Don Chandler
Encyclopedia
Donald Gene "Don" Chandler (September 5, 1934 – August 11, 2011) was an American college and professional football
player who was a punter and placekicker
in the National Football League
(NFL) for twelve seasons in the 1950s and 1960s. Chandler played college football
for the University of Florida
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the New York Giants
and the Green Bay Packers
of the NFL.
. He attended Will Rogers High School
in Tulsa, Oklahoma
, and he played for the Will Rogers Ropers high school football
team.
in Muskogee, Oklahoma
, and then transferred to the University of Florida
in Gainesville, Florida
, where he played halfback
, punter and placekicker
for coach Bob Woodruff's Florida Gators football
team in 1954 and 1955. As a senior
in 1955, Chandler led all major college punters with an average kick of 44.3 yards, narrowly beating out Earl Morrall
of the Michigan State Spartans
. Memorably, Chandler also kicked a 76-yard punt against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
in 1955, which remains tied for the second longest punt in Gators history. Woodruff ranked him and Bobby Joe Green
as the Gators' best kickers of the 1950s.
Chandler graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree
in 1956, and was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great."
, and played with the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers. He played in the first two overtime games ever in the NFL, in 1958
with the Giants against the Baltimore Colts
and again in 1965
when he kicked the winning field goal for the Packers against the same Colts in a Western Conference playoff game at Green Bay. Chandler's fourth-quarter field goal that tied the game at 10–10 stirred controversy, as many Baltimore players and fans thought he missed the kick to the right. Chandler was named the punter on the NFL 1960s All-Decade Team
. He went to the Pro Bowl
after the 1967 season
.
He led the NFL in average yards per punt with 44.6 yards in 1957 and led the league with a field goal percentage of 67.9 percent on nineteen of twenty-eight attempts in 1962. Chandler still holds the record for most field goals scored in a Super Bowl with four in the 1968 Super Bowl against the Oakland Raiders, clinching the championship for the Packers.
Chandler helped Vince Lombardi
's Green Bay Packers teams win Super Bowls I and II. Memorably, he kicked a ninety-yard punt against the San Francisco 49ers in 1965. He was named to the All Pro team in 1967.
In his twelve-season NFL career, Chandler played in 154 regular season games, kicked 660 punts for a total of 28,678 yards, 248 extra points on 258 attempts, and ninety-four field goals on 161 attempts. He also rushed for 146 yards on thirteen carries, and completed a perfect three passes on three attempts for a total of sixty-seven yards.
and in 2003 to the list of Oklahoma's Greatest Athletes by the Tulsa World
. Chandler is also a member of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and the New York Giants Wall of Fame.
Chandler died at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma on August 11, 2011; he was 76 years old.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who was a punter and placekicker
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) for twelve seasons in the 1950s and 1960s. Chandler played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
of the NFL.
Early years
Chandler was born in Council Bluffs, IowaCouncil Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, known until 1852 as Kanesville, Iowathe historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trailsis a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across...
. He attended Will Rogers High School
Will Rogers High School
Will Rogers High School, located on 3909 E. 5th Place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was built by Tulsa Public Schools in 1939 using WPA workers and designed by Joseph R. Koberling, Jr. and Leon B. Senter. It was named for the humorist Will Rogers, who died in 1935 along with Wiley Post in a plane crash...
in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, and he played for the Will Rogers Ropers high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
team.
College career
After graduating from high school, Chandler first attended Bacone CollegeBacone College
Bacone College is a private four-year liberal arts college in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Founded in 1880 as the Indian University by Almon C. Bacone, Bacone College is the oldest continuously operated institution of higher education in Oklahoma...
in Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
, and then transferred to the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he played halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
, punter and placekicker
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
for coach Bob Woodruff's Florida Gators football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
team in 1954 and 1955. As a senior
Senior (education)
Senior is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the 4th year of study .-High school:...
in 1955, Chandler led all major college punters with an average kick of 44.3 yards, narrowly beating out Earl Morrall
Earl Morrall
Earl Edwin Morrall is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. Morrall, who also occasionally punted, played 21 seasons in the National Football League as both a starter and reserve. In the latter capacity, he became known as the greatest backup quarterback in NFL...
of the Michigan State Spartans
Michigan State Spartans football
The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level...
. Memorably, Chandler also kicked a 76-yard punt against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
in 1955, which remains tied for the second longest punt in Gators history. Woodruff ranked him and Bobby Joe Green
Bobby Joe Green
Bobby Joe Green was an American college and professional football player who was a punter and running back in the National Football League for fourteen seasons in the 1960s and early 1970s...
as the Gators' best kickers of the 1950s.
Chandler graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in 1956, and was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great."
Professional career
After college, he was selected in the fifth round (fifty-seventh pick overall) of the 1956 NFL Draft1956 NFL Draft
The 1956 National Football League Draft was held on November 29, 1955.-Player selections:-Round one:* HOF Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:...
, and played with the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers. He played in the first two overtime games ever in the NFL, in 1958
1958 NFL season
The 1958 NFL season was the 39th regular season of the National Football League.The Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants, 23–17, in the first sudden-death overtime in an NFL Championship Game...
with the Giants against the Baltimore Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
and again in 1965
1965 NFL season
The 1965 NFL season was the 46th regular season of the National Football League.Because the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Colts ended up tied in the Western Conference standings after the regular season ended, a conference playoff game was held in Green Bay. Although the Packers had defeated the...
when he kicked the winning field goal for the Packers against the same Colts in a Western Conference playoff game at Green Bay. Chandler's fourth-quarter field goal that tied the game at 10–10 stirred controversy, as many Baltimore players and fans thought he missed the kick to the right. Chandler was named the punter on the NFL 1960s All-Decade Team
NFL 1960s All-Decade Team
The NFL 1960s All-Decade Team is a list of all NFL players who have had outstanding performances throughout the 1960s and have been compiled in a fantasy group. The team was selected by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.-Offense:-Defense:-Special teams:...
. He went to the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
after the 1967 season
1967 NFL season
The 1967 NFL season was the 48th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 16 teams with the addition of the New Orleans Saints. The league's teams were realigned into four divisions: the Capitol and Century Divisions in the Eastern Conference, and the Central and...
.
He led the NFL in average yards per punt with 44.6 yards in 1957 and led the league with a field goal percentage of 67.9 percent on nineteen of twenty-eight attempts in 1962. Chandler still holds the record for most field goals scored in a Super Bowl with four in the 1968 Super Bowl against the Oakland Raiders, clinching the championship for the Packers.
Chandler helped Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi
Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and...
's Green Bay Packers teams win Super Bowls I and II. Memorably, he kicked a ninety-yard punt against the San Francisco 49ers in 1965. He was named to the All Pro team in 1967.
In his twelve-season NFL career, Chandler played in 154 regular season games, kicked 660 punts for a total of 28,678 yards, 248 extra points on 258 attempts, and ninety-four field goals on 161 attempts. He also rushed for 146 yards on thirteen carries, and completed a perfect three passes on three attempts for a total of sixty-seven yards.
Life after football
He was inducted into the Packer Hall of Fame in 1975, along with tight end Ron Kramer, defensive end Willie Davis, guards Jerry Kramer and Fuzzy Thurston and Vince Lombardi. Chandler was selected as the premier punter for the decade in the 1960s. In 2002, he was named to the Oklahoma Team of the Century by The OklahomanThe Oklahoman
The Oklahoman is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma and is the only daily newspaper that covers the entire Oklahoma City area.-Ownership:...
and in 2003 to the list of Oklahoma's Greatest Athletes by the Tulsa World
Tulsa World
Tulsa World is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is the primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma, and is the second-most widely circulated newspaper in the state, after The Oklahoman. It was founded in 1905 and remains an independent newspaper,...
. Chandler is also a member of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and the New York Giants Wall of Fame.
Chandler died at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma on August 11, 2011; he was 76 years old.
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- Florida Gators football, 1950–1959
- List of Florida Gators football players
- List of Green Bay Packers players
- List of New York Giants players
- List of University of Florida alumni