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For all the known controversies and unbelievable stories surrounding Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, there are just as many mysteries. In this episode, I dig into the origin story of the man who shaped baseball like no other commissioner in the history of the game.
Join the conversation as Matt and John talk about football, marriage, and Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis. 0:00-intro 2:27- sports 20:10- proverbs 37:45- today in sports 42:44- one thing
Eight Men Out (1988) is a dramatization of professional baseball's infamous Black Sox scandal, in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox conspired with gamblers to intentionally lose the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. The film, which was directed by John Sayles, is based on Eliot Asinof's 1963 book, Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series. It recounts how a group of White Sox players conspired with an array of gamblers, including notorious underworld financier Arnold Rothstein (a/k/a “The Big Bankroll”), to throw the series in return for cash. After the Sox, who some consider one of the greatest baseball teams of all time, lose the series, suspicions grow that there had been a fix based on rumors and the nature of some players' poor performances. Eight players are charged with conspiracy and tried in Chicago in 1921. Although the players are all acquitted, baseball's new commissioner, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, banishes them all for life from baseball, a bold move that some believe saved the game of baseball, which was still in its relative infancy, and enabled it to become “America's pastime.” Debates around the events continue to this day, including over the level of involvement of some players and the draconian nature of the punishment. With me to discuss this movie are Robert Boland and Brett Max Kaufman. Timestamps:0:00 Introduction4:19 Baseball circa 191910:30 Betting and game fixing in baseball17:43 The reserve clause 20:17 Unpacking the verdict at the Black Sox trial22:48 Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis: Baseball's first commissioner31:35 The treatment of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and the Black Sox35:35 Sportswriters 40:18 The reemergence of sports gambling50:32 A memorable John Sayles film53:34 Class and culture in baseball55:18 The lasting impact of the Black Sox scandal Further reading:Asinof, Eliot, Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series (1963)Lamb, William F., Black Sox in the Courtroom: The Grand Jury, Criminal Trial, and Civil Litigation (2013)Linder, Douglas, The Black Sox Trial: An Account (2007) Pachman, Matthew B, “Limits on Discretionary Powers of Professional Sports Commissioners: A Historical and Legal Analysis of Issues Raised by the Pete Rose Controversy,” 76 Va. L. Rev. 1309 (1990)Pollack, Jason M., “Take My Arbitrator, Please: Commissioner ‘Best Interests' Disciplinary Authority in Professional Sports,” 67 Fordham L. Rev. 1645 (1999)Law on Film is created and produced by Jonathan Hafetz. Jonathan is a professor at Seton Hall Law School. He has written many books and articles about the law. He has litigated important cases to protect civil liberties and human rights while working at the ACLU and other organizations. Jonathan is a huge film buff and has been watching, studying, and talking about movies for as long as he can remember. For more information about Jonathan, here's a link to his bio: https://law.shu.edu/faculty/full-time/jonathan-hafetz.cfmYou can contact him at jonathanhafetz@gmail.comYou can follow him on X (Twitter) @jonathanhafetz You can follow the podcast on X (Twitter) @LawOnFilm
Ah, autumn - a season of change, of sipping a piping hot PSL, and of people starting to play Christmas music way too early (seriously, Halloween is still weeks away). It's also when the MLB World Series captivates baseball lovers across the nation. So to celebrate the start of the national pastime's premier event, and as a nod to spooky season, we're republishing our episode on the 1919 World Series and the subsequent Curse of the Black Sox. Play ball!~~~You've heard of the “Curse of the Bambino”, “Curse of the Billy Goat”, and even “Merkle's Boner.“ But the case that changed baseball forever was The 1919 World Series Scandal, better known as ”The Black Sox Scandal," because it was discovered that players were betting against their own team!Ray teaches Rob about players like “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, “Buck” Weaver, and “Chick” Gandil, who, when they'd had enough of their manager, Charles Comisky, engaged in the first major baseball scandal; the naming of the first commissioner of baseball, Judge Kennesaw Mountain (yes, you read that correctly); the theory that famous gambler, Arnold Rothstein, was behind the fix; how baseball redeemed itself; and honestly, what's with all of these nicknames?!?If you like what we're doing, please support us on Patreon, or you can subscribe to our bonus content on Apple Podcasts. And we'd love to find even more listeners, so if you have time, please leave us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And if you have any other thoughts or feedback you'd like to share with us, we'd love to hear from you - feel free to email us or send us a message on social media. TEAMRay HebelRobert W. SchneiderMark SchroederBilly RecceDaniel SchwartzbergGabe CrawfordNatalie DeSaviaEPISODE CLIPSEight Men Out Official Trailer #1ADDITIONAL MUSIC & SOUND EFFECTS“Happy Bee” and “Baseball”• Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)• Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0• http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
You've heard of the “Curse of the Bambino”, “Curse of the Billy Goat”, and even “Merkle's Boner." But the case that changed baseball forever was The 1919 World Series Scandal, better known as "The Black Sox Scandal," because itt was discovered that players were betting against their own team! Ray teaches Rob about players like “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, “Buck” Weaver, and “Chick” Gandil who had enough of their Manager, Charles Comisky, which led them to engaging in the first baseball scandal, the naming of the first commissioner of baseball (named. Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis....You read that correctly), the theory that famous gambler, Arnold Rothstein, was behind the fix, how baseball redeemed itself........and honestly, what's with all of these nicknames?!? If you like what we are doing, please support us on Patreon TEAM: Ray Hebel Robert W Schneider Mark Schroeder Billy Recce Daniel Schwartzberg Gabe Crawford Natalie DeSavia WEBSITES 1919 World Series Stats Famous Trials Timeline Timetoast Timeline ARTICLES The Black Sox Trial: An Account NY Times 1921 Article 1 NY Times 1921 Article 2 SportsCenter Flashback AUDIO/VISUAL Eight Men Out Trailer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
For over two decades, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis stood in the way of baseball's integration. Join Cat & comedian Tom McClain as they dive into the frustrating story of Judge Landis, baseball's color line, and the inspiring Jackie Robinson.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Synopsis In the summer of 1941, the winds of war hadn't yet blown to Pearl Harbor, the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn, and all was pretty much right with the world. The Dodgers were doing VERY well—so well that they would eventually win the pennant, only to lose the World Series to the hated Yankees that October. But in August of ‘41, that ignominious defeat was still a few months off, and Brooklyn fans were understandably optimistic. One of them was the American composer Robert Russell Bennett, whose “Symphony in D” premiered early in August of 1941. The composer let it be known that the “D” stood for “Dodgers.” Bennett's “Symphony in D for the Dodgers” was performed but never published. We're not sure if the Dodgers' eventual defeat had anything to do with that–but let the record state the Dodgers eventually DID beat the Yankees in the 1955 World Series. Another composer and avid baseball fan was John Philip Sousa. Sousa's march “The National Game” was composed in 1925 at the request of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, major league baseball's first high commissioner. In his march, Sousa includes some interesting percussive effects involving, what else, a baseball bat! Music Played in Today's Program John Philip Sousa (1854 - 1932) — The National Game (Royal Artillery Band; Keith Brion, cond.) Naxos 8.559092
This week, Tyler & Megan learn about Kenesaw Mountain Landis and his role in the 1919 Black Sox scandal. While learning this week, the two will be sampling Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon, a whiskey from our listener recommendations list. Needless to say both have heard great things about this whiskey and are excited to try it! As always, thank you so much for your support! Don't drink and drive! Places you can find us: whiskeyandwonder.com Instagram: @whiskeypodcast or @whiskey.tyler or @whiskey.megan YouTube: Whiskey & Wonder Twitter: @whiskeyandwonde or @tyler_whiskey Email: contact@whiskeyandwonder.com tyler@whiskeyandwonder.com megan@whiskeyandwonder.com Facebook: facebook.com/whiskeyandwonder Paypal: paypal.me/whiskeyandwonder Patreon: patreon.com/whiskeyandwonder If you have a drinking problem, reach out to the folks at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
With the Black Sox scandal threatening to ruin Major League Baseball, team owners knew they needed to clean up their sport. And 100 years ago this week, they found the man to do it: Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. But the last century has not been kind to the man once credited with saving baseball. Mike and Bill look back on one of the most important figures in the game's history and are surprised by what they find. Plus, happy birthday to John Denny and Tony Cuccinello.
Baseball was the only truly national American sport in 1919, loved by fans across the United States. But the mood among players was grim--team owners kept salaries artificially low. When the Chicago White Sox won their league championship, the temptation to accept hard cash from gamblers to deliberately lose the World Series was irresistible. After all, what could possibly go wrong? The Wingfoot Express took its maiden voyage around Chicago on July 21st, 1919. The 150-foot long airship was filled with hydrogen gas--lighter than air, but extremely flammable. The dirigible caught fire in downtown Chicago, inside the Loop, right above the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank, at the corner of LaSalle Street and Jackson Boulevard. The entire ship was consumed in literally seconds. The five men aboard jumped and tried to inflate their parachutes, but only three were successful. One man, mechanic Carl Weaver, plunged through the skylight of the bank. In this photo of the bank before the disaster, you can see how the interior was ringed by a circle of teller stations. They enclosed an area where typists, telegraphists, and other bank staff worked. For security purposes, this inner area could only be accessed through two gated entrances. Flaming debris, including the engine and two full tanks, crashed through the skylight above this inner area, starting a massive fire and trapping employees inside. This image of the interior of the bank after the disaster gives some sense of the horror of those trapped inside. 13 people died in the crash, ten of them bank employees. Before radio, fans had few ways to follow a live baseball game. Newspapers would receive game updates by telegraph and posted results in their windows. In 1912, the Washington Post invested in an elaborate scoreboard system complete with lights indicating balls, strikes, and position on the field. You can see here fans gathered to "watch" the 1912 World Series. The American and National Leagues kept player salaries low with the reserve clause, a provision in player contracts that kept players tied to one team and unable to negotiate higher salaries. The clause also made it difficult for new teams and new leagues to attract top-quality players. The Federal League, founded in 1913, tried to operate as a third major league and ended up suing the established leagues for operating an illegal monopoly. This is an official scorecard of one Federal League Team, the Neward Peps. The case came before Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. It couldn't have landed on the desk of anyone more deeply invested in the game of baseball. At the start of World War I, team owners were desperate to keep the game going and their players out of the trenches. One attempt to demonstrate their patriotism was the practice, seen here, of holding drill sessions with players before games. The War Department was not impressed and made players eligible for the draft after the 1917 World Series. The president of the American League, Ban Johnson, suggested reserving 18 players for each team and conscripting the rest. No one was impressed by this plan. While more than one third of major league players enlisted, others went to work for factories in essential industries such as steel manufacturing or shipbuilding. The players spent far more time playing baseball for factory teams than painting or welding, and team owners worried that major league baseball would be run out of business by industrial ball. Charles Comiskey, owner of the Chicago White Sox, denounced the factory team players as unpatriotic and sniffed that he wasn't sure he wanted them back on his team. The 1918 World Series was held in early September at the request of the War Department, so the second, most deadly wave of the Spanish Flu pandemic was just getting started when baseball ended for the season. Nevertheless, at least some players took to the field in masks to prevent the spread of the disease. I have been able to find out little about this photo. I don't know who was playing or the exact date. I wish I knew more--when and where the picture was taken would be a start. If I find out more, I will post it. The 1919 White Sox had a fantastic team, with several top-notch players and one genuine superstar in Joe Jackson. Shoeless Joe Jackson is one of baseball's all-time greatest players. Eddie Cicotte was a fine pitcher and possibly the inventor of the knuckleball. Lefty Williams was another strong pitcher for the White Sox. Chick Gandil, on other hand, was just average. On the other hand, he had a reputation as being crooked and multiple contacts with gambling organizations. Gandil's connections went all the way back to New York underworld figure Arnold Rothstein. Thoughtful and scheming, Rothstein inspired multiple fictional representations, including Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls. The Cincinnati Reds beat the White Sox in the World Series five games to three. It was difficult to tell, watching the White Sox play, if some men on the team were playing to lose. Certainly, some of the players seemed off, but a player can have a run of bad luck. Other members of the team, such as the catcher, were sure something fishy was going on. Rumors swirled throughout the series and into the off-season that the the series had been fixed. In the fall of 1920, the story broke open, the case went before the Cook County grand jury, and all eight players were indicted. Cicotte, Jackson and Williams confessed before the grand jury--after being told they would not be prosecuted if they told the truth. In fact, the person who made that promise, Charles Comiskey's attorney, had no power to make such a promise. In the summer of 1921, the Black Sox went on trial for intent to injure the business of the Chicago White Sox. It was a difficult case to prove. Cicotte, Jackson and Williams retracted their confessions, and it proved impossible to get the gamblers in court. Ultimately, the men were acquitted. Despite their acquittal, Judge Landis, now the Commissioner of Baseball, declare the men banned from baseball for life. This had the intended effect of cleaning up the game, but was seen then and now as unjust. In this cartoon from 1921, a laundry woman, identified as the jury, shows Landis the White Sox uniforms and declares them "Clean and white!" Landis replies, "They look just th' same to me as they did before." A myth arose about the Black Sox, that they were more sinned against than sinning--hard working, blue-collar guys who just wanted to play ball but were unfairly treated by the owners, the lawyers, and the commissioner. The ultimate expression of this myth is the 1989 movie Field of Dreams. In this scene the spirits of the players emerge from an Iowan cornfield to again play baseball.
1-18-2020 Passed Ball Show. John opens up this show piggybacking off his last show talking about how the Astros cheating is just par for the course when it comes to the history of Major League Baseball. Since the inception of the sport, it has been run by deviousness and straight up criminal activity. Few tell the story of the origins of “America’s Past Time” but truth is, during the middle to the latter part of the 19th century, while most American men were working on the railroad, on construction sites, on farms, and other noble professions, baseball players were outcasts that were perceived as lazy. It was assumed that they chose not to work and because of that, most players were at the very least devious, at the worst they were criminals. Yet we look at baseball as always being a pure game. The game was controlled by gamblers for almost 50 years, blacks were forbidden to play on the same field as whites for 60 years- yet we worry about the “sanctity” of the game of baseball. From scuffing baseballs, spitballs, corked bats, baseball players have done anything to gain an advantage on their competition. Players have loaded their bodies up with alcohol, amphetamines, cocaine, and steroids- all with little regard to whether or not they had an unfair advantage over their competition. John then talks about how the players on the 2017 Houston Astros need to be held accountable for their actions during this breach of trust. Not that John asks for blood often, but it is not fair that only one player from that team had to suffer and consequences for the actions of the group. Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis would not have let one player be scapegoated for an entire group. Carlos Beltran is just like A-Rod- one who did wrong, but one of many who did the same thing. It is just as criminal to allow for one player to take the hit for the rest. Only in Cris Carter’s world is that okay. John then talks about Beltran’s Hall of Fame candidacy and how it compares to three current Hall of Famers. He finishes off the show by giving props to Odell Beckham, Jr.
In honor of the World Series being in full swing, Serah's offering you a brief primer on the Black Sox scandal! One hundred years ago, the Chicago White Sox were accused of intentionally losing the 1919 World Series in order to fix a gambling scheme by the New York mob. Learn about baseball’s first commissioner, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the mob behind the fix, the eight men who got banned from the sport forever, and Shoeless Joe Jackson, who Serah insists is innocent! Hear her case for Shoeless Joe this week on Busting Balls!
In 2008, when entertainment magnate Lalit Modi launched the Indian Premier League, he took a title that was new to the world of cricket: Commissioner. Modi’s idea for the structure of the IPL had American origins. He had studied in the United States in the mid-1980s, where he encountered the model of professional teams not as clubs rooted to their communities but as franchises held by wealthy owners, and thus saleable for handsome profit. In American professional sports, each cartel of these franchises is led by a single, powerful executive. Roger Goodell of the NFL and David Stern of the NBA represent the model of the Commissioner as CEO: they punish players, coaches, and even team owners for violations of rules, but more importantly, they work to increase the reach and revenue of the league and its teams. As Lalit Modi recognized, a league led by a single Commissioner, rather than a fractious governing board, ensured that decision-making would be streamlined, negotiations with sponsors and networks would be straightforward, and profits for all of the owners would increase. The model of the league Commissioner comes from America’s oldest professional team sport: baseball. Amidst scandal in the game and rancor among team owners, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was appointed Commissioner in 1920 and given extensive powers, in an attempt to save baseball from itself. The title of Andrew Zimbalist‘s book, In the Best Interests of Baseball: Governing the National Pastime (University of Nebraska Press, 2013), refers to the mandate that Landis and his successors received from the owners: they were to ensure that the game would not be sullied by the corruption of players or the greed of owners. But there was one problem: baseball’s commissioners were appointed by and served at the pleasure of the team owners. In the decades following Landis’ appointment, there was constant struggle between the holder of the office and the owners who paid his salary over the power and role of the Commissioner. The story that Andy tells in his book is the evolution of this baseball institution, from Judge Landis to current Commissioner Bud Selig, a former team owner who now governs the game in the interest of the owners. Bud Selig has been much maligned by baseball fans, including the host of this podcast. But Andy offers a new view of the Commissioner. The Robert A. Woods Professor of Economics at Smith College, Andy is the author of many books on the economics of baseball, and he has served as a consultant on various matters related to baseball, for teams, municipal councils, and even the Office of the Commissioner. He has been a strong critic of Selig, but his overall appraisal of the Commissioner is favorable. Baseball is stronger and more stable now than it was twenty years ago. The question is: what will happen when the current, strong Commissioner steps aside? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In 2008, when entertainment magnate Lalit Modi launched the Indian Premier League, he took a title that was new to the world of cricket: Commissioner. Modi’s idea for the structure of the IPL had American origins. He had studied in the United States in the mid-1980s, where he encountered the model of professional teams not as clubs rooted to their communities but as franchises held by wealthy owners, and thus saleable for handsome profit. In American professional sports, each cartel of these franchises is led by a single, powerful executive. Roger Goodell of the NFL and David Stern of the NBA represent the model of the Commissioner as CEO: they punish players, coaches, and even team owners for violations of rules, but more importantly, they work to increase the reach and revenue of the league and its teams. As Lalit Modi recognized, a league led by a single Commissioner, rather than a fractious governing board, ensured that decision-making would be streamlined, negotiations with sponsors and networks would be straightforward, and profits for all of the owners would increase. The model of the league Commissioner comes from America’s oldest professional team sport: baseball. Amidst scandal in the game and rancor among team owners, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was appointed Commissioner in 1920 and given extensive powers, in an attempt to save baseball from itself. The title of Andrew Zimbalist‘s book, In the Best Interests of Baseball: Governing the National Pastime (University of Nebraska Press, 2013), refers to the mandate that Landis and his successors received from the owners: they were to ensure that the game would not be sullied by the corruption of players or the greed of owners. But there was one problem: baseball’s commissioners were appointed by and served at the pleasure of the team owners. In the decades following Landis’ appointment, there was constant struggle between the holder of the office and the owners who paid his salary over the power and role of the Commissioner. The story that Andy tells in his book is the evolution of this baseball institution, from Judge Landis to current Commissioner Bud Selig, a former team owner who now governs the game in the interest of the owners. Bud Selig has been much maligned by baseball fans, including the host of this podcast. But Andy offers a new view of the Commissioner. The Robert A. Woods Professor of Economics at Smith College, Andy is the author of many books on the economics of baseball, and he has served as a consultant on various matters related to baseball, for teams, municipal councils, and even the Office of the Commissioner. He has been a strong critic of Selig, but his overall appraisal of the Commissioner is favorable. Baseball is stronger and more stable now than it was twenty years ago. The question is: what will happen when the current, strong Commissioner steps aside? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices