James Edward Mandler (March 24, 1922 – April 10, 2007) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played basketball for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

from 1940 to 1943. He was the team's leading scorer for two consecutive years and set the school's single season scoring record with 230 points during the 1941–42 season.

Early years

Mandler was raised in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and attended Kelvyn Park High School. His father, Emil Mandler, was the son of Swedish immigrants and was the part owner of a laundry. His mother, Agnes Mandler, was the daughter of Scottish and Swedish immigrants.

Student-athlete

Mandler attended the

. While attending Michigan, he played at the center position for the

Michigan Wolverines men's basketball The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team is the College basketball, intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Michigan. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in NCAA Division I, Division I of the Nationa ...

team from 1940 to 1943. He was the leading scorer on the 1941–42 and 1942–43 teams. His total of 230 points during the 1941–42 seasons broke Michigan's single-season scoring record. His record was broken by

Mack Supronowicz Mack "Soup" Supronowicz (January 17, 1927 - June 4, 2010) was an American basketball forward. He played for the University of Michigan from 1947–1950 and was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1990. A native of ...

during the 1948–49 season. He was selected as an All-Big Ten player by the International News Service for the 1941–42 season and as the captain of Michigan's 1942–43 team.

Legal career and later years

Mandler graduated from Michigan with a bachelor's degree in 1943 and served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1945. He returned to the University of Michigan for law school receiving his law degree in 1948. He was an officer of Chicago's

Harris Trust and Savings Bank BMO Bank, N.A. (colloquially BMO; ) is a U.S. national bank headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It is a subsidiary of the Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company Bank of Montreal, which owns it through the holding ...

for many years and was promoted to senior vice president in 1971. He was a resident of

Deerfield, Illinois Deerfield is a village in Lake County, Illinois, Lake and Cook County, Illinois, Cook counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A northern Chicago metropolitan area, suburb of Chicago, Deerfield is located on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore, ...

. He died in April 2007 at age 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandler, James 1922 births 2007 deaths Centers (basketball) Michigan Wolverines men's basketball players University of Michigan Law School alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy officers Basketball players from Chicago American men's basketball players Military personnel from Illinois American people of Scottish descent American people of Swedish descent 20th-century American sportsmen