New York-based baseball writer Ben Walker revealed the little-known fact that baseball’s MVP award is named for the sport’s first commissioner, who kept the game segregated. Former MVPs told Walker they would favor pulling the name of Kenesaw Mountain Landis from the award, and the organization that presents the award, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, says it will consider removing the name.
Joe DiMaggio’s 1947 American League MVP plaque is displayed at a news conference in New York, Jan. 22, 2006. The plaque features the name and image of Kenesaw Mountain Landis, baseball’s forst commissioner.
AP Photo / Jennifer Szymaszek