- Name
- Ed Lander
- Position
- Center
- Class
- Junior
- Hometown (Last School)
- Lexington, KY (Lafayette)
- Ht
- 6'3"
- Wt
- 188
- Seasons
- 1941-42, 1942-43
- Birthday
- January 31, 1922
Ed Lander was born Walden Edward Lander Jr. on January 31, 1922, in Lexington, Kentucky to Walden Edward Lander and Sara Kathryn Sanders.
Lander played basketball at Picadome and Lafayette high schools. He went on to letter in basketball at the University of Kentucky in 1942 and 1943 and was a member of UK’s baseball and tennis teams. He was also a member of Delta Tau Delta social fraternity. He received a bachelor’s degree from UK and later a master’s degree from EKU. He served in the Army during World War II and received a Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster.
During his junior year, Lander broke his leg in the Alabama game on February 6, 1943. He was hurt in a collision with a Tide player but his injury was not thought at first to be serious. The injury, described as an “incomplete fracture” of the leg, kept him from returning to basketball that season.
On August 8, 1944, Lander was commissioned as an Army officer at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Earlier in his career, Lander was a freshman basketball coach at Eastern Kentucky University under legendary coach Paul McBrayer. Mr. Lander also taught and coached high school basketball in Utah.
Lander was a former president of Lexington Country Club and had been a member of The Lexington Club and Lexington Lodge No. 1 Free & Accepted Masons. He was an avid golfer.
Lander retired as principal at Lexington Junior in the early 1980s after about 14 years in that position. He previously had been a teacher there.
Lander passed away on August 4, 1999, at the age of 77.
