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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. Landis played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) as a

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

, he was an

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

(AL)

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

in 1962 and an AL

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual Fielding (baseball), fielding performances. It is awar ...

winner five consecutive seasons. Landis is considered to be one of the best defensive

s in major-league history. Landis attended Richmond High School in

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 3, 1905, and has a Richmond, California, City Council, city council.

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 Baseball scorekeep ...

and Contra Costa College in

San Pablo, California San Pablo (Spanish language, Spanish for "Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul") is an enclave city in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. The current mayor is P ...

. 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 primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

during the

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in 1954 and 1955, and was stationed in

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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 Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

s. He led the

that season with 13 sacrifice hits and 426 and 420

putouts In baseball statistics, a putout (PO) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out (baseball), out by one of the following methods: * tag play, Tagging a runner with the ball when he is no ...

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 catch ...

, 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. In the 1960 season, he hit .253 and had 23

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. In 1961, he hit .283 with 22

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, 8

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, 85 RBIs, and won his first of five consecutive

s. In 1962, he played in two All-Star games. In 1963, Landis led the American League in fielding with a .993 fielding average both as a center fielder and an outfielder. Landis was traded on January 20, 1965 to the

Kansas City Athletics The Kansas City Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1955 to 1967, having previously played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Athletics. After moving in 1967, the team became the ...

, 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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

in 1966. In 1967, he finished his 11-year major league career playing for three teams: The

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

, 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. Known more for his defensive abilities, Landis posted a .989

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

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, California, Napa County and a principal city of Wine Country in Northern California, United States. Located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the Bay Area, th ...

, with his wife Sandy (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

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 20th-century American sportsmen Detroit Tigers players Cleveland Indians players Houston Astros players Baseball players from Fresno, California Sportspeople from Napa, California Baseball players from Napa County, California Major League Baseball center fielders Military personnel from California Richmond High School (Richmond, California) alumni Baseball players from Richmond, California