Ty Cobb Meets Judge Landis, April 29,1921 Although Detroit Tigers manager, Ty Cobb, seems pleased here to meet new commissioner, Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis in this photo taken on April 29, 1921, their relationship would quickly sour. In 1926 both Cobb and Tris Speaker along with ex-pitcher Smokey Joe Wood, were accused by former pitcher Dutch Leonard of plotting to fix a Detroit-Cleveland game Detroits way so the club could collect money for finishing in third place instead of fourth. In addition, he accused them of betting $2000 on the game. The allegations existed in the form of letters in Leonard”s possession that had been passed among the parties involved. The letters were presented to American League president, Ban Johnson. Making the allegations questionable was the fact that the surly Leonard was known to hold a beef against Cobb and Speaker. He thought Cobb had bad-mouthed him around the league, so that when Cobb put him on waivers he was passed out of the league. He was also upset with Speaker, who had been his friend and teammate on the 1913-15 Red Sox. He thought Speaker should have picked up his wavier, but he did not. He blamed Cobb and Speaker for contributing to the early ending of his career. After hearing the allegations, Johnson insisted that Cobb and Speaker retire immediately. Because of the stature of the two players, and the seriousness of the allegations, the American League owners decided that the matter be brought before Judge Landis, who, after studying the facts, announced that the two stars were permitted to resign.” Behind closed doors, an agreement was worked out so that Cobb and Speaker would step down as managers of their respective clubs, without any fanfare or publicity. As news of the scandal was made public, Cobb, who always proclaimed his innocence in the matter, became more determined than ever to clear his name. Cobb had many friends in politics and was prepared to use all the influence at his disposal in order to reverse Landis decision. In deference to Cobbs status and the mounting public sentiment favoring the two players, Landis was forced to reopen the case. Following a hearing on the matter, and after speaking with all parties involved, Landis cited a lack of evidence and publicly exonerated both Cobb and Speaker of any wrong doing. (Dutch Leonards refusal to leave California to testify in the matter broke the case in favor of the accused. It has always been rumored that his sudden reticence was because of his fear of what Cobb might do to him if he showed up in person. Despite the ruling, Cobb always always felt that he had been mistreated by Landis in the matter and held a longtime grudge against him. Even years later, at the 1939 dedication of the Baseball Hall of Fame, at which Landis was the master of ceremonies, Cobb arrived late on purpose just so he didnt have to shake the commissioners hand or have his picture taken with him. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Old-Time Baseball Photos https://facebook/pages/Old-Time-Baseball-Photos/308921932607061
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 16:55:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015