Kenesaw Mountain Landis was a former federal judge with a reputation for fighting big business.
In 1920, he became Major League Baseball’s first commissioner.
His arrival came at a critical time, as the Black Sox scandal had shaken fan confidence and threatened the integrity and very existence of the game.
Landis took a hard line and banned eight White Sox players for life for throwing the World Series, and his decisive actions helped restore faith in the game’s integrity.
All of this is exceedingly admirable, but I mention him because of his name:
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
What a name.
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was born in Millville, Ohio, on November 20, 1866, to Abraham Hoch Landis and Mary Kumler Landis.
Abraham Landis had been wounded fighting in the Union army at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain in Georgia. When Abraham and Mary could not agree on a name for their new baby – their sixth – Mary Landis proposed they call him Kenesaw Mountain.
At the time, both spellings of “Kenesaw” were used, but later, “Kennesaw Mountain” became the accepted spelling of the battle site, while Kenesaw Mountain Landis maintained the alternate spelling for his name.
Just imagine:
The man was named after the battle in which his father fought and was wounded to help preserve our nation.
Matthew Dicks hasn’t always been the easiest name. Today, I love my name, but when I was younger, it was a more difficult burden to bear.
Kenesaw Mountain Landis would’ve been a kick-ass name.
Some people get all the luck.
