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, Michigan, Gogebic County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, about south of Lake Superior. The city is on U.S. Route 2 in Michigan, US Highway 2 across the Montreal River (Wisconsin-Michig ...

, Cannon lost both of his parents when he was six months old, went to an orphanage briefly, then was taken in and raised by family members. He played baseball

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a cons ...

ly from 1908 to 1922, primarily as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. 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 in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

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 boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. One of the most iconic athl ...

. After the Black Sox Scandal, he was retained by one of the blacklisted players, Happy Felsch (a Milwaukee native), who sued Charles Comiskey 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

for back pay, World Series money, and damages. Felsch's teammates Buck Weaver, Shoeless Joe Jackson, 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 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 incumbent John C. Schafer with 61,038 votes to 33,609 for Schafer and 24,377 for

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

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

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

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

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

; and in 1936 (a 47.25% plurality vs. Progressive Paul Gauer and Schafer). In 1938, Cannon was unseated in the Democratic primary by Thad 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 ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

, 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 (MLBPA) is the labor union representing all current Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball (MiLB) players. All players, managers, coaches, and athletic trainers who hold or have held ...

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 Politicians from Milwaukee Catholics from Michigan Catholics from Wisconsin 20th-century American lawyers Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery (Milwaukee) 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives