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| No. 81, 85 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1949-04-24)April 24, 1949 Long Beach, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | January 27, 1995(1995-01-27) (aged 45) Los Angeles, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 180 lb (82 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Whittier (CA) | ||||||||
| College: | USC | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1971:7th round, 160th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Robert Donald Chandler (April 24, 1949 – January 27, 1995) was an American professionalfootball player who was awide receiver in theNational Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons.[1]
Born inLong Beach, California, Chandler was raised inWhittier and graduated fromWhittier High School in 1967. He was considered one of the best all-around high school athletes to play insouthern California. He was All-CIF in football and basketball and was one of the country's top high schooldecathletes,high-jumping 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m),pole-vaulted more than 13 feet (4.0 m), andput the 12-pound (5.4 kg) shot 57 feet (17 m).[1]
Chandler playedcollege football at theUniversity of Southern California inLos Angeles; he was acaptain and the team's leading receiver during his senior year in1970. He played in twoRose Bowl games; as a junior he was named Most Valuable Player of the1970 Rose Bowl. In the third quarter, Chandler caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from Trojan quarterbackJimmy Jones and broke severalMichigan tackles to score and gave USC its margin of victory, 10–3.[2]
Aseventh round pick in the1971 NFL draft, Chandler played nine seasons with theBuffalo Bills(1971–1979) and three with theOakland Raiders (who moved to Los Angeles by his final playing season)(1980–1982). He led the NFL in receptions from1975–1977 with 176, and was named Second-team All-Pro in1975 and1977. He also caught four passes for 77 yards in theRaiders' 27–10Super Bowl XV victory over thePhiladelphia Eagles in January 1981.[3]
In the first game of the1981 season against theDenver Broncos, Chandler stretched out for a pass and took a hit so severe it ruptured hisspleen.[4] 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.[citation needed]. 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 placekickerChris Bahr.[5]
In his rookie season of 1971, Chandler saw action in only a handful of games, finishing the season five receptions for 60 yards. Bills coachHarvey Johnson was dismissed at the end of the season and the Bills namedLou Saban 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 theNew England Patriots. The opposing quarterback that day wasJim Plunkett, who would be Chandler's teammate on the Raiders several years later.[6] Over the next several seasons for Buffalo, Chandler would be one of the core starters and a favorite target of Bills quarterbackJoe Ferguson. Chandler's role was greatly reduced under coachChuck Knox in 1979. Knox preferred a solid ground game over the passing game. In 1980, Chandler was traded to the Raiders for LBPhil Villapiano and was part of a Raiders team that won Super Bowl XV.
He retired in July 1983;[4] for his career, he had 370 receptions for 5,243 yards and 48 touchdowns, along with 11 carries for 18 yards.
Chandler and running backO. J. Simpson were teammates for a season in college (1968) and seven in the pros at Buffalo (1971–77).
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1971 | BUF | 13 | 0 | 5 | 60 | 12.0 | 20 | 0 |
| 1972 | BUF | 14 | 14 | 33 | 528 | 16.0 | 43 | 5 |
| 1973 | BUF | 14 | 14 | 30 | 427 | 14.2 | 37 | 3 |
| 1974 | BUF | 14 | 0 | 7 | 88 | 12.6 | 21 | 1 |
| 1975 | BUF | 14 | 13 | 55 | 746 | 13.6 | 35 | 6 |
| 1976 | BUF | 14 | 14 | 61 | 824 | 13.5 | 58 | 10 |
| 1977 | BUF | 14 | 14 | 60 | 745 | 12.4 | 31 | 4 |
| 1978 | BUF | 16 | 13 | 44 | 581 | 13.2 | 44 | 5 |
| 1979 | BUF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980 | OAK | 16 | 16 | 49 | 786 | 16.0 | 56 | 10 |
| 1981 | OAK | 11 | 7 | 26 | 458 | 17.6 | 45 | 4 |
| 1982 | RAI | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 145 | 105 | 370 | 5,243 | 14.2 | 58 | 48 | ||
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1974 | BUF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980 | OAK | 4 | 4 | 7 | 119 | 17.0 | 32 | 0 |
| 5 | 4 | 7 | 119 | 17.0 | 32 | 0 | ||
Chandler served as acolor analyst for NFL games onNBC in 1983, hosted2 On The Town forKCBS-TV in Los Angeles from 1984 to 1987, was a sports reporter forKABC-TV in the late 1980s and hostedAmazing Games (a global documentary series about the world's most exotic sports) forESPN in 1989. He also served as a "Technical Advisor" for the humor bookThe Unofficial NFL Players Handbook.
Chandler's father Gene was the mayor ofWhittier, California from 1987 to 1988. Chandler married his college sweetheart, Marilyn, and had three children: Marisa, Justin, and Emma. Chandler earned a law degree fromWestern State University College of Law.[7] Chandler posed forPlaygirl magazine in January 1982.[7] Chandler's niece Sarah George Chester and her daughter Payton were two of the nine victims, along withKobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughterGianna, on boardthe helicopter that crashed inCalabasas, California on January 26, 2020. Chandler's nephew Jake George #81 is a WR for theUniversity of Arizona Wildcats Football team.
Chandler began experiencing a nagging cough in 1994. A rare strain oflung cancer was discovered in his lungs in September 1994. He continued to work on Raider broadcasts while undergoing chemotherapy treatment at theUSC Norris Cancer Center, but died there on Friday, January 27, 1995, at the age of 45, after a four-month battle with cancer.[1] He was buried atRose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier.
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.
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