Raymond Joseph Cannon (August 26, 1894 – November 25, 1951) was an attorney, baseball player and Democratic politician who represented Wisconsin's 4th congressional district in the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

from 1933 to 1939.

Early life

Born in

Ironwood, Michigan Ironwood is a city in Gogebic County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, about south of Lake Superior. The city is on US Highway 2 across the Montreal River from Hurley, Wisconsin. It is the westernmost city in Michigan ...

, Cannon lost both of his parents when he was six months old and he went to an orphanage shortly then he was raised by his family members. He played baseball semi-professionally from 1908 to 1922, primarily as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He pitched against the Philadelphia Phillies in a spring training exhibition game in March 1918 and gave up 13 runs on 17 hits in 9-innings. He also taught school in Minocqua, Wisconsin in 1910 and 1911. He attended

Marquette University Law School Marquette University Law School is the professional graduate law school of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is one of two law schools in Wisconsin and the only private law school in the state. Founded in 1892 as the Milwaukee Law ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

and was admitted to the bar in 1914. He became an early sports attorney whose clients included

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926 ...

. After the Black Sox Scandal, he was retained by one of the blacklisted players, Happy Felsch (a Milwaukee native), who sued

Charles Comiskey Charles Albert Comiskey (August 15, 1859 – October 26, 1931), nicknamed "Commy" or "The Old Roman", was an American Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League, and was also ...

and 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 ...

for back pay, World Series money, and damages. Felsch's teammates

Buck Weaver George Daniel "Buck" Weaver (August 18, 1890 – January 31, 1956) was an American shortstop and third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox. Weaver played for the 1917 World Series champion White Sox, then ...

Shoeless Joe Jackson Joseph Jefferson Jackson (July 16, 1887 – December 5, 1951), nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American outfielder who played Major League Baseball (MLB) in the early 1900s. Although his .356 career batting average is the fourth highest ...

, and Swede Risberg also became Cannon's clients. In 1922, he helped put together the short-lived National Baseball Players Association of the United States, one of several unsuccessful attempts to create a

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

for pro ball players. It is believed that his association with the Black Sox hurt the NBPA, and may have contributed to its collapse. In 1929 his law license was suspended, and Cannon was prevented from practicing until it was reinstated in 1931.

Politics

In 1932, Cannon was the Democratic nominee for the 4th District seat in the

73rd United States Congress The 73rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1933, ...

, unseating

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

incumbent John C. Schafer with 61,038 votes to 33,609 for Schafer and 24,377 for

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

State Representative Walter Polakowski. In 1934, after Cardinal Dougherty of Philadelphia called for a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

boycott of all films, Cannon (himself a Catholic) announced plans to introduce a congressional bill, supported by both Democrats and Republicans, which would introduce Government oversight of film censorship. Cannon was re-elected in 1934 with a 38.56% plurality in a five-way race (against Schafer, a Socialist, a Progressive, and an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Communist; and in 1936 (a 47.25% plurality vs. Progressive Paul Gauer and Schafer). In 1938, Cannon was unseated in the Democratic primary by Thaddeus F. Wasielewski, but ran anyway as an independent. He lost his seat to Schafer, polling only 7,498 votes (7.02%) to Schafer's 34,196 (32.00%), Wasielewski's 33,559 (31.40%), and Progressive Gauer's 30,817 (28.84%); a Union Party candidate polled 794 votes (0.74%). Cannon later ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1940 and 1942.

Personal life

He married Alice Carey in 1915, and they had three children:

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, Mary Alice and Jeanne.

, the eldest, also became an attorney, and was elected as a Wisconsin Circuit and Wisconsin Appeals Court Judge, and served as legal advisor to the

Major League Baseball Players Association The Major League Baseball Players Association (or MLBPA) is the union representing all current Major League Baseball players. All players, managers, coaches, and athletic trainers who hold or have held a signed contract with a Major League cl ...

Death

Cannon died in Milwaukee after suffering a heart attack. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery & Mausoleum in Milwaukee.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cannon, Raymond Joseph 1894 births 1951 deaths People from Ironwood, Michigan Lawyers from Milwaukee Marquette University Law School alumni Semi-professional baseball players Sports labor leaders Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin 20th-century American politicians Politicians from Milwaukee Catholics from Michigan Catholics from Wisconsin 20th-century American lawyers