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Class of 1979
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Joseph C. "Scrap" Chandler
Scrap Chandler was a native of Guinea in Caroline County but later made his home in Norfolk, Virginia. He was an outstanding athlete at William & Mary, and after his graduation in 1924, he devoted 44 years to coaching in all sports.
While at William & Mary, Chandler also starred in baseball, establishing a school-record batting average of .397, which might have led to a professional career, but a knee injury forced him to forego baseball and turn to coaching, a position he held for 18 years at the Williamsburg Institution. In 1925, he started the Tidewater Relays, an annual meet in which the outstanding performer receives the Chandler Award that commemorates the coach’s everlasting contributions to the sport of track and field.
Chandler became Athletic Director at Old Dominion University in 1942 and coached in all sports until 1968. Additionally, he served as chairman of the school’s health and physical education department. Chandler also carried a normal teaching workload while coaching basketball, baseball, track and swimming. In swimming, conservative figures estimate that the summer program that Chandler instituted at ODU resulted in teaching 28,000 people how to swim.
Chandler’s most notable achievements—aside from his lifelong tireless efforts to develop young athletes and mold the future of track and field in the state—include founding the Tidewater and Eastern District track meets. He introduced swimming to Old Dominion University, and in 1977, Old Dominion honored Chandler by dedicating their pool in his name.
(To Sports Inductees List) |
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