Bob Chandler

Robert Donald Chandler (April 24, 1949 – January 27, 1995) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons.

Early life Born in Long Beach, California in April 1949, 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 .

Professional career A seventh round pick in the 1971 NFL draft, Chandler played nine seasons with the Buffalo Bills and three with the Oakland Raiders (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 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in January 1981.

In the first game of the 1981 season against the Denver Broncos, Chandler stretched out for a pass and took a hit so severe it ruptured his spleen. 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.

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 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 opposing quarterback that day was Jim Plunkett, 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. Chandler's role was greatly reduced under coach Chuck Knox in 1979. Knox preferred a solid ground game over the passing game. In 1980, Chandler was traded to the Raiders for LB Phil Villapiano and was part of a Raiders team that won Super Bowl XV.

He retired in July 1983; Chandler posed for Playgirl magazine in January 1982. Chandler's niece Sarah George Chester and her daughter Payton were two of the nine victims, along with Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, on board the helicopter that crashed in Calabasas, California on January 26, 2020. Chandler's nephew Jake George #81 is a WR for the University of Arizona Wildcats Football team.

Death Chandler began experiencing a nagging cough in 1994. A rare strain of lung cancer 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 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.

Bob was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.