HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Robert Donald Chandler (April 24, 1949 – January 27, 1995) was an American professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who was a
wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) for twelve seasons.


Early life

Born in
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
, Chandler was raised in Whittier and graduated from Whittier High School in 1967. He was considered one of the best all-around high school athletes to play in southern California. He was All- CIF in football and basketball and was one of the country's top high school decathletes, high-jumping , pole-vaulted more than , and put the shot .


College career

Chandler played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
at the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
; he was a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
and the team's leading receiver during his senior year in
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
. He played in two Rose Bowl games; as a junior he was named Most Valuable Player of the
1970 Rose Bowl The 1970 Rose Bowl was the 56th Rose Bowl Game, edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl (stadium), Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Thursday, January 1. The 1969 USC Trojans football, USC Trojans, champions of ...
. In the third quarter, Chandler caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from Trojan quarterback Jimmy Jones and broke several
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
tackles to score and gave USC its margin of victory, 10–3.


Professional career

A seventh round pick in the
1971 NFL draft The 1971 NFL draft was held January 28–29, 1971, at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City, New York. The Boston Patriots, who did not officially change their name to New England Patriots until after the draft, used the first overall pick ...
, Chandler played nine seasons with the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
and three with the
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...
(who moved to Los Angeles by his final playing season) He led the NFL in receptions from with 176, and was named Second-team All-Pro in and . He also caught four passes for 77 yards in the Raiders' 27–10
Super Bowl XV Super Bowl XV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...
victory over the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
in January 1981. In the first game of the
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
season against the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
, Chandler stretched out for a pass and took a hit so severe it ruptured his
spleen The spleen (, from Ancient Greek '' σπλήν'', splḗn) is an organ (biology), organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The spleen plays important roles in reg ...
. Chandler was rushed to a Denver hospital where doctors saved his life. Chandler made a miraculous recovery and returned to the field later in the season, appearing in a total of eleven regular season games.. Though he wasn't able to return right away as a receiver, he was able to resume his normal duties holding the ball for Raiders placekicker
Chris Bahr Christopher Kurt Bahr (born February 3, 1953) is an American former professional football and soccer player. He was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) and played midfielder in the North American Soccer League (NASL). Early li ...
. In his rookie season of 1971, Chandler saw action in only a handful of games, finishing the season five receptions for 60 yards. Bills coach Harvey Johnson was dismissed at the end of the season and the Bills named
Lou Saban Louis Henry Saban (October 13, 1921 – March 29, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He played for Indiana University in college and as a professional for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) between ...
as their new head coach. Saban began to use Chandler more in the offense, as Chandler was a starter in all 14 games that season. He scored his first professional touchdown in a 38-14 blow out of the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
. The opposing quarterback that day was
Jim Plunkett James William Plunkett (born December 5, 1947) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He achieved his greatest success during his final eight seasons with the R ...
, who would be Chandler's teammate on the Raiders several years later. Over the next several seasons for Buffalo, Chandler would be one of the core starters and a favorite target of Bills quarterback
Joe Ferguson Joseph Carlton Ferguson Jr. (born April 23, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football fo ...
. Chandler's role was greatly reduced under coach
Chuck Knox Charles Robert Knox (April 27, 1932 – May 12, 2018) was an American football coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He served as head coach of three National Football League (NFL) teams, the Los Angeles Rams (1973–197 ...
in 1979. Knox preferred a solid ground game over the passing game. In 1980, Chandler was traded to the Raiders for LB
Phil Villapiano Philip James Villapiano (born February 26, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Bowling Green Falcons. Early lif ...
and was part of a Raiders team that won Super Bowl XV. He retired in July 1983; for his career, he had 370 receptions for 5,243 yards and 48 touchdowns, along with 11 carries for 18 yards. Chandler and running back
O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024), also known by his nickname "the Juice", was an American professional American football, football player, actor, and media personality who played in the National Football League (NFL) ...
were teammates for a season in college (
1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...
) and seven in the pros at Buffalo (1971–77).


NFL career statistics


Regular season


Playoffs


Broadcasting career

Chandler served as a
color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...
for NFL games on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
in 1983, hosted ''2 On The Town'' for
KCBS-TV KCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS Los Angeles, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship station of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the n ...
in Los Angeles from 1984 to 1987, was a sports reporter for
KABC-TV KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship station of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station mai ...
in the late 1980s and hosted ''Amazing Games'' (a global documentary series about the world's most exotic sports) for
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
in 1989. He also served as a "Technical Advisor" for the humor book ''The Unofficial NFL Players Handbook''.


Personal life

Chandler's father Gene was the mayor of
Whittier, California Whittier () is a city in Los Angeles County, California, and is part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States census, 2010 census figure. Whittier ...
from 1987 to 1988. Chandler married his college sweetheart, Marilyn, and had three children: Marisa, Justin, and Emma. Chandler earned a law degree from
Western State University College of Law Western State College of Law at Westcliff University is a private, for-profit law school in Irvine, California. Founded in 1966, it was acquired by Westcliff University in 2019. It offers full and part-time programs and is approved by the Amer ...
. Chandler posed for ''
Playgirl ''Playgirl'' is an American magazine that has historically featured pictorials of nude and semi-nude men alongside general interest, lifestyle, celebrity journalism, and original fiction. For most of its history, the magazine printed monthly a ...
'' magazine in January 1982. Chandler's niece Sarah George Chester and her daughter Payton were two of the nine victims, along with
Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 20-year career with t ...
and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, on board the helicopter that crashed in
Calabasas, California Calabasas (, ; Spanish language in California, Spanish for "winter squash, squashes") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States.University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
Wildcats Football team.


Death

Chandler began experiencing a nagging cough in 1994. A rare strain of
lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...
was discovered in his lungs in September 1994. He continued to work on Raider broadcasts while undergoing chemotherapy treatment at the USC Norris Cancer Center, but died there on Friday, January 27, 1995, at the age of 45, after a four-month battle with cancer. He was buried at
Rose Hills Memorial Park Rose Hills Memorial Park is a cemetery and mortuary located in Whittier, California. It is an affiliate of Service Corporation International (formerly Loewen Group) and is the largest cemetery in North America. Sites ; Mausoleums * Whittie ...
in Whittier.


Legacy

In 1996, USC established the annual Bob Chandler Award, given to an underclassman based on his athletic ability, academic scholarship as well as character on and off the field. The award funds a scholarship for the player's full tuition, room, and board for the following year. Chandler was inducted into the USC Hall of Fame in November 1999. Highlights of his USC athletic career are on permanent display in USC's Heritage Hall lobby. Whittier High School's sports facilities are named the Bob Chandler Sports Complex.


References


External links


Obituary from ''New York Times''
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chandler, Bob 1949 births 1995 deaths American football wide receivers Buffalo Bills players Los Angeles Raiders players NFL announcers Oakland Raiders players Players of American football from Long Beach, California USC Trojans football players Deaths from lung cancer in California Burials at Rose Hills Memorial Park Whittier High School alumni