Many famous people have lived in Woodford County, including actor Johnny Depp, NFL player Chad Pennington, and country music artist Sturgill Simpson. Still, I think the most renowned person is the 44th and 49th governor of Kentucky, United States senator, and commissioner of baseball who approved Jackie Robinson’s integration into the MLB. Albert Benjamin “Happy” Chandler was the second baseball commissioner and played an influential role in integrating baseball with Jackie Robinson.
On Thursday, December 5th, Ms. Kifer’s sports literacy class listened to Happy Chandler’s grandson, Ben Chandler, a United States senator, talk about his family history with Happy Chandler. He discussed his grandfather’s experiences and stories while taking questions from the class. Mr. Chandler said some very interesting things including how Happy Chandler was born in a Confederate-leaning town in Western Kentucky and even that Happy’s grandfather was a Confederate soldier. Chandler’s famous quote discussing his decision to integrate baseball was, “I’ve already done a lot of thinking about this whole racial situation in our country. As a member of the Senate Military Affairs Committee, I got to know a lot about our casualties during the war. Plenty of black boys were willing to go out and fight and die for this country. Is it right when they come back to tell them they can’t play the national pastime? You know, Branch, I’m going to have to meet my Maker someday. And if He asks me why I didn’t let this boy play, and I say it’s because he’s black, that might not be a satisfactory answer. If the Lord made some people black, some white, and some red or yellow, he must have had a pretty good reason. It isn’t my job to decide which colors can play big league baseball. It is my job to see that the game is fairly played and that everybody has an equal chance. I think if I do that, I can face my Maker with a clear conscience.”
Happy Chandler wasn’t always the big governor and baseball commissioner he was portrayed as. He was a phenomenal athlete at Transylvania University playing basketball, baseball, and football while being a captain for all 3. He even coached Versailles High School in football having an undefeated season and he has the winningest record in Woodford County football history. In 1962 he won the Kentucky High School football state championship coaching Versailles High School. He coached the UK Women’s basketball team for one year before applying for the head coaching position for Centre College football where he was not given the job. After that, he decided to get into politics running for the US Senate in 1928 before becoming the lieutenant governor of Kentucky in 1931. In 1935 he decided to run for governor and won becoming the 2nd youngest governor in Kentucky history. This term was during the great depression which was extremely difficult for most Americans. He was offered the job of baseball commissioner taking a salary of $70,000, equivalent to around $1,600,000 today adjusted for inflation. He was known as the player’s commissioner during his time. When Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey came to him with the idea of signing a black player Chandler fully supported him. When the time came to vote on who should be the next commissioner Chandler lost reelection by one vote from Major League owners. Chandler said he always felt he lost his job because he let Jackie Robinson play but has no regrets about his decision.
Chandler had various ties to Versailles and Woodford County living at Elm Street and Camden Avenue about a block away from Woodford County High School where he had all types of people including baseball stars, actors, and presidents. Chandler is buried in Versailles at Pisgah Presbyterian Cemetery off of Pisgah Pike by the castle. In conclusion, Happy Chandler was very influential during his life and is the sole reason Jackie Robinson and other African American players can play in Major League Baseball.
