http://www.britannica.com/seo/h/happy-chandler/ > ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA > > > Chandler, Happy > b. July 14, 1898, Corydon, Ky., U.S. > d. June 15, 1991, Versailles, Ky. > > byname of A.B. CHANDLER, in full ALBERT BENJAMIN > CHANDLER, U.S. senator (1939-45), governor of > Kentucky (1935-39, 1955-59), and controversial > commissioner of American baseball (1945-51). > > Chandler attended Transylvania College, Lexington, Ky. (A.B., 1921), and, > after a year at the Harvard Law School, attended the University of Kentucky > (LL.B., 1924). Turning to politics after a brief stint in private law practice, he > was elected to the Kentucky Senate in 1929 and became his state's > lieutenant governor in 1932 and governor in 1935. He modernized the state's > government and then resigned so that he could be appointed to an > unexpired seat in the U.S. Senate; he was elected to a full term in 1942. > > After the first baseball commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, died in > 1944, the baseball owners chose Chandler to replace him. During the course > of his tenure he became noted for his independence. He advocated players' > rights by supporting a new pension plan and a $5,000 minimum salary for > major-league players; he suspended the Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo > Durocher for the 1947 season for "an accumulation of unpleasant incidents . > . . detrimental to baseball"; and he cleared the way for Jackie Robinson to > become the first black player in modern major-league history (despite a 15-1 > negative vote by club owners). The club owners did not reelect Chandler in > 1951. > > Paradoxically, Chandler, the backer of Robinson, supported the > segregationist Dixiecrats in the 1948 presidential elections. But, after being > reelected governor of Kentucky in 1955, he used National Guard troops to > enforce school integration. Then, in another turnabout, in 1968 he sought, > unsuccessfully, the vice-presidential spot on segregationist George Wallace's > team. > > Chandler was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >