yesterday's tennessee

Michael (Mike) Chandler

By Lillye Younger

Chandler Is Complete Athlete

PARSONS, Tenn. — Michael (Mike) Chandler, 18, senior at Riverside, is on his last lap of his first year's experience in the field of football.

The blond haired youth said, "I always wanted to play football but had never seen a game until I came to Riverside. We didn't have a football team at Sardis but played basketball and baseball instead."

The stocky built youth made first string end and played in the first football game he had ever seen. He caught a 30-yard touchdown pass against Henderson.

His coach, Weldon Pratt said, "When Mike came out I didn't really think he would play much since he hadn't had any experience but with his ability to catch on and his willingness to work hard he became first string end.

"He is a good clean sport with a good attitude and has been very easy to coach."

Mike has excelled in basketball and baseball. When asked how he compared football to basketball he said, "I like football pretty good but not as well as basketball.

"In comparison the training is different. Football requires many bruises and hard knocks. They are definitely two methods.

"In basketball you train for short sprints but football training requires more bodily endurance because of physical contact. In basketball it takes more running, better conditioning and a lot of wind."

Basketball is Mike's dish, "I have played basketball every since I can remember," he smiled and said. "I started playing regular on the elementary team when I was in the 6th grade at Sardis."

He continued playing at Sardis through his junior year. He sparked his team to 69 wins in the three years and scored 1649 points for an average of 17 points per game.

During these three years his team won the region Eight crown and a trip to the state tournament in Nashville where they were defeated by the Nashville Stratford High School team.

Not only does Mike enjoy football and basketball but he also likes baseball. "My goal is to make a career of baseball and play in the major league," he said.

He has had a good career in high school baseball and topped off last year with a successful season as a pitcher for the Jackson American Legion Baseball team where he had an eight win, two loss record including five shut outs.

He has one more year left for American Legion baseball. He has had a couple of athletic scholarships offered him from colleges but he prefers a college with a good baseball program.

Basketball practice has started at Riverside and Mike says prospects looks good for the team, however they have only two weeks of practice and they are short on experienced players. So few have played varsity ball. His father, Mack Chandler, is coach of the boys basketball club.

His advice to those entering the field of sports is to be sure that's what you want and then work hard. "If you don't intend to work hard, don't enter the field," he pointed out. "It takes an awful lot of work and time but I enjoy every minute of it."

He is a member of the Beta Club at Riverside and an "A" student. His favorite subject is math. The young athlete moved to Parsons at the beginning of this year's school term.

Besides his parents, Mack Chandler and the former Irene Barham, he has one brother, Tracy (age 7) and three sisters, Velda (15) a sophomore who also is an outstanding basketball player, Stella (9) and Carolyn (5).