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Rose Mary (left) and Alma Jean King said they are distant relatives of Kenesaw Mountain Landis, a Butler County native who was chosen as baseball's first commissioner in 1920.Click to enlarge

HAMILTON — Two audience members were particularly interested in what a Cincinnati Reds historian had to say about Kenesaw Mountain Landis.

That's because Landis, a Butler County native who was chosen as professional baseball's first commissioner in 1920, is one of their distant relatives, according to sisters Rose Mary and Alma Jean King.

The Hamilton natives attended Greg Rhodes' presentation at Miami Hamilton Downtown during lunch Monday, Oct. 20. The event was part of the fall series sponsored by the Butler County Historical Society.

Rhodes told the crowd that Landis was born in Millville in 1866 and was a federal judge in Chicago at the time of his appointment to lead baseball.

Landis, who was inducted into the hall of fame a year after he died in 1944, helped restore integrity to the game following the 1919 World Series, Rhodes said. Following that series, which the Reds won, eight Chicago White Sox players were federally indicted for getting paid to throw the series.

Despite being acquitted, Landis ruled that the eight players could not return to professional baseball, Rhodes said.

"The Pete Rose controversy is a direct result of Landis' ruling," Rhodes said.

Back then, the World Series was the crowning moment of the only sport in town and it had more importance for the country than it does today, Rhodes said.

The King sisters said Landis was their first cousin, twice removed. They showed Rhodes a rare photo of him sitting in the stands at a baseball game with his nephew, Lincoln Landis, who lives in Logansport, Ind.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2122 or rwilson@coxohio.com.