Donald “Babe” Chandler

Donald “Babe” Chandler excelled in several sports at Will Rogers and won a scholarship to Bacone Indian College in Muskogee and played on their National Junior College Football Championship team. He was scouted for a scholarship to the University of Florida and led the nation in punting. He was selected by the New York Giants as the number five pick in the National Football League draft.

The Giants won the NFL championship that first year—1956. After nine years with the Giants, Don became a Green Bay Packer, which reunited him with Vince Lombardi who had been a defensive coach for the Giants. The Packers won the NFL championship the first year and won the first two Super Bowls before Don retired after 12 years of professional football. Among his football honors are several punting and scoring titles, and selection to the Florida Gators Hall of Fame, the Giants Hall of Fame and the Packers Hall of Fame. Both The Tulsa World and The Daily Oklahoman selected Don as one of Oklahoma’s Outstanding Athletes of the Twentieth Century.

As outstanding as his football career was, Don may be remembered most for his rugged good looks and his television career as one of the original Marlboro men in the early ’60s. Don made many national television commercials and was a popular public speaker. Don died in 2011, survived by his wife, two sons, two daughters and ten grandchildren.