Neville A. Chandler Jr. (October 2, 1946 – August 7, 1994) was an American

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

-area sports broadcaster.

Life and career

Chandler graduated from Rocky River High School and, in 1968,

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. In the 1970s, he worked for several television stations in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and sometimes hosted a sports talk show on

WWWE WWWE may refer to: * WWWE (AM), a radio station (1310 AM) licensed to serve Decatur, Georgia, United States * WJZA (AM), a radio station (1100 AM) licensed to serve Hapeville, Georgia, which held the call sign WWWE from 1996 to 2023 * WTAM WTA ...

-AM. From 1980 to 1984, Chandler served as WWWE's sports director and teamed with Herb Score on

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

radio broadcasts. In 1985, he moved to television station

WEWS WEWS-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with ABC. It has been owned by the E. W. Scripps Company since its inception in 1946, making it one of three stations that have been built and signed on ...

as sports director and sports anchor. He was best known for calling

play-by-play In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

from 1985 to 1993, a time during which the team made the playoffs five straight years. He also called

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

telecasts from 1982 to 1985. The quality of Chandler's broadcasts and the excitement of his voice made him a fan favorite and a regular choice for the soundtrack of

NFL Films NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces advertisement film, commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentary film, documentaries ...

productions. The title of NFL Films' movie about the 1986 Browns, ''Pandemonium Palace'', comes from Chandler's call of the team's double-overtime playoff win over the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. Chandler died of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

on Sunday, August 7, 1994. He was buried in Lakewood Park Cemetery in Rocky River.

Signature calls

* ''5–4–3–2–1 Touchdown!'' – when a Browns player ran in for a touchdown (especially after a long pass) * ''They are serenading the team with a chorus in "boo-flat"'' – when the Cleveland fans booed the home team after a poor performance * Baseball 7th inning stretch call “it’s the middle of the seventh and Tribe fans know what time that is... it’s time to rise and shine! Stretch it out! The score...’’

Awards and honors

* Five-time NSSA Ohio Sportscaster of the Year (1987, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993) * Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 1993) * Cleveland Press Club Journalism Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 1994) * 1994 Society of Professional Journalists (Cleveland chapter) Distinguished Service Award recipient *Cleveland Association of Broadcaster Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 1995) * Ohio

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

Broadcasters Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 2004)Chandler inducted into Ohio AP HOF – AP.org
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References

External links

Terry Pluto Terry Pluto (born June 12, 1955) is an American sportswriter, newspaper columnist, and author who primarily writes columns for ''The Plain Dealer'', and formerly for the ''Akron Beacon Journal'' about Cleveland, Ohio sports and religion. Pluto ...

, ''Akron Beacon Journal'' Nov. 18, 2002.
Entry in Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandler, Nev 1946 births 1994 deaths American radio sports announcers Burials at Lakewood Park Cemetery Deaths from cancer in Ohio Deaths from colorectal cancer in the United States Cleveland Browns announcers Cleveland Cavaliers announcers Cleveland Indians announcers Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) commentators Major League Baseball broadcasters NFL announcers People from Lakewood, Ohio Sports in Cleveland Television anchors from Cleveland