Dan Hampton, Number 99, Hall Of Fame 2002

Dan Hampton came with his son to a grand opening at one of my son's Sports Authority stores. He gets paid $5,000 for an hour and a half. Dan was very friendly to the store employees and the Bear fans that stood in line to meet him and get his autograph. My son Tommy showed Dan the pictures of him that I posted on my blog. The first pictures were from 1979 when he was a rookie at Lake Forest. Dan called his son over to show him that there was no security. Fans could just walk up to the players. He asked where the picture was taken and Tommy told him at Halas Hall. Dan does a lot of autograph signing and it's usually at stores of a manager that is a Bears fan. He said once he was at a store where the manager was a Packer fan. The autograph table was set up in front of the cheese section. Dan signed the above card for me. He loved it when Tommy brought up the names Mike Hartenstein and Ron Rydalch. Dan said once during practice Hartenstein told him the A-train was there. The A-train was Artis Gillmore and he was so tall his head was above the high chain link fence. Dan asked Tommy where there was a nearby Wendy's. He said his sixth grade son wanted a spicy chicken sandwich. Dan told the first few fans that he would have started signing sooner, but he was busy in the back room signing for the store employees. Tommy had him sign the minature Bear helmet that Gary Fencik signed. Dan asked where his son was. Tommy told him he was up in the break lounge eating a spicy chicken sandwich. He was grateful. Dan played from 1979 to 1990. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002. He played end and tackle.