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Kennesaw Mountain Landis
Commissioner
Bats: Unknown Throws: Unknown
Born: November 20, 1866, Millville, OH
As Commissioner: 1920-44
Died: November 25, 1944, Chicago, IL (78)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1944
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was appointed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 1905 by President Theodore Roosevelt. Tough on big business and and those he thought were opposing the country's war efforts during World War I, Landis was named the first commissioner of Major League Baseball in 1920, as the owners sought an iron fist to rule over the game. One of Landis' first actions was the permanent banning of eight White Sox players allegedly involved in throwing the 1919 World Series. Ironically, given the proliferation of sports betting in all major sports these days, Landis focused on cracking down on gambling during his tenure as commissioner. And while he restored confidence in baseball as a fair game, uninfluenced by gambling, he's viewed as having stalled the overall segregation of the game. Landis instituted the All-Star Game, with the contest first being played in 1933. He was inducted by special vote into the Hall of Fame in 1944, a few weeks following his death.
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| Header cards included with the complete set |
December 16, 2020 from Albion, NY
Within days of officially deciding to collect the Diamond Stars set, I found myself searching for the 1993 extension set consisting of 36 more "what if" cards this time issued by the Chicle Fantasy Company. Individual cards from this set are very prevalent on eBay, but I wanted to buy a complete set to save myself some time and money. Given this is a relatively modern set, I was somewhat surprised at the closing auction prices for previously sold complete sets and I was happy to win my set at a lower price. These cards are gorgeous, and I can tell a lot of hard work and love for the originals went into making this tribute set. What's more, the set's creators were smart enough to start the numbering with card #121, given the 1981 extension set had left off with #120.
Variations Available
1 - 1993 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1993 copyright
The Card
Landis sure does look ornery here, and I imagine he was a difficult personality to be around. The back of the card references the first instance a designated hitter rule was considered for the game, back in 1928. It's also safe to surmise that Landis' leadership along with the spectacle of Babe Ruth (#110) helped restore the game and increase its overall popularity following the 1919 Black Sox Scandal.
1936 Season
The Yankees easily won the American League pennant and then defeated the Giants in the World Series in six games. An article in The New York Times from October 23rd wrote that Landis had mailed checks for $6,430 to each Yankee player as the winning share from the series, with each Giants player receiving $4,655.
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Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1944-45 Albertype Hall of Fame Plaque Postcards (Type 1)
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0): N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2019 Topps Revolution of the Game #REV-2
56 - Landis non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/9/26.
Sources:
Previous Card: #152 "Gee" Walker - Detroit Tigers
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