Joe Rossi Hall of Fame

2001 Hall of Fame Inductee Richard Chandler – Golden Richard Chandler left the farm in Yuma for Colorado State Teachers College, now UNC, packing his tennis shoes and favorite jump shot. It was not long after graduation that his love of athletics found him patrolling the hardwood packing a whistle and striped shirt. But, his job as an educator left plenty of time for him to pack a few more things in his duffel bag- things like a chest protector, leg guards and catcher's mask. So, during summers, with the farm chores done, it was only natural for him to start calling balls and strikes. Rich umpired for 31 years and distinguished himself as a top arbiter, both in baseball and softball, in the Denver Metro area. For twenty years, Rich was a fixture at the CHSAA State Tournament working five big school (SA-6A) championship games, his last in 1995 with veteran Joe Rossi and promising young rookie, Tom Pontarelli. Rich also worked the 3A classification championship game for 6 straight years before that. All in all, Rich has worked 11 CHSAA State High School Baseball Championship games, a tenure virtually without parallel in Colorado baseball umpiring circles. He was also a standout college baseball umpire, working games in the Western Athletic Conference for 17 years and Big 8 baseball for 8 years. Rich has recently retired from a very successful teaching career where he established himself as a top basketball coach as well as athletic administrator. He also handled the principal's job for several Jefferson County summer school sessions. In his spare time, he teaches driver's education and can be seen white-knuckling it along the highways and byways of Denver. Rich served as a Denver Director for the Colorado High School Baseball Umpires Association from 1985-88 and has recently retired from his post as Athletic Director at Standley Lake High School. While at Standley Lake he directed a restructuring of the athletic department which led to JEFFCO championships and state rankings in both baseball and wrestling. Rich currently works as a football official in the Western Athletic Conference and will be part of the CHSBUA Umpire Evaluation Committee next year. He lives in Golden, Colorado with his wife Cynthia.