Happy Chandler 44th governor of Kentucky from 1935 to 1939, a member of the U.S. Senate , and again as the 49th governor of Kentucky from 1955 to 1959. In his first term as governor, he oversaw the repeal of the sales tax, replacing the lost revenue with new excise taxes and the state's first income tax , and helped improve the state's education and transportation systems. He resigned as governor so his successor could appoint him to the Senate. A fiscal conservative and disciple of Virginia 's Harry F. Byrd , Chandler opposed parts of Roosevelt's New Deal and openly disagreed with the president's decision to prioritize European operations in World War II over the Pacific War . In 1945, he resigned his Senate seat to become the commissioner of baseball , succeeding Kenesaw Mountain Landis . He approved Jackie Robinson 's contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers , initiating the racial integration of Major League Baseball .
Photograph credit: Harris & Ewing ; restored by Kentuckian
