Raymond Joseph Cannon was a lawyer, politician and Congressman born Ironwood, Michigan. His parents died shortly after his birth and he was reared in an orphanage in Green Bay. He attended Marquette University, played professional baseball, and worked briefly as a relief pitcher in the major leagues.

In 1914 he was admitted to the Wisconsin bar and set up a law practice in Milwaukee. Specializing in personal injury suits, he built up a large practice, and also served as attorney for various figures in the sports world. He was attorney for Joe Jackson in a damage suit growing out of the famous Black Sox scandal of 1919, and for several years served as attorney for Jack Dempsey.

A fiery and colorful figure in the state's legal profession, Cannon was disbarred by the supreme court in 1929 on charges that included purposely deceiving the courts, charging exorbitant fees, and soliciting cases. While still suspended from practice, Cannon ran unsuccessfully for the state supreme court in 1930, and in 1931 the legislature passed an act ordering his reinstatement.

Although the court declared this act unconstitutional, it accepted Cannon's petition for reinstatement, and in January of 1932, he was readmitted to the bar. Cannon was a Democrat and was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1932, serving for six years from 1933 until 1939. In 1938 he failed to receive the Democratic nomination for Congress and ran unsuccessfully as an independent. Unsuccessful in the Democratic gubernatorial primaries in 1940 and 1942, he retired to private law practice.

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