Dan Hampton is a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest defensive linemen in NFL history. One of very few who managed to make the Pro Bowl both as a defensive tackle and a defensive end. He anchored the greatest defense in team history and won a Super Bowl in 1985. The guy is a legend. The most interesting part of his career though may be its origin story. For that, we must rewind to the winter of 1977.
People forget that the Bears used to have a dominant defensive tackle at that point in time. His name was Wally Chambers. There was a brief instant for about three years where he looked like a future Hall of Fame inductee himself. He was Rookie of the Year in 1973 and NFC Defensive Player of the Year in 1976 where he unofficially had 14 sacks. The guy was a stud and still getting better according to his coaches.
However, one tragic mishap following that breakout season forever altered his career. It also set the Bears on a collision course with destiny according to Will Larkin of the Chicago Tribune.
“Chambers’ third trip to the Pro Bowl derailed his career and is part of the reason modern versions of the game feature linemen playing patty-cake. Chambers banged his right knee in the January 1977 game, leading to “traumatic arthritis” and the decomposing of the cartilage underneath his kneecap.
He had been able to battle through injuries before, including shoulder and back ailments, but this was different. Chambers never was the same. He missed all but four games in 1977, was traded to the Buccaneers in ’78 and was out of the league after the ’79 season at 28.”
Dan Hampton became a Bear thanks to Chambers’ demise
Chambers tried to gut it out in 1977 but the knee injury simply wouldn’t let him do it. That combined with serious questions from the Bears coaching staff that he wasn’t trying harder to get back led to tense situations between the two sides. Sensing that things were going in a bad direction, GM Jim Finks decided to act. In April of 1978, he swung a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, sending over Chambers for their 1979 first round pick.
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It seemed like a good deal for Tampa Bay at the time. They already had Hall of Fame defensive end Lee Roy Selmon in place. If Chambers could return to his usual form, they might end up with a dominant defensive front. They clearly didn’t do their due diligence on that knee problem though. Medicine back then wasn’t nearly as advanced as it is today. Chambers only played two seasons for them before retiring.
The pick the Bears got in return became the 4th overall. Finks used it to find Chambers’ replacement in a young kid out of Arkansas. That was Hampton.
The rest is history.
