Arguably one of the most accomplished football letterwinners in school history, and heralded nationally by TIME Magazine as an “Immortal” of the sport of lightweight football, John “Pomp” Chandler led the Rutgers lightweight team to three undefeated seasons from 1933-1935. With Chandler in the lineup, RU posted a record of 15-0-1 across three seasons under Hall of Fame head coach Harry J. Rockafeller, with the team recognized as the mythical national champions in two of those campaigns.
Chandler was an unprecedented quadruple threat who routinely scored by rushing, catching, passing, and even kicking. In a 21-0 victory over Yale during the 1935 season, Chandler threw two touchdowns, rushed for one and kicked three extra points. Chandler followed with a rushing, passing, and receiving touchdown along with two extra points in a shutout victory over Lafayette. In the league title game, he tallied Rutgers’ only touchdown on an 85-yard run, then kicked the extra point to help the team to a 7-0 win over Princeton. Putting Pomp’s accomplishments into perspective on modern terms, observing on Chandler’s death in 1978, one ardent Rutgers sports booster and contemporary of Chandler declared that: “If the Heisman Trophy was awarded in 150-pound football, I’m sure Pomp would have been its first winner.”
Arriving at Rutgers in 1933 as a freshman, he immediately distinguished himself as a star athlete, especially on the recently established 150-pound football team (also called “lightweight football” at the time and now known as “sprint football”). He was known to friends and teammates as “Pomp” (a nickname he inherited from his father Arthur Chandler). Standing at 5 foot 7 and weighing in at about 130 pounds, Chandler could outrun anyone on the field. He was also a member of the track, basketball, and baseball teams during his time “On the Banks.”
While he dominated the lightweight football field, his best sport—and his true passion—was tennis. Yet due to racial discrimination in the sport, Chandler was unable to represent Rutgers on the tennis court as the country clubs where matches were played were restricted by race. While opportunities for African American tennis players were extremely limited, Chandler helped white students hone their skills by playing friendly matches at varsity tennis practice. College friends recalled years later that Chandler never dropped a set against the varsity players, let alone, lose a match.
Chandler’s athletic excellence continued after Rutgers, becoming one of the nation’s top-ranked tennis players by winning numerous tournaments in his prime. Chandler toured around the country and the world to compete against some of the best players of his time. Denied the ability to play for national honors due to the color of his skin, he helped pave the way for others to break the color barrier, including Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe. His legacy in the tennis world was cemented when the New Jersey Tennis Association established the John Chandler Tennis Classic in his honor.
