It’s been more than 35 years since Ronald Reagan stated, during his first inaugural address, “Those who say that we’re in a time when there are no heroes, they just don’t know where to look.” We discovered heroes in every state, starting with the determined 69-year-old who won a match at an ITF Pro Circuit event earlier this year in the Alabama town of Pelham, and culminating with the coach who has overcome multiple sclerosis to build a winning program at the University of Wyoming. Their compelling stories of courage, perseverance and achievement demonstrate that the message delivered by our 40th President rings as true today as it did then.
“Want to recruit me?”
Those were some of the first words that Barbara Chandler, then 68, said to Boise State men’s tennis coach Greg Patton when she first met him in 1992. A telltale twinkle in her eye betrayed her deadpan delivery, but that initial conversation with the woman that locals call the First Lady of Idaho Tennis is one Patton remembers fondly.
“When I took the job at Boise State, my friend, Stan Smith, told me that the first person I needed to meet was the Boise Patron Saint of Tennis, Barbara,” says Patton.
Chandler’s journey to patron-saint status began in 1934, when the sixth-grade teacher at her San Francisco school let her hit tennis balls against a wall. It was not long before she was winning city titles and then national junior events, eventually becoming a three-time quarterfinalist at the US National Championship at Forest Hills. She would move to Boise in 1952 with her husband, Bill, after playing four years on the national grass-court circuit.
Far from a tennis hotbed, Boise had a handful of tennis courts at just one of the city’s public parks. Chandler set out to fix that. She started a recreational program in 1953 and went on to create and act as president of the Idaho Tennis Association. She even founded a tennis club with her husband, which now boasts 26 courts.
Through her activism and involvement, she lobbied successfully for court installation at every public park, high school and junior high school in Boise. She ran the high school state tournament for 53 years, in addition to working personally with many area juniors.
“I just enjoyed the kids, and the kids enjoyed playing,” she says, joking that those former students now faithfully serve as her chauffeurs. “They won’t let me drive anymore.”
At 92 years old, Chandler has been inducted into both local and national halls of fame. She even collected the prestigious USTA Service Bowl, which has been awarded to the likes of Pam Shriver and Chris Evert. But don’t expect to hear her tooting her own horn.
“Everything I did, I ended up getting lucky,” she says. “I just got [to Idaho] at the right time.”
Today, the Boise area boasts some of the highest tennis participation numbers in the nation, the tennis landscape dotted with Chandler’s former students who now watch their children and grandchildren play at the local courts.
“Boise would be dramatically different if Barbara hadn't blessed this city with her vision, relentless perseverance, grace, passion, charm and magic,” says Patton, who is more than happy to boast in Chandler’s stead. “At her present age, she’s slowed down on the court, but she’s still fast with the warmest smile and quickest quip.”