The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Contributors 2023
Ban Johnson
- Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Contributors 2023
- Embed from Getty Images
- Sport(s): Baseball Executive
- Statistics: Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
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Ban Johnson became the president of the Western League in 1894, and he turned it from a struggling minor league to a thriving one. Johnson believed that the National League had become too rowdy and was not a family-friendly product. The Western League was renamed the American League in 1900, and that October, he withdrew his league from the National Agreement, thus taking them out of the minors of the National League. In January of 1901, Johnson boldly declared that the American League was a major league, and he added teams in Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. War was on!
The National League restricted salaries to $2,400, a number so low that over 100 players bolted to the American League. In its first year as a direct competitor, the AL was winning, and a new agreement was put in place that recognized both leagues as equal.
By the late 1910s, Johnson clashed with some of the American League club owners and found himself on the losing end of the confrontations. When Kennesaw Mountain Landis became the commissioner of baseball, he did so under the condition of absolute power. Johnson was often critical of Landis over how he handled issues, and he now had enemies above and below. He resigned in 1927 but was essentially forced out of his own creation.
Johnson may have made some enemies, but his vision and genius were undeniable. Baseball is a much better game because of Johnson, and even those whom he feuded with at the time would have agreed on that.
We are proud to nominate Ban Johnson for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.
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