Days prior to Chandler's assumption of the commissionership, the Brooklyn Dodgers' general manager, Branch Rickey, had announced the signing of Jackie Robinson to a minor league contract with the Montreal Royals, making him the first black man to play for a Major League Baseball affiliate.
The following year, Rickey transferred Robinson's contract from Montreal to Brooklyn, effectively breaking baseball's color line.
In a speech at Wilberforce University in February 1948, Rickey recounted a secret meeting that had allegedly been held by baseball officials at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago on August 28, 1946.
At the meeting, Rickey claimed that Ford Frick disseminated a report that stated, "However well-intentioned, the use of Negro players would hazard all physical properties of baseball."
According to Rickey, all 15 team owners except for him voted to endorse the report.
Rickey claimed Frick meticulously collected all copies of the report at the end of the meeting to prevent them from being disseminated.
Baseball historian Bill Marshall later wrote that the document and subsequent vote to which Rickey was referring was the advisory committee's initial draft of recommended reforms.
Marshall further recorded that Rickey identified the meeting and the report shortly after his speech at Wilberforce and retracted his claim of 15–1 opposition to Robinson's entry into Major League Baseball.

Chandler, who was also allegedly at the meeting, made no public mention of it until a 1972 interview.
In the interview, Chandler then corroborated the essentials of Rickey's story, but he placed the meeting at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in January 1947.
He also recounted that later in 1947, Rickey came to his home in Kentucky to discuss the matter further.
According to Chandler, Rickey professed that he would not move forward with Robinson's transfer unless he had Chandler's full support, which Chandler later pledged.
Aside from Chandler's anecdote, which he frequently repeated after the 1972 interview, there is no evidence that his meeting with Rickey ever took place.
Nevertheless, future baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn and Washington Post sportswriter Bob Addie maintained that Robinson would not have played without Chandler's intervention.

That Chandler supported Robinson and the racial integration of baseball is evidenced by his actions during the 1947 season.
First and foremost, as commissioner, Chandler had the power to void Robinson's contract, but he chose to approve it.
Further, after extreme, race-based jeering at Robinson by the Philadelphia Phillies and their manager, Ben Chapman, Chandler threatened both the team and Chapman personally with disciplinary action for any future incidents of race-based taunting.
Later that season, he decisively supported Ford Frick's decision to suspend indefinitely any members of the St. Louis Cardinals who followed through on their threat to strike against racial integration.
Days prior to Chandler's assumption of the commissionership, the Brooklyn Dodgers' general manager, Branch Rickey, had announced the signing of Jackie Robinson to a minor league contract with the Montreal Royals, making him the first black man to play for a Major League Baseball affiliate. The following year, Rickey transferred Robinson's contract from Montreal to Brooklyn, effectively breaking baseball's color line. In a speech at Wilberforce University in February 1948, Rickey recounted a secret meeting that had allegedly been held by baseball officials at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago on August 28, 1946. At the meeting, Rickey claimed that Ford Frick disseminated a report that stated, "However well-intentioned, the use of Negro players would hazard all physical properties of baseball." According to Rickey, all 15 team owners except for him voted to endorse the report. Rickey claimed Frick meticulously collected all copies of the report at the end of the meeting to prevent them from being disseminated. Baseball historian Bill Marshall later wrote that the document and subsequent vote to which Rickey was referring was the advisory committee's initial draft of recommended reforms. Marshall further recorded that Rickey identified the meeting and the report shortly after his speech at Wilberforce and retracted his claim of 15–1 opposition to Robinson's entry into Major League Baseball.
Chandler, who was also allegedly at the meeting, made no public mention of it until a 1972 interview. In the interview, Chandler then corroborated the essentials of Rickey's story, but he placed the meeting at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in January 1947. He also recounted that later in 1947, Rickey came to his home in Kentucky to discuss the matter further. According to Chandler, Rickey professed that he would not move forward with Robinson's transfer unless he had Chandler's full support, which Chandler later pledged. Aside from Chandler's anecdote, which he frequently repeated after the 1972 interview, there is no evidence that his meeting with Rickey ever took place. Nevertheless, future baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn and Washington Post sportswriter Bob Addie maintained that Robinson would not have played without Chandler's intervention.
That Chandler supported Robinson and the racial integration of baseball is evidenced by his actions during the 1947 season. First and foremost, as commissioner, Chandler had the power to void Robinson's contract, but he chose to approve it. Further, after extreme, race-based jeering at Robinson by the Philadelphia Phillies and their manager, Ben Chapman, Chandler threatened both the team and Chapman personally with disciplinary action for any future incidents of race-based taunting. Later that season, he decisively supported Ford Frick's decision to suspend indefinitely any members of the St. Louis Cardinals who followed through on their threat to strike against racial integration.
Happy Chandler