In the early days of baseball, the game was a generally lawless affair, rife with gambling, dirty play, and men of ill repute. This began to change when the stone-faced judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis became the first Commissioner of Baseball. He was given the post in 1920, and was charged with cleaning up the recent “Black Sox” scandal of 1919. His banishment of the eight players involved set the tone for his 24 year reign over Major League Baseball, which he ruled with an iron fist.

     One such instance of his leadership came in 1927, when he summoned then-Philadelphia Athletics hurler Howard Ehmke to the league offices in Chicago to question him about alleged gambling that occurred when he was with the Detroit Tigers in 1917. Landis was investigating the possibility that several Tigers pitchers were paid by White Sox players to purposely pitch poorly in order to help the White Sox win the pennant. Eventually, Ehmke would be cleared of all charges and emerge with his reputation intact.

     This Western Union telegram is framed between two 8 x 10 inch photographs, one of Judge Landis throwing out a ceremonial first pitch in 1924, and one of Ehmke wearing his Boston Red Sox uniform. This item comes in a 31 x 16 inch frame.

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