With all else going on, I'm VERY surprised there's no(?) call to remove Landis from the MVP award!

Estil

With everything that's been going on lately in current events, I have for the longest time wondered why AFAIK there's no serious calls for taking Kenesaw Mountain Landis' name off the MLB's MVP Award.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenesaw_Mountain_Landis#Baseball_color_line

Now exactly how racist he really was apparently is an open question but the fact of the matter is, he did in fact have virtual dictator powers over MLB (especially right after the Black Sox incident) and you all know what Truman said about the buck stops here right? And the fact of the matter is, at minimum he did nothing towards integrating MLB. At worst, he was a flat out racist who did everything in his power to not allow integration. Bottom line, not exactly your best choice for the MVP award's namesake and there are far better options. Perhaps name it after Happy Chandler (2nd commish) instead?

And on the polar opposite side of the coin, how come with everything else MLB has done to make Jackie Robinson essentially a history book saint, why the heck is the Rookie of the Year award not routinely called the Jackie Robinson Award like we do the Cy Young Award? I don't think hardly anyone knows this but you know how in 1997 MLB fully retired #42 for the 50th anniversary of him breaking the color barrier? Well ten years earlier in 1987 the ROY award was named the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award to honor both the then 40th anniversary of breaking the color barrier as well as the fact that Jackie received the first award in 1947. Just like how the Super Bowl trophy is named after the coach who won the first two SB's.

PS: I hope this is not breaking any rules...I mean this does count as a sports topic/debate right?

ernie11

Will stay away from the political side of this topic, so I only comment to sheepishly admit that I didn't know that the MVP Awards were even named after him. Always just called them the MVP Awards.

bronco2078

Just stop using names for awards no one does that.

I literally have no idea who this landis guy is , I watched baseball all my life but the stuff that happened before I was born means nothing to me.

Same with hockey , I have heard of the montreal maroons but i could not name anyone associated with them .

doubledragon

I've never heard of Landis either.

JoeBanzai

Landis was well known as a pr#ck way back then. He was put in to display a show of strength, letting the players know they weren't going to get away with gambling.

As far as any racist comments or behaviors he might have shown, perhaps people should remember that was the common belief of the day, and quit worrying about it.

perkdog

@JoeBanzai said:
Landis was well known as a pr#ck way back then. He was put in to display a show of strength, letting the players know they weren't going to get away with gambling.

As far as any racist comments or behaviors he might have shown, perhaps people should remember that was the common belief of the day, and quit worrying about it.

👍👍

Estil

@bronco2078 said:
Just stop using names for awards no one does that.

I literally have no idea who this landis guy is , I watched baseball all my life but the stuff that happened before I was born means nothing to me.

Same with hockey , I have heard of the montreal maroons but i could not name anyone associated with them .

You should, he's the guy who saved MLB from the Black Sox Scandal causing a complete meltdown of the integrity and public trust of the game. And that of course can never be taken way...but at the same time he most definitely has a dark side to him as well.

Estil

@JoeBanzai said:
Landis was well known as a pr#ck way back then. He was put in to display a show of strength, letting the players know they weren't going to get away with gambling.

As far as any racist comments or behaviors he might have shown, perhaps people should remember that was the common belief of the day, and quit worrying about it.

I would if it weren't for all these people like Kate Smith getting her statue/song taken away and Laura Ignalls Wilder getting her name stripped from the the highest honor a children's book author can receive, and is now just "the generic award" :P

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children's_Literature_Legacy_Award

If I understand correctly, Laura wrote in her books (and I think these were shown on TV as well) that her mother referred to Indians as "savage" and her sister reminding her to put her bonnet on so her skin doesn't get dark like the Indians. IOW, she was reporting what her mother and her sister said about Indians...she did NOT say this is how she herself viewed them, and at least from the TV show (and hopefully the books) Laura and the rest of the Wilders family helped people in need all the time, including blacks/Indians/minorities and so on.

I'm just saying it's not fair that Mr. Landis has so far gotten a free pass while innocent people like Kate and Laura and even Boston's Lincoln statue now, who are among the least guilty of racism or any other -isms, are the ones being horribly scapegoated.

Estil

@bronco2078 said:
Just stop using names for awards no one does that.

Vince Lombardi trophy, Stanley Cup, Cy Young Award, pretty much every individual NHL honor, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, shall I go on?

swish513

Rookie of the Year was just that for 4 decades, then it became named after Jackie. I believe the Cy Young Award was called the Cy Young Award from the first time it was awarded, but I could be wrong about that. The only other MLB award named after a player that I know the name of it and what it's handed out for is the Roberto Clemente Award. I never knew the MVPs were named for Landis.

Estil

@swish513 said:
Rookie of the Year was just that for 4 decades, then it became named after Jackie. I believe the Cy Young Award was called the Cy Young Award from the first time it was awarded, but I could be wrong about that. The only other MLB award named after a player that I know the name of it and what it's handed out for is the Roberto Clemente Award. I never knew the MVPs were named for Landis.

Right there at the top in big bold letters:

bronco2078

@Estil said:

@bronco2078 said:
Just stop using names for awards no one does that.

Vince Lombardi trophy, Stanley Cup, Cy Young Award, pretty much every individual NHL honor, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, shall I go on?

I'm saying I don't use these dopey names , but then I could care less about any awards . The vince lombardi thing is the super bowl aint it?
the stanley cup is a big silver cup thing , I guess stanely was a dude ?

hall of fame is a thing don't lets drag the monkees into it kay?