Wesley Sandy Chandler (born August 22, 1956) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

player who was a wide receiver in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

(NFL) for eleven seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He was selected to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

four times, and ranked twelfth in NFL history in receiving yards and thirteenth in receptions when he retired. Chandler is a member of the Chargers Hall of Fame. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as th ...

and was also inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...

in 2015. Playing as a receiver in a run-oriented

wishbone Wishbone commonly refers to: * Furcula, a fork-shaped bone in birds and some dinosaurs Wishbone may also refer to: * Wish-Bone, an American salad dressing and condiment company * Wishbone formation, a type of offense in American football * Wishb ...

offense at Florida, Chandler set a school record with 28 touchdowns. He was named both an All-American and an Academic All-American in 1977. He was picked third overall by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

in the

1978 NFL Draft The 1978 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 2–3, 1978, at the Roosevelt Hote ...

. Over an 11-year NFL career, Chandler played for the Saints, the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

and the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...

. He holds the NFL record for most

receiving yards Receiving may refer to: * ''Kabbalah'', "receiving" in Hebrew * Receiving department (or receiving dock), in a distribution center * Receiving house, a theater * Receiving line, in a wedding reception * Receiving mark, postmark * Receiving pa ...

per game in a season, set in 1982 with the Chargers. After retiring as a player, he became a football coach, and served as the wide receivers coach for various teams at the professional and college level.

Early life

Chandler was born in

New Smyrna Beach, Florida New Smyrna Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States, located on the central east coast of the state, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Its population is 30,142 in 2020 by the United States Census Bureau. The downtown section of ...

. He attended

New Smyrna Beach High School New Smyrna Beach High School (NSBHS) is a public high school located in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, United States. About The school mascot is the Barracuda, commonly referred to as the "Cuda." The high school opened in 1963 on what is now called ...

,databaseFootball.com, Players
Wes Chandler
. Retrieved June 2, 2010. where he was a standout high school football player for coach Bud Asher's New Smyrna Beach Barracudas. FHSAA unveils '100 Greatest Players of First 100 Years' as part of centennial football celebration
" Florida High School Athletic Association (December 4, 2007). Retrieved May 26, 2011. In his junior year the team was undefeated, including a victory over the Rams of

Interlachen High School Interlachen High School is a public high school located in Interlachen, Florida, United States, operated by the Putnam County School Board. The principal is Bryan Helms. Students There are currently 846 students enrolled at Interlachen High S ...

which snapped their 21-game regular season win streak. Chandler scored twenty-two

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s as a senior in 1973 (scoring five in a single game), and rushing for 1,052 yards and catching 22

reception Reception is a noun form of ''receiving'', or ''to receive'' something, such as art, experience, information, people, products, or vehicles. It may refer to: Astrology * Reception (astrology), when a planet is located in a sign ruled by another ...

s as a

halfback. Prominent with him in the backfield were the brothers Reggie and Keith Beverly. Chandler earned the nickname "Little Joe" due to his small size. In 2007, thirty-three years after he graduated from high school, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) recognized Chandler as one of the "100 Greatest Players of the First 100 Years" of Florida high school football.

College career

Chandler accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in Gainesville, Florida, where he was a wide receiver under coach

Doug Dickey Douglas Adair Dickey (born June 24, 1932) is an American former college football player and coach and college athletics administrator. Dickey is a South Dakota native who was raised in Florida and graduated from the University of Florida, w ...

on the Gators football team from

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

to 1977.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 86, 89, 91, 96, 100, 103, 124, 127, 139, 143–145, 147–148, 150, 180 (2011). Retrieved August 28, 2011. While he was a Florida undergraduate, Chandler became a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved in ...

Fraternity A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternit ...

(Theta Sigma Chapter). As a Gator, he caught ninety-two passes for 1,963 yards and a school record twenty-two touchdowns in a run-oriented offense, adding six more scores on rushes and kick returns to set the school record for total touchdowns with twenty-eight. He led the Gators in receiving yards for three straight seasons (1975, 1976 and 1977), and despite many seasons of pass-oriented offenses since his time in Gainesville, he still holds Florida's career records in average yards per catch (21.3) and touchdown to reception ratio (one touchdown per 4.18 catches). Chandler was a first-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) selection and a first-team All-American in 1976 and 1977, a first-team

Academic All-America The Academic All-America program is a student-athlete recognition program. The program selects an honorary sports team composed of the most outstanding student-athletes of a specific season for positions in various sports—who in turn are giv ...

n in 1977, and the recipient of the Gators' Fergie Ferguson Award as a senior team captain in 1977. He also finished tenth in the balloting for the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and har ...

in 1977. He is widely considered to be one of the best all-around football players to ever play for the University of Florida, and has been named to several all-time Gators and all-SEC teams, and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1989. In 2006, ''The Gainesville Sun'' recognized Chandler as No. 6 among the top 100 Florida Gators players of the first 100 years of the team, and in 2015, Chandler was inducted into the

Professional career

The

selected Chandler in the first round (third pick overall) in the 1978 NFL Draft, and he played for the Saints for four seasons from to .National Football League, Historical Players
Wes Chandler
Retrieved June 2, 2010. Chandler was selected to the

after his second season in the league after finishing with 1,069 yards and six touchdown

s. He was traded to the

in 1981 to replace star receiver John Jefferson, who was traded to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...

after a bitter contract hold-out. In the opening round of the playoffs that year in a game known as The Epic In Miami, he caught six passes for 106 yards and returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown in the Chargers 41–38 victory. The following season was Chandler's best, when he led the NFL with 1,032 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns in the strike-shortened season; his average of 129 yards receiving per game that year is still an NFL record. He also caught nine passes for 124 yards in a playoff win over the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. Chandler represented Chargers players in the players' union, and many NFL players in that role were cut or traded after the 1987 NFL strike. After he was elected to the union's executive committee, Chandler was traded to the

, with whom he finished his career in 1988. He played in four games before retiring in October after tendinitis in a knee and frustration over his performance. The 49ers went on to win the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...

that season. "My heart wasn't in it. It had nothing to do with being a quitter. It was more about real-life decisions," he said. During his 11-year NFL career, Chandler caught 559 passes for 8,966 yards and 56 touchdowns, rushed for 84 yards, returned 48 kickoffs for 1,048 yards, and gained 428 yards on 77 punt returns.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Wes Chandler
Retrieved July 2, 2010. Overall, he amassed 10,526 all-purpose yards. At the time of his retirement, Chandler ranked twelfth in NFL history in receiving yards and thirteenth in receptions. He also earned four

selections, including three with the San Diego Chargers. In 2001, Chandler was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame.

Post-playing career

Chandler eventually went to

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

after seven years coaching in

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally ...

, including a stint as

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...

of the

Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games f ...

in 1999. Before that, he also coached at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State Universi ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

and Father Lopez Catholic High School in

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...

. In January 2012, he joined the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club tea ...

as their receivers coach. Chandler has established a scholarship fund for minority students through the Wes Chandler Celebrity Golf Classic. Chandler also has two nephews in athletics. Dallas Baker was a standout wide receiver for the Florida Gators and was drafted by the

in the 2007 NFL Draft. Chandler's other nephew and Dallas's younger brother, Perry Baker, is a professional rugby player with the

United States national rugby sevens team The United States national rugby sevens team competes in international rugby sevens competitions. The national sevens team is organized by USA Rugby, and the team has been led by Head Coach Mike Friday since 2014. The main competition the tea ...

. In 2015, he was one of the founders of the proposed league,

Major League Football Major League Football (MLFB) is a proposed professional American football minor league consisting of teams that are all league-owned and Major League Football, Inc., is a publicly traded company. MLFB will operate on a strict budget, well und ...

, and served as its first president. He resigned in July 2017 when the league was reorganizing after failing to launch.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . * Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). .

External links

Image of Wes Chandler
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandler, Wes 1956 births Living people American football wide receivers Berlin Thunder coaches California Golden Bears football coaches Florida Gators football players Frankfurt Galaxy coaches National Conference Pro Bowl players New Orleans Saints players New York Sentinels coaches Orlando Thunder coaches Rhein Fire coaches San Diego Chargers players San Francisco 49ers players UCF Knights football coaches American Conference Pro Bowl players All-American college football players People from New Smyrna Beach, Florida Players of American football from Florida African-American players of American football College Football Hall of Fame inductees 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople