EDGAR CHANDLER

Edgar Chandler was the star player on Cedartown’s first state championship team in 1963, then a two-time consensus All-American at Georgia and a six-year NFL player. Chandler was the AJC’s 1963 Class AA Lineman of the Year and a 1963 Senior Scholastic magazine All-American, one of just three that year from Georgia. Atlanta Constitution prep writer Charlie Roberts wrote of Chandler, “Cedartown’s 208-pound tackle is probably North Georgia’s best all-around lineman in recent seasons’’ and “the defensive backbone of Cedartown’s championship 11.’’ Chandler’s Cedartown team beat North Clayton 21-7 for the Class AA championship. At 6-foot-3, Chandler also was a basketball center and a track-and-field star who won a state title in the shot put. He was a member of Georgia coach Vince Dooley’s first recruiting class in 1964. He was a consensus All-American on Georgia’s 1966 SEC championship team and again on the 1967 team. The Buffalo Bills took Chandler in the fourth round of the 1968 NFL Draft. Chandler converted to linebacker with his speed and played six NFL seasons (68 games, 46 starts) with the Bills and Patriots. Chandler finished his career as a member of the Birmingham Americans’ WFL championship team. He was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1988. Chandler settled back into northwest Georgia after retiring. He lost a battle to cancer and passed away in 1992 at age 46.