Neville A. "Nev" Chandler, Jr. (October 2, 1946 in
Lakewood, Ohio
Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Established in 1889, it is one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs and part of the Greater Cleveland, Greater Clevelan ...
– August 7, 1994 in
Rocky River, Ohio
Rocky River is a city in western Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. A suburb of Cleveland, it is located along the shore of Lake Erie approximately west of downtown Cleveland. The city is named for the Rocky River that forms its eastern bo ...
) was a
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
-area sports broadcaster.
Life and career
Chandler graduated from
Rocky River High School and, in 1968,
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
. In the 1970s, he worked for several television stations in
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
and sometimes hosted a sports talk show on
WWWE-AM.
From 1980 to 1984, Chandler served as WWWE's sports director and teamed with
Herb Score
Herbert Jude Score (June 7, 1933 – November 11, 2008) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and announcer. Score pitched for the Cleveland Indians from 1955 through 1959 and the Chicago White Sox from 1960 through 1962. He was ...
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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
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 two stations that have been built and signed on by Sc ...
as sports director and sports anchor.
He was best known for calling
play-by-play
In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...
for the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
from 1985 to 1993, a time during which the team made the playoffs five straight years.
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 commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries for and about the NFL, as well as ot ...
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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
.
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 mo ...
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 non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
Broadcasters Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 2004)
Chandler inducted into Ohio AP HOF – AP.org
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References
External links
by 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.
Plu ...
, ''Akron Beacon Journal'' Nov. 18, 2002.
Entry in Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
1946 births
1994 deaths
National Football League announcers
Major League Baseball broadcasters
Cleveland Browns announcers
Cleveland Indians announcers
Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) commentators
Sports in Cleveland
People from Lakewood, Ohio
Television anchors from Cleveland
Deaths from cancer in Ohio
Deaths from colorectal cancer
Burials at Lakewood Park Cemetery
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