Judge and Jury: The Life and Times of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis (Hardcover)

by David Pietrusza (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Baseball's first commissioner cast such a long and powerful shadow over the game, it's often hard to untangle his contribution from his personality, and his life from his lasting myth. The truth that emerges from this exhaustive and engaging biography of Judge Landis has no problem matching the outsized legend stride for stride. Landis moved into the public spotlight to clean up the national pastime after the disgrace of the 1919 World Series, but there was much more to this complex man and his complex career. Judge and Jury chronicles the entirety.

A tough, colorful judge, his rulings could be as unpredictable as he was. Landis could be as severe and stubborn as he could be gentle and understanding, characteristics that both defined his decision-making and confused his critics. Noted as a trustbuster--he went head to head with John D. Rockefeller, fining Standard Oil $29 million--he upheld baseball's exemption from antitrust status from the bench. Known for his harsh sentences, he was almost impeached for his leniency to the destitute. As commissioner, he loved the post, the game, and his perceived responsibility as its primary upholder and restorer of virtue: "You have told the world that my powers would be absolute," he warned the owners who hired him. "I wouldn't take this job for all the gold in the world unless I knew my hands were free." In his regime, they pretty much were, and he used them to grab his share of whatever power and glory he could wrap them around. --Jeff Silverman

From Publishers Weekly
This exhaustive study of baseball's first commissioner by the author of Minor Miracles includes details about its subject's life before baseball. Named for the Civil War battle in which his father was wounded and nicknamed "Squire," Landis grew up in a large family, two of whose members later served in the House of Representatives, while others became prominent journalists. This scion of a rock-ribbed Midwestern Republican family served in Washington, D.C., in the administration of Democrat Grover Cleveland. But back in his adopted city of Chicago in 1905, Landis was appointed a federal district court judge by Teddy Roosevelt. Deeply involved in the progressive, trust-busting wing of the GOP, he came to national attention when he took on Standard Oil and its powerful head, John D. Rockefeller Sr. Though the multimillionaire tried to avoid a subpoena, Landis made him testify and assessed Standard Oil a $29-million fineAthe largest in U.S. history (though it was later reduced). During WWI he was an unabashed jingoist, convinced that all socialists and labor leaders who opposed the war were traitors; unfortunately for them, many were tried in Landis's court and drew inordinately long sentences. The so-called Black Sox scandal in the World Series of 1919, fixed by gamblers, led the owners to hire Landis as an almost omnipotent commissioner, a job he held until his death 24 years later. He did indeed restore the reputation for honesty of the national pastime, though he opposed night games and the farm system in vain. In this fascinating, diligently researched work, Pietrusza tackles a complex, important man and makes him his own. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 564 pages
• Publisher: Diamond Communications (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888698098
• ISBN-13: 978-1888698091
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #475,129 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They don't make commissioners like that anymore, January 7, 1999

By	Matthew Silverman ([e-mail]) (Fairfield, CT) - See all my reviews

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 Ruth, Christy Mathewson, and Mark McGwire. Without the stern hand of Landis following the infamous "Black Sox" scandal, baseball may have evolved into a grotesque spectacle more akin to professional wrestling than the National Pastime. The grand jury indictment of eighth members of the Chicago White Sox for throwing the 1919 World Series was a black eye for baseball. The resulting trial featured "lost" confessions by the accused and a post-trial meal between players and several jurors after the not-guilty verdict. Landis had been commissioner for almost a year when he delivered his decision that still keeps Shoeless Joe Jackson out of the Hall of Fame. That is the part of the story that many baseball fans know, but one of author David Pietrusza's main points is the Judge's banning of Buck Weaver, who knew of the fix and did not report it. While it seems unfair, the decision on this matter gave baseball the honor system it previsously lacked. Gambling on games continued, but players with knowledge of a fix were more likely to go to Landis than to risk Buck Weaver's fate. Landis banned many lesser-known players during his 24-year tenure, but he also had tussles with the likes of Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, and Rogers Hornsby on the subject of gambling. Babe Ruth's failed attempt to barnstorm against the Judge's wishes is one of the more entertaining chapters in the book. Branch Rickey's battles with Landis over the farm system in the 1930s foreshadows the clashes between future commissioner Bowie Kuhn and A's owner Charlie Finley over free agency in the 1970s. Pietrusza deftly dispells the myth that Landis alone stood in the way of intergration of baseball. The first part of the book chronicles the somewhat humble beginnings of the son of a Union surgeon from Ohio, who named his sixth child after the Civil War battle that crippled his left leg. Judge Landis, referred to throughout the book by his nickname of "the Squire," was the most successful member of a family that became influential in the midwest as well as Washington, D.C. Indeed, almost half the book details the Squire's law career and eventual appointment as a federal judge in Illinois. Author Pietrusza details each significant case ever to come before the judge, including his decision against Standard Oil and John D. Rockefeller that made Landis a household name. In the 452 pages of text, plus another 212 pages of notes and index, Pietrusza not only tells us about the man, but he puts us back in the times that the Judge lived. Having worked with the author previously, I expected the book to be thorough, but I learned more about politics, history, and yes, baseball, than I ever imagined. In the end, the life of baseball's first--and finest--commissioner is too brief and we feel sad that we shall not see his like again in the game he helped make great.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Judge & Jury is really two books - baseball and politics/law, December 6, 1998

By A Customer

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 dichotomy. Baseball fans will value Judge and Jury's coverage of Landis' career as the National Pastime's first commisioner. They will particularly savor revelations concerning two topics. The first is the machinations surrounding the Judge's appointment in the wake of the 1919 Black Sox scandal, particularly the plottings and counter-plottings of American League president Byron "Ban" Johnson. The second is Pietrusza's artful demolition of the oft-told tale that Landis scotched Bill Veeck's plan to purchase the Philadelphia Phillies and stock the team's roster with Negro League stars. Either chapter is worth the price of admission for baseball fans. Landis' other career covered politics and the law. Baseball fans and history buffs alike will find much to learn: of Landis' career in the State Department; his remarkable family; his handling of the landmark Standard Oil antitrust case and the IWW and Socialist Party sedition cases of World War 1; and his interaction with the Chicago crime scene (including pre-Capone mobsters, poison-dispensing mass-murderers, and high-stakes swindlers). Landis could be harsh; he could be surprisingly lenient. Pietrusza skillfully chronicles both sides of this complex and often downright enigmatic individual. Judge and Jury is a masterpiece of sports biography and more than holds its own regarding Landis' "other" life. Five stars.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Thorough Biography, April 16, 2000

By	C. W. Emblom "Bill Emblom" (Ishpeming, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.