner declares McCoy a free agent because the team hid…
1939 – Judge Landis fines Brooklyn, Detroit, and the St. Louis farm club, Columbus Red Birds|Columbus, for manipulating player contracts. He frees seven farmhands.