This is the7th in a series profiling this year's inductees for the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame and Wall of Honor, which will be posted every week at baylorbears.com.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
George Chandler developed a reputation as one of the most sought-after personal-injury trial attorneys in the state of Texas, "motivated to be a lawyer for the working man."
But there were some "lean times" early on when he branched out to start the Chandler Law Offices in Lufkin, Texas, in November 1971.
"Lawyers couldn't advertise back then, that was against the ethical rules," said the 84-year-old Chandler, who was elected to the Baylor Athletics Wall of Honor this year. "Even the sign you put up at your law office couldn't exceed so many inches. It was a rigorous rule, and it was hard to get the cases. It was kind of a catch-22, because if you didn't have the cases, you wouldn't be in trial at the courthouse. But you had to establish yourself by your record at the courthouse."
In a law career that has spanned more than six decades, Chandler was recognized as one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers in Texas for 10 years running (2003-12), named the Baylor Lawyer of the Year in 2009 and selected as a Texas Legal Legend in 2014 by the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas.
But for all his success and countless awards in the legal realm, it was his election to the Baylor Wall of Honor that "knocked my socks off."
When Baylor Associate AD Walter Abercrombie called to inform Chandler of his selection, "I told him I would rather have this honor than the Nobel Peace Prize," he said, "because of our great love for Baylor. It truly knocked me out."
A three-year letterman and team MVP for men's tennis in 1960, Chandler joins a Wall of Honor that includes Mark Hurd, Jay Allison, Jim Turner, Bill Glass, Gale Galloway, Clyde Hart and World War II veteran Jack Lummus.
"I was a freshman when Bill Glass was a senior, and he affected people's eternal lives," Chandler said of Glass's prison ministry. "Just to be on the same page with him and so many others . . . was just the nicest thing that ever happened to me."
Since his dad also went to Baylor and started taking him to Baylor football games at the old Municipal Stadium in the 1940s, George said he has "loved Baylor since my earliest memories."
After graduating from Victoria High School, Chandler came to Baylor on a tennis scholarship in 1956, when the Bears were coached by men's basketball assistant coach Bill Menefee and played on "four beautiful clay courts" that were back behind the Rena Marrs McLean Gym.
"That was a long time ago, but in my mind, they were just beautiful, old red clay courts," he said. "And then, we moved from there to some fast cement courts between Rena Marrs and the old law school. And we played there until I graduated. They were fast, and that accommodated more the skill of our players, being serve-and-volley players."
That included Chandler, who loved playing doubles at Baylor with the likes of Tommy Goforth, Bobby Coe and John Skogstad, a national high school doubles champion who transferred to Miami for his last two seasons after going undefeated at No. 1 singles for two years at Baylor.
"He won two or three national NCAA championships (at Miami)," Chandler said of Skogstad. "I was thrilled that he did that, but we sure missed him at Baylor."
His last two seasons at Baylor, Chandler was coached by a local club pro named Carroll Drewyer, a California native who "loved tennis and loved Baylor."
"Carroll was a really good coach, and he was probably more competitive than any player out there," George said. "Our practices usually ended up with Coach Drewyer playing in a match with us, and he wanted to win more than the other colleges wanted to win. He was something."
The son of school teachers, Chandler initially planned on following in their shoes, "but I changed that while I was at Baylor, wanting to be a lawyer."
Graduating from Baylor Law School in 1962, Chandler was an associate with the Corpus Christi firm of Edwards, Yturri & DeAnda for 2 ½ years before becoming a partner with Burke, Leach & Chandler in July 1964.
His passion for representing the "working man" came from visits to his grandparents' sawmill, where he saw "so many people that had tragic injuries – missing legs or missing arms."
"Sawmill safety rules back in their day, they weren't very helpful to the working people," Chandler said. "And I kind of developed a passion for wanting to help those type folks. I wanted to be a lawyer for the working man."
A trial lawyer being "the only type lawyer I ever dreamed of being," Chandler and his partners have represented clients in high-stakes litigation in both state and federal court, resulting in numerous verdicts and settlements that have frequently garnered nationwide attention.
Still an advisor with the Chandler, Mathis & Zivley law firm, with offices in Lufkin and Houston, George hasn't been back in the courtroom in the last five years after a physical handicap left him unable to "stand up and address a judge or jury."
"I just have great memories of friends on both sides of the docket, and I really enjoyed it," he said. "All my firm does is trial work, and I don't go to the courtroom anymore. But I do like to try to help the young lawyers."
In 2015, George and his wife, Martha (BA, '61), received the Legacy Award for extraordinary service and philanthropy to Baylor or to causes that fit its mission as a Christian University. The couple has been married since 1960 and have two children that have also graduated from Baylor.
"It's been incredible," George said of his 63-plus years with Martha. "She was the biggest backer I had, of course. And she suffered through the lean years with me without whimpering. So, we made a pretty good team."
Chandler will be honored at the Baylor Athletics and Wall of Honor banquet on Nov. 3 at Baylor's Cashion Building Banquet Room. Limited tickets remain at $50 per person, with table sponsorships also available at the green ($600) and gold ($800) levels, and can be purchased by contacting the "B" Association at 254-710-3045 or by email at
tammy_hardin@baylor.edu.
Making up the 2023 Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame class are football players J.D. Walton and Ken Quesenberry, track and field athletes Stan Curry, Sandy Forsythe Massey and Tiffany Townsend, baseball's Max Muncy, longtime men's basketball radio and TV analyst Pat Nunley and men's tennis All-American Denes Lukacs.
