Dan Hampton

Daniel Oliver Hampton also known as "Danimal" (born September 19, 1957) is a retired Hall of Fame American football defensive tackle who played twelve seasons for the Chicago Bears from 1979 to 1990 in the National Football League. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002. He currently hosts the Bears postgame show on WGN Radio in Chicago.

High school

The son of Robert and Joan Hampton, Dan graduated from Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, AR, in 1975. Hampton played football his junior and senior year. He suffered a disabling fall from a tree that kept him out of organized sports from grades 7-10. He participated in band, playing saxophone and five other instruments. He also played bass guitar and sang for a local band named "Sanctuary Woods."Doug Matthews of Jacksonville filled his large shoes in that band after he left. Whenever he was in town he would come to where they were playing and sit in with them. He never forgot his roots. He was always just like he had never left. Jacksonville High School coach Bill Reed is credited for "rescuing" him from the band.- Dan was also the bassist and vocalist for the band created by "Chicago Sports Profile Magazine" editor Lisa Levine after the success of the "Super Bowl Shuffle." The band "The Chicago Six" played "off season" from 1987-1990. The alumni from the group include Walter Payton (drums), Otis Wilson (lead vocalist), Shaun Gayle (sax & voice), Gary Nylund (guitar & voice), Curt Fraser (guitar & voice), drummers Graham Watson, Steve Cobb, and keyboardists John Redfield, Larry Harris and Jeffrey Abbott(Keytarjeff). The band also performed on both local and national television.