Athlete – Baseball
Stephen Preston Chandler was born on February 2, 1955, to proud parents Gertrude and Allen Chandler. Steve had three brothers, Brownell, Charles, and Terry, along with two sisters, Irma and Deborah. Steve was married to the late Deborah Jones Chandler, and they have one daughter, Taleesa Chandler Ward. Taleesa and her husband, Littleton G. Ward, have three children, Kayla, Littleton C., and Elijah. Steve has one great-grandson, Cayson.
Steve attended Henry Clay High School from 1970-73, earning 10 varsity letters: four in baseball, three in basketball, and three in football. Steve earned All-State honors in all three sports. In his senior year, Steve led Henry Clay to the state playoffs in football and to the KHSAA Sweet 16 State Tournament finals in basketball. Steve and his teammates also won the 1973 KHSAA Baseball Championship, and he was named most valuable player of the tournament.
Also while at Henry Clay, Steve was a member of the Beta Club, Key Club, National Honor Society, and Student Council. At his 1973 graduation, Henry Clay announced the retirement of all three jerseys Steve wore at the school.
After high school, Steve attended Vanderbilt University on a full baseball scholarship. While at Vandy from 1973-77, Steve was voted to the All-SEC Baseball Team in 1976-77. In 1976, he earned First Team honors on the All-South Squad. Named Vanderbilt’s Athlete of the Year in 1977, Steve also received the Bob Stovall award for Outstanding Community Service and the Jim Ribbons Award for Outstanding Leadership. He was the first African-American baseball player and became the first African-American team captain of any sport at Vanderbilt. He earned a bachelor of science degree in U.S. History, with a minor in Sociology. In 1977-78, Steve played Minor League Professional Baseball in Paintsville, Ky., in the Appalachian Baseball League.
In 1979-80, Steve began teaching Social Studies at Crawford Middle School and was the assistant basketball coach at Lafayette. From 1980-92, Steve was an administrative assistant at Lafayette, head girls basketball coach, assistant boys basketball coach, and assistant football coach. As head baseball coach, Steve led his Lafayette team to three KHSAA State Baseball Championships in 1988, 1989, and 1992. His 1992 team defeated the #4 team in the nation and finished the year ranked #4 itself.
In 1992, Steve left teaching and coaching to become a full-time professional baseball scout for the New York Yankees, earning a World Series Championship ring in 1996.
Steve returned to Lexington as head baseball coach at Lexington Christian Academy from 1997-98. From 1999-2006, Steve coached baseball at Bryan Station High School. He retired from coaching with a career record of 294-140 in 14 years. Steve was inducted into the Dawahare’s KHSAA Hall of Fame in 1998 and into the Kentucky Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2014.
