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Judge and Jury
WINNER OF THE CASEY AWARDFinalist, Seymour MedalNominee NASSH Book Award"Belongs on most Sports bookshelves."—Library Journal"well-regarded"—Washington Post"Finally, an objective biography of Baseball's first Commissioner.Beautifully done."—Jerome Holtzman"Judge and Jury is first rate."—Fay Vincent"Baseball fans should be grateful for this comprehensive biography of one of the game's most towering and dominating figures."—Attorney General Richard Thornburgh"The most comprehensive biography yet of "the man who save baseball" from the stain of the 1919 Black Sox scandal."—USA Today Baseball Weekly"Handled readably and with plenty of documenting research . . . every baseball history library should make room for 'Judge and Jury.'"—Total Baseball Daily"David Pietrusza has gone beyond the one dimensional public image of Kenesaw M. Landis that too many people today accept as graven truth . . . In this meticulously researched book, Pietrusza with admirable objectivity depicts both the faults and virtues of one of the most important and colorful figures of the 20th century."—Robert Creamer"[Judge and Jury] is outstanding. I have learned more about the history of baseball, true history, than from anything I have ever read or heard about. [It's] research and documentation clarifies so many of the personalities and events that took place before 'my time' in the game. Jacques Barzun's 'Whoever would know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball' should be supplanted by [this] biography of Landis."—Ralph Kiner"The truth that emerges from this exhaustive and engaging biography of Judge Landis has no problem matching the outsizedlegend stride for stride."—Jeff Silverman, amazon.com"Excellent"—Stefan Szymanski and Andrew ZimbalistSince his death in 1944, history has transformed Kenesaw Mountain Landis into a one-dimensional the stem, scowling ruler of baseball who rescued the sport from the depths of the Black Sox scandal—banishing wrongdoers, scowling at owners, helping to block racial integration. JUDGE AND The Life and Times of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis strips away the myths and facile explanations to reveal the real Landis—with all the subtleties and contradictions that made him not only czar of baseball, but also the most I famous, popular, and controversial federal judge in America.Landis' historic $29 million fine on John D. Rockefeller's grasping Standard Oil trust was but the most sensational decision of a long and fiery career on the bench. Through his courtroom trooped such fascinating figures as "Big Bill" Haywood and his radical IWW, bootleggers, gamblers, and con men, religious cultists, and the arsenic-dispensing murderer Herman Billick. The Judge could be harsh-sentencing anti-war dissenters to the maximum penalties—or he could be unpredictably forgiving. Lenience to the downtrodden nearly led to his impeachment.As the iron-fisted first commissioner of baseball from 1920 to 1944, Landis did whatever he deemed necessary to secure the best interests of baseball. His measures were harsh and often inconsistent to observers, but one of his least popular decisions—the banishment of third baseman Buck Weaver—may have been his most significant move in cleaning up and preserving the game.Above all, Landis was a shrewd and crafty wielder of power. Coming from a talented family of politicians and journalists, he understood better than any of his contemporaries what was necessary to succeed in the modern world of media-created heroes.From his memorable name to his unforgettable impact on baseball and the law, here the Landis legend is balanced by fact and finally preserved in extensive and intriguing detail for generations to come.David Pietrusza is the best-selling author of "1920: The Year of the Six Presidents" and "Silent Cal's The Homespun Wisdom of Vermont's Calvin Coolidge." From 1993-97 he served as national president of SABR.
598 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 1998
17 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
David Pietrusza
36 books31 followersDavid Pietrusza’s books include 1920: The Year of Six Presidents; Rothstein: The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series; 1948: Harry Truman's Improbable Victory and the Year that Transformed America's Role in the World; 1960: LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon: The Epic Campaign that Forged Three Presidencies; and 1932: The Rise of Hitler and FDR—Two Tales of Politics, Betrayal, and Unlikely Destiny. Rothstein was a finalist for an Edgar Award in the Best Fact Crime category, and 1920 was honored by Kirkus Reviews as among their "Books of the Year." Pietrusza has appeared on Good Morning America, Morning Joe, The Voice of America, The History Channel, ESPN, NPR, AMC, and C-SPAN. He has spoken at The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, The National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, the Harry S Truman library and Museum, and various universities and festivals. He lives in Scotia, New York. Visit davidpietrusza.com
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 27, 2018
In 1922 baseball needed a czar. The game was rocked by scandal the most prominent of which was the fixing of the 1919 World Series. And two things saved it. One was Babe Ruth and the new lively
ball era with Ruth hitting more home runs a season than most teams and that went on for about a
decade. The second was the hiring of a baseball commissioner with dictator like power. One
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was hired, a federal judge who had issued some controversial opinions,
breaking up the Standard Oil Trust, coming down hard on anti-war protesters during World War I,
stuff like that.
And what an image. Even now that white haired judge looks like one of those old testament prophets
and from the bench his opinions his opinions read like scripture. Just what the national past time
needed. As far as the owners, players, and fans were concerned he was God Almighty.
Landis was a rock ribbed Republican, son of a Civil War veteran who was an army doctor and
served at the Battle of Kenesaw Mountain and named his latest born child after same. He was a
great supporter of Theodore Roosevelt who named him to the Federal bench. He had connections
with the Democrats as well. He was an aid to mugwump Republican Walter Q. Gresham, also a
federal judge whom Grover Cleveland made his Secretary Of State during his second term.
During his tenure Landis issued rulings from which there was no appeal. He banned many players
including the 8 White Sox players accused of throwing the World Series. He was a foe of the farm
system developed by Branch Rickey and just by fiat freed many players signed to contracts that
were buried in the minor leagues.
He certainly gave the image of baseball a needed polishing. Had he not died in 1944 it would have
been interesting how he would have handled the integration of baseball. He killed the purchase of
the Philadelphia Phillies by Bill Veeck who had intentions of doing that. He was however the son
of a Union Army veteran and he was proud of that. One might have to get a seance going to find
out.
Read David Pietrusza's fine book on Landis and come to your own conclusion.
ball era with Ruth hitting more home runs a season than most teams and that went on for about a
decade. The second was the hiring of a baseball commissioner with dictator like power. One
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was hired, a federal judge who had issued some controversial opinions,
breaking up the Standard Oil Trust, coming down hard on anti-war protesters during World War I,
stuff like that.
And what an image. Even now that white haired judge looks like one of those old testament prophets
and from the bench his opinions his opinions read like scripture. Just what the national past time
needed. As far as the owners, players, and fans were concerned he was God Almighty.
Landis was a rock ribbed Republican, son of a Civil War veteran who was an army doctor and
served at the Battle of Kenesaw Mountain and named his latest born child after same. He was a
great supporter of Theodore Roosevelt who named him to the Federal bench. He had connections
with the Democrats as well. He was an aid to mugwump Republican Walter Q. Gresham, also a
federal judge whom Grover Cleveland made his Secretary Of State during his second term.
During his tenure Landis issued rulings from which there was no appeal. He banned many players
including the 8 White Sox players accused of throwing the World Series. He was a foe of the farm
system developed by Branch Rickey and just by fiat freed many players signed to contracts that
were buried in the minor leagues.
He certainly gave the image of baseball a needed polishing. Had he not died in 1944 it would have
been interesting how he would have handled the integration of baseball. He killed the purchase of
the Philadelphia Phillies by Bill Veeck who had intentions of doing that. He was however the son
of a Union Army veteran and he was proud of that. One might have to get a seance going to find
out.
Read David Pietrusza's fine book on Landis and come to your own conclusion.
March 28, 2022
If all you know about Kenesaw Mountain Landis is that he barred eight “Black Sox” from baseball for life for having thrown the 1919 World Series and that he prevented the integration of Major League Baseball, then this book is for you…as it was for me! As fascinating as Landis’ work as commissioner was — and there were constant controversies to be decided and disputes to be settled, and he banned many more players — I found his life as a judge to be equally fascinating, and this book covers Landis’ judicial career as well. Regarding integrating baseball, Landis cannot be praised, but neither can all the blame be placed at his feet for failing to advance this cause. Landis didn’t have to ban African-Americans from Major League Baseball because no owner (except eventually Branch Rickey) was going to sign a Black player anyway. Of course, neither did Landis make any move even to nudge, much less push, the owners in the right direction. in short, I found this to be a captivating biography of a man who dominated baseball for almost a quarter of a century. I will mention that this book is well researched, with 1,373 footnotes, yet the author still manages to make simple errors like when referring to player Larry “Dobby” instead of “Doby” and writer Shirley “Polish” instead of Shirley “Povich.”
January 29, 2020
Landis a fascinating man, and this was worth the read. I thought the book included a bit too much extraneous material concerning his siblings' careers (perhaps just me) and I skimmed through that. I am interested to know more about his closely guarded personal family life as he was such a unique character, but that appears to be difficult to report from available sources. I very much appreciated the balanced life story the author produced of Judge Landis and the representation of the controversial issues he juried, which continue to this very day to be challenged as new baseball cheating scandals emerge and are compared to events chronicled here. I learned a lot of interesting history from this book, including about the Wobblies.
September 21, 2022
Exceptional Biography of an Exceptional Man
Pietrusza's work is a highly-detailed, rigorously-researched book that brings forth the true character of The Man Who Saved Baseball. It's a refreshing change from the stereotypes that have been repeated so frequently about Judge Landis over the years.
I highly recommend this book for any student of baseball history or any fan who wants to understand how the game we know today evolved.
Pietrusza's work is a highly-detailed, rigorously-researched book that brings forth the true character of The Man Who Saved Baseball. It's a refreshing change from the stereotypes that have been repeated so frequently about Judge Landis over the years.
I highly recommend this book for any student of baseball history or any fan who wants to understand how the game we know today evolved.
November 2, 2018
If you like baseball and have an interest in the early years of modern baseball then this is a must read. Judge Landis influence on America and especially baseball is unparalleled.
May 21, 2012
"Judge and Jury: The Life and Times of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis" is an essential read for fans of baseball history in my opinion. It's well researched and well written. I found this book fascinating from both the baseball perspective and also from the general history perspective. I try to read some baseball books every year around the start of spring training. It's one of my traditions. This year, David Pietrusza's book sat on my list. I'm glad I read it.
Nearly anyone who knows even cursory baseball history has heard the name Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Even people who aren't familiar with how much he influenced baseball has probably heard of him from the Black Sox scandal. Until I read this book, I wasn't aware of much else about him. This book does a great job of filling in the blanks to give us a more rounded picture of who the judge was. I really appreciated the history prior to 1920 when he assumed the commissionership. It was great! The extensive notes in the back also help people like me who enjoy further research.
I think this was a very fair, balanced look at a complicated man. It addresses myths that have surrounded the judge back to his lifetime. I appreciate all of the work Mr. Pietrusza put into this book, and I will read it again.
Nearly anyone who knows even cursory baseball history has heard the name Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Even people who aren't familiar with how much he influenced baseball has probably heard of him from the Black Sox scandal. Until I read this book, I wasn't aware of much else about him. This book does a great job of filling in the blanks to give us a more rounded picture of who the judge was. I really appreciated the history prior to 1920 when he assumed the commissionership. It was great! The extensive notes in the back also help people like me who enjoy further research.
I think this was a very fair, balanced look at a complicated man. It addresses myths that have surrounded the judge back to his lifetime. I appreciate all of the work Mr. Pietrusza put into this book, and I will read it again.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews