Edgar Thomas Chandler, Jr. (August 31, 1946 – October 17, 1992) 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 played

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for six seasons for 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 ...

in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL) and

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), and for the NFL's

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 ...

. Chandler was a two-time All-American at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

, in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

and

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

Early life

Chandler was raised in

Cedartown, Georgia Cedartown is a city and the county seat of Polk County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,190. Cedartown is the principal city of the Cedartown micropolitan area, which is included in the Atlanta ...

, by his mother. Nova Chandler, and his father, Edgar Chandler. Sr. Chandler Jr. attended school in Cedartown,. He played three sports during his high school days at Cedartown High School. Chandler was starter for the varsity basketball Bulldogs. He also competed in track and field, becoming a Georgia state high school shot put champion with a toss of 53 feet and 1 ½ inches. He was an All-American offensive lineman his senior year in 1963. He helped the Cedartown Bulldogs to their first state football championship.

College career

Chandler was an offensive right tackle for the

from 1964 to 1967. Chandler accepted an invitation to three different

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

s in his senior year: The Liberty Bowl, the North-South Bowl, and the Hula Bowl. He was first-team All-SEC in 1966. The Bulldogs finished the 1966 season 10–1 overall with an undefeated 5–0 record in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

. Chandler helped lead the Bulldogs to the 1967 Cotton Bowl Championship.

Professional career

Chandler was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 1968 NFL/AFL common draft. He was converted to inside linebacker as a professional to take advantage of his speed and agility. Chandler played from 1968 to 1972 for the Buffalo Bills and in 1973 for the New England Patriots. Before ending his football career he played his last year with the Birmingham Americans of the upstart

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

where he helped them to win the World Championship. Chandler scored his only touchdown as a professional during week 7 of the 1970 AFL season. It came in the first quarter against the Boston Patriots when he intercepted the ball and returned it 58 yards to the end zone.

Life after football

In a 1977 episode of the Tonight Show with guest host Don Rickles, Chandler was interviewed by Rickles in the audience. In 1988 Chandler was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandler, Edgar 1946 births 1992 deaths People from Cedartown, Georgia Players of American football from Polk County, Georgia American football linebackers Georgia Bulldogs football players All-American college football players Buffalo Bills players Birmingham Americans players New England Patriots players American Football League players