James Henry Landis (March 9, 1934 – October 7, 2017) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player. Landis played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) as a center fielder on six teams from 1957 through 1967. While playing eight seasons for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, he was an

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL) All-Star in 1962 and an AL Gold Glove Award winner five consecutive seasons. Landis is considered to be one of the best defensive center fielders in major-league history. Landis attended Richmond High School in Richmond, California where he starred in baseball as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

and

Contra Costa College Contra Costa College is a public community college in San Pablo, California. It is the west campus of the Contra Costa Community College District. It is part of the California community colleges system, one of the three college systems in Califor ...

San Pablo, California San Pablo (Spanish for "St. Paul") is an enclave city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city of Richmond surrounds nearly the whole city. The population was 29,139 at the 2010 census. The current Mayor is Rita Xavier. C ...

. He was signed by the White Sox as an amateur free agent in 1952. Landis served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

during the

Korean Conflict The Korean conflict is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing conflict based on the division of Korea between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and South Korea (Republic of Korea), both of which claim to be the sole legit ...

in 1954 and 1955, and was stationed in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

before beginning his major league career.

Major League career

Landis began his career in the major leagues playing for the

in 1957, where he remained for seven more seasons. He helped the "Go-Go White Sox" win the 1959

Pennant, hitting .272 with 26

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

s. He led the

that season with 13

sacrifice hits In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, an ...

and 426 and 420

putouts In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or '' fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner wit ...

as a center fielder and an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

, and hit .292 during the 1959 World Series against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. In the 1960 season, he hit .253 and had 23 stolen bases. In 1961, he hit .283 with 22

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, 8 triples, 85 RBIs, and won his first of five consecutive

Gold Glove Awards. In 1962, he played in two All-Star games. In 1963, Landis led the American League in fielding with a .993

fielding average In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, divi ...

both as a center fielder and an outfielder. Landis was traded on January 20, 1965 to the

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

, where he played one season. He also played one season for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

in 1966. In 1967, he finished his 11-year major league career playing for three teams: The Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, and the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

. Known more for his defensive abilities, Landis posted a .989 fielding percentage at all three outfield positions in his major league career.

Later years

Landis went into the safety sign business for several years after playing professional baseball and also coached for Babe Ruth League baseball. He made his home in

Napa, California Napa is the largest city and county seat of Napa County and a principal city of Wine Country in Northern California. Located in the North Bay region of the Bay Area, the city had a population of 77,480 as of the end of 2021. Napa is a major t ...

, with his wife Sandy ( née Foster).

Death

Landis succumbed after a 3-month battle with lung cancer at his home in Napa on October 7, 2017, the day following his 61st wedding anniversary. He was 83.

Legacy

The Chicago White Sox announced on September 30, 2000, that Jim Landis and 26 other former and active White Sox players were members of the Chicago White Sox All-Century Team. He was honored by fans in Chicago as "The Best All-Time Chicago Center Fielder". Landis was mentioned in a 1991 episode of the 6th season of '' Married... with Children'', "If I Could See Me Now". As Al watches TV, the announcer asks a sports trivia question, "Who played centerfield for the '59 White Sox?" Al correctly gives Landis' name.

References

External links

''Baseball Almanac'' interview with Jim Landis
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Landis, Jim 1934 births 2017 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in California American League All-Stars Gold Glove Award winners Boston Red Sox players Chicago White Sox players Kansas City Athletics players Detroit Tigers players Cleveland Indians players Houston Astros players Sportspeople from Fresno, California People from Napa, California Major League Baseball center fielders Baseball players from California Military personnel from California Richmond High School (Richmond, California) alumni