Sean Savage
@SeanSav13
Peter Chandler felt “like a little kid looking at stars,” he says now.
Chandler was warming up, surrounded by 20,000 fans before his North American Soccer League (NASL) match with the Hartford Bicentennials started. And there, on the other side of the pitch, was Pelé.
Just a few years after graduating from Springfield College, Chandler was playing against the superstar he had grown up admiring.
After his professional career, Chandler was inducted into the Springfield College Athletics Hall of Fame.
Growing up in the depths of Duxbury, Massachusetts, Chandler was a seasoned athlete – but never expected to make it to the professional level.
“I always loved sports and was very athletic,” Chandler said. “I was just programmed that way.”
Between a number of sports, one sport stuck out to him at an early age – soccer.
Unfortunately, soccer was not offered at his middle school. Instead, Chandler found himself in an oversized football uniform.
“None of the equipment fit very well,” Chandler said. “I could spin the helmet all the way around my head, and the shoulder pads were huge.”
After some time, Chandler adjusted to the game – just not to the uniform.
“It did not matter what I was doing,” Chandler said. “I was just naturally athletic and loved it.”
Although that was until he stepped on the field and experienced what football was actually like.
“I remember being a linebacker, but I did not start; I was never a big guy,” Chandler said. “This one time, their running back was running right at me, and I tackled him. But, in the midst of him being tacked, I was like: ‘Holy smokes, I think I got run over by a freight train!'”
Chandler found himself playing the wrong kind of football. Thankfully, Chandler’s sixth-grade teacher, Mr. Quincy, was a lifeline for Chandler’s passion.
During recess, students were divided into teams based on their class.
“[Quincy] would let us go out there and play,” Chandler said. “He would not even coach us, maybe call a foul if he needed to.”
This is where his passion took root for Chandler. By the same token, 12-year-old Chandler also stumbled upon a photo that spoke a million words.
“It was a picture of Pelé,” Chandler said. “And he was the first million-dollar athlete.”
Chandler’s dad, a sports writer for The (Brockton, Mass.) Enterprise at the time, showed him the photo.
“I could not see what a million dollars was,” Chandler said. “But, I thought: ‘Wow, that is pretty cool, I will stick with this.'”
“That definitely influenced my passion for the game,” Chandler said. “Just seeing him and the world player he became.”
When Chandler reached high school, soccer came knocking. His passion and love for the game were so strong that Chandler played the game exceptionally well even though he didn’t have formal playing experience beyond recess.
Chandler grew into a clinical goal scorer: his runs were dangerous, he split the defense with beautiful runs and when he slipped through on goal, he tucked it away.
Although Chandler never won a state championship with Duxbury, he was the leading goal scorer when he graduated.
Chandler’s high school English professor, Foster Cass, was a Springfield College graduate who took Chandler to visit campus.
“I knew the reputation Springfield had,” Chandler said. “Especially for their Physical Education program, which is what I wanted to major in.”
Chandler, who played both soccer and baseball in high school, arrived at Alden Street and had an interview lined up. Right after it was conducted, Chandler was informed he was accepted on the spot.
“I thought, ‘Wow, that is pretty unusual,'” Chandler said. “I thanked him for that and I was just like, ‘All right, let’s go!'”
Chandler’s poise on the pitch directly translated to the collegiate level and was an ample reason for Springfield College’s abundance of success.
Chandler collected back-to-back New England Championships with the Pride. This was also in an era when Springfield was an NCAA Division II school.
Each year the Pride won, they went on to compete with New York’s Division II champion, where they would battle it out in one last game.
In 1973, the Pride matched up against Oneonta, and this was one of the highlights of Chandler’s collegiate career – but not for the reason you would think.
“It was the worst weather I have ever played a college game in,” Chandler said.
A day prior to kickoff, it snowed a foot in Oneonta. But the hosts were not going to let anything get in the way.
“It was a grass field, and it was nothing but mud,” Chandler said. “They tried to throw cat litter, they tried to burn the field and get the snow off, and they had their kids trying to shovel the snow off. But it was a mess.”
An opponent at the time, Farrukh Quaraishi – who would become a future teammate – immediately noticed just how good Chandler was, especially at the collegiate level.
“He was incredibly skillful, and the outstanding player on their team,” Quaraishi said. “We were used to playing some good players, but Peter [Chandler] was just an outstanding player.”
Unfortunately, the Pride could not pull through. But, nonetheless, they still were champions of New England. In 1974, the story was the same – except this time against Adelphi. And the result was the same.
After four years, Chandler finished just one point – goal or assist – shy of tying the previous school record.
“I actually paid no attention to records, though. I just played for the love of the game,” Chandler said.
In February of 1975, Chandler and a few of his teammates heard about an opening for the Hartford Bicentennials – a summer professional team.
Chandler thought, “I guess I will go see what it is like; it could be fun.”
Around 45 players showed up for the team’s tryouts. A few already knew the coach, which left a little more than half of the starting XI open with reserves. The pressure was on, as there was only one day for each player to show off his skills.
Adding to the mess, the tryouts were held in a small gymnasium – with a floor, not out on a field.
As the tryouts came to a close, the coach asked if everybody had gotten on the floor. Chandler was the only one to raise his hand to say he did not get a chance.
Chandler was ready to do anything to make the team. In this case, it was playing a foreign position, defense. From being the leading scorer to becoming the team’s anchor is no easy task – especially in the middle of a professional-level tryout.
“That is just how it unfolded,” Chandler said. “I do not know what the coach saw in me. Yet, the Lord works in mysterious ways.”
Before Chandler could even process what had just happened with his nerves and adrenaline high, he was asked to come back for practices. Not long after that, Chandler was offered his first professional contract.
“Of course, there was no bargaining,” Chandler said. “I just said: ‘Yeah, yeah!’ I thought I had just died and gone to heaven with my first year as a professional.”
At the time Chandler was going professional, Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was trying to Americanize the game. This led the NASL to instill a rule: one American player had to be on the pitch at the start of the game.
For Chandler, the rule secured his starting position. For America, the idea meant some of the world’s best players would venture over to the NASL to spread the love for the game.
That included, Pelé, Brazil’s phenom and one of the world’s best players, who joined the league, along with England’s captain center-back Bobby Moore, Northern Ireland’s darting winger George Best and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer – debatably the best center-back of all time – to name a few.
“I was just the young buck, with maybe some speed,” Chandler said.
The list of players Chandler had to face included Carlos Alberto, Johan Cruyff, Gerd Müller, Eusébio – all these players had the spotlight and recognized talent, and Chandler had to stand tall against them on a new team.
“The NASL was starting to gain some real recognition,” Chandler said. “The stands would just be filled. If someone like Pelé would even just come out and wave, fans would feel like they had just died and gone to heaven.”
The pressure was on Chandler early, but he was ready. Poland came to scrimmage the Bicentennials in a preseason match – Chandler’s coach, Manfred Schellscheidt, threw Chandler right in, but he had an assignment.
He had to man mark the top goal scorer in Poland and fifth all-time in goals at the time – Grzegorz Lato.
“I was thinking to myself: ‘Oh, really,'” Chandler said. “I guess my best aspect was just being quick.”
After the game, it was clear Schellscheidt loved what he saw in the young stud. Schellscheidt also just so happened to be the U.S. National Men’s Team head coach.
“After the 1975 season, he invited me to play with the national team,” Chandler said.
In August of the same year, Chandler played in the Mexico City Cup, representing his country. He had three caps against Argentina, Costa Rica and Mexico.
“I got to start all three of those games,” Chandler said. “It was strange being in such a big stadium [Aztec Stadium]. But, it was an honor nonetheless.”
Chandler spent three years with the Bicentennials – which were sold and relocated to California in 1977 – before joining the Tampa Bay Rowdies, where he reunited with Quaraishi.
“At this point, he had the technical ability and the intelligence to play at the highest level,” Quaraishi said. “He adapted his game very well. He used to be a forward, so he knew how they played – so it was not a huge learning curve.”
Although, in the back of Chandler’s mind was revenge after the 1973 loss to Quaraishi and Oneanta.
One warm, dark night Quaraishi decided it would be a great idea to replace the carpeting in his old car. So he decided to head over to Chandler’s house for some help.
Chandler took over putting down the new carpet, but there was still some left over – so they threw it in the trunk. By the time the trunk flew open, Quaraishi did not realize how much room there was back there.
“I climbed into the trunk and said, ‘Peter, you could sleep in this trunk!’ As I got in the trunk, he shut it on me,” Quaraishi said.
But there was a problem. The trunk could only be opened from the outside – and the key happened to be in Quaraishi’s pocket.
“It was almost airtight,” Quaraishi said. “I was also claustrophobic, so I was really panicking.”
Standing on the outside laughing through all of this was Chandler. He finally got his revenge – and they are still friends to date.
But, when it came down to it, “Peter was very down to earth,” Quaraishi said. “He had very good habits – he trained hard, he took care of himself and you always knew what you were going to get from him every game.”
Chandler’s impact on each team he played for was apparent. His successful style of play led him to be invited a year later, in 1976, to play for Team America.
Quaraishi credits some of this to his mentality. “Peter was never fazed by the reputation of other big names. He would just go out and do the job he was meant to do,” Quaraishi said. “He was not flashy, but he was incredibly skillful – and a team player.”
Chandler was picked for a select team from the NASL that featured the league’s top players. There was a week’s pause in the regular season just for the event.
“I got to play with and talk to Bobby Moore, Pelé and more,” Chandler said. “I would just go out there and play my best.”
Wrapping up his professional career due to two leg breaks – one of which required plates and screws in his leg – Chandler went on to coach soccer for 32 some years.
He coached at private and public schools:
“I used every single kid,” Chandler said. “For some, it was their first time ever kicking a soccer ball.”
Chandler headed a couple of state championships at Peak to Peak Charter School in Lafayette, Colorado.
“There was a lot of respect from the kids because I was a former player,” Chandler said.
To date, Quaraishi wants people to know how respectable and well-rounded Chandler has set out to be.
“I will say he is one of the most devoted people I know,” Quaraishi said. “He lives his faith in the way he treats people – he is an incredibly loyal friend, and one of the nicest people I know – I cannot say enough good things about him, he is one of my favorite people.”
Through all Chandler’s years, his biggest advice was, “Have a humble spirit of wanting to be a coachable athlete.”
In more recent years, Chandler not only got inducted into his high school’s hall of fame. And now, Chandler is a part of the 2023 Springfield College Athletic Hall of Fame class.
Chandler is set to return to Alden Street this month for the first time since 1975 to be honored for all that he has accomplished.
“He represented himself and the college by playing at the highest level,” Quaraishi said. “Not many people can lay claim to that. It is an honor not only to him, but also to Springfield.”
Photo: Springfield College Archives