Malcolm Chandler earned distinction as an instrumental member of
the storied 6-0 football squad of 1938, the first undefeated team
in WPI history and the only undefeated and untied squad in New
England that year. As a starting offensive tackle, he led a fierce
offensive line. He was a three-year letter winner in football, but
his real claim to fame came from his achievements in the sport of
track and field.
During his four letter-winning years in dual-meet competition,
he proved himself one of the top weight men in New England. He
competed in a total of nine meets, winning the hammer, the shot put
and the discus six times each. When he graduated from WPI, he held
the school records in the shot and discus. His greatest
accomplishments came at the Eastern Championships. In 1938, he was
the champion in the hammer and discus and took second in the shot
put. The following year, he repeated ass champion in the hammer and
discus and placed third in the shot.
After he left WPI, he worked 28 years as a civil engineer for
A.F. Peaslee Co. constructing schools and churches in the Hartford,
Conn., area. He served his country for five years in the U.S.
Marine Corps at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and other sports in the
Pacific, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. Through the years, he
greatly enjoyed skiing, saltwater fishing, playing tennis and
spending time with his wife, Beth, and his sons, Bruce, Alan and
Charles, at the family cottage on Nantucket.
It is a privilege to honor one of the greatest weight men in
school history by inducting Malcolm Chandler into the WPI Athletic
Hall of Fame.
