Judge and Jury: The Life and Times of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis [Hardcover]

 

 

Create your own review

I rated this book a 5 because it captured the flavor of the Anabaptist spirit. His Mennonite heritage was outlined in the first part of the book. His character certainly was played out, as he mentioned the Landis Family is in the book of "Martyrs Mirror". This man definitely knew no compromise. It was evident that he was willing to help the underpriviledged. For anyone who knows Mennonite Philosophy he fits the ticket. I am not a baseball fan, but I did enjoy reading and seeing his character played out. Definitely worth reading.

Someone once described Branch Rickey as a man of many facets, and they are all turned on. Much the same could describe baseball's first commissioner. Landis, being a baseball fan, appeared to make decisions which would benefit the game. An example would be delaying the Federal League court decision which could have changed the game radically. Rather than make a decision he didn't want to make, he delayed until a settlement could be made with the major leagues. He banned Shufflin' Phil Douglas when Douglas said he would go fishing rather than pitch a game for the Giants he would probably win. This was to get back at his manager, John McGraw, who gave him a vicious tongue lashing and had him given a so-called harsh drying out from alcohol abuse without his wife's knowledge as to his whereabouts. When asked by Landis his side of the story, Douglas didn't defend himself against McGraw's actions and just hung his head. Gambling wasn't a banishable offense prior to the Cobb/Speaker incident in 1927, and Landis seemed to let these two superstars off easy, whereas he was especially hard on Rogers Hornsby. The Rajah, who enjoyed attending the racetrack, stood up to Landis and said his wagering money at the racetrack was no different than Landis losing money in the stockmarket. An unfortunate character in the story is Jimmy O'Connell of the Giants. O'Connell, naively approached Heinie Sand of the Phillies about making it worth his while to lose a game against the Giants during the last week of the season. Sand, knowing what happened to Buck Weaver of the White Sox, reported the incident, and this led to O'Connell's banishment from the game. The sad part of this story is that O'Connell's teammates, Frank Frisch and Ross Youngs played a prank on O'Connell and Jimmy took it seriously. Frisch and Youngs, both Hall of Famers, were never punished. Landis's treatment of the eight Black Sox players would never be upheld today. His beginning statement, "Regardless of the verdict of juries..." tells it all. Landis would do what he wanted. He would never get away with that with either the ACLU or the players' union if they had one at that time. The author appears to defend Landis for his lack of action towards allowing blacks to play in the major leagues. Landis said he feared riots in ball parks if blacks were admitted. Maybe it was true that the time was not right, but he hid behind the tired response stating there was no rule prohibiting blacks from playing in the major leagues. Maybe not, but there was a "gentleman's agreement" that none would be signed. Some gentlemen! Landis was hired by the owners, but he didn't appear to respect them. He claimed to be a player's commissioner, and one way he showed that was in releasing players from the minor leagues that he felt covered up preventing their advancement. You really never knew what Landis' reaction would be to something. He could be very unpredictable with what he would do regarding an issue, and he seemed to play favorites regarding players. He didn't care for Branch Rickey, who he may have felt was hypocritical by playing the part of a preacher while doing things that Landis felt were self-serving. The Judge had his fights with J. G. Taylor Spink, the publisher of The Sporting News because a Saturday Evening Post article referred to Spink as Mr. Baseball and the conscience of baseball. There are some strong willed personalities in this book and the author does an excellent job of bringing this part of baseball and American history to life.

What I found most interesting about "Judge and Jury" is that the author covers Landis background extensively. The Standard Oil case, the IWW case, his opinions on World War 1 and Bolshevisim gives the true essence of this versatile individual. And they are highly interesting!

That way, the reader can understand how the Tsar of baseball worked. Also, the book is written in a way that you can draw your own conclusion about Landis decisions and achievements.

Even if I myself find Landis rather repulsive in many of his ideas and opinions (his inflexibility about Buck Weaver, his treatment of Bill Veeck and his racism among other things), you can developp some kind of understanding about the Stalin of Baseball.

All in all, a must book if you are interested in one of the most important baseball figure in history.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 9 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating backdrop and a paradox for the subject..
Biographer Pietrusza has undertaken a significant task in this biography, and has done admirably. He has fully explored much of what molded Judge Landis, and explores in major... Read more

Published on April 9 2000 by Eric V. Moye

4.0 out of 5 stars A masterful biography of a complex man
David Pietruza has written an extraordinary book about a complex, fascinating man. I always thought of Landis as a mostly eccentric showman. Read more

Published on Feb 19 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars They don't make commissioners like that anymore
As the century draws to a close and sportswriters compile lists of the most important men in modern baseball, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis should be right up there with Babe... Read more

Published on Jan 7 1999 by Matthew Silverman (msilverman@...

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT BIO!
A GREAT READ. I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED IT AND RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN BASEBALL OR AMERICAN HISTORY.

Published on Dec 24 1998

3.0 out of 5 stars Judge Landis-- a complicated case
Hard to tell what to think of the judge. He was kind to the downtrodden on one hand, but overly harsh on the other. Read more

Published on Dec 17 1998 by David

5.0 out of 5 stars Judge & Jury is really two books - baseball and politics/law
Judge and Jury is really two books, because Kenesaw Landis had two vastly different careers, and author Pietrusza is the first to have recognized the significance of that... Read more

Published on Dec 6 1998

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 9 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Search Listmania!