Christopher Hughes Gambol (born September 14, 1964) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

who played three seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

and

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. He was selected by the Colts in the third round of the

1987 NFL draft The 1987 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Ma ...

after playing

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

Early life

Christopher Hughes Gambol was born on September 14, 1964, in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. He attended Oxford High School in

Oxford, Michigan Oxford is a village in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,436 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Oxford Township. Located about north of Detroit, it is a northern suburb of the Metro Detroit ...

, and played

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

on the football team. He also participated in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

in high school, garnering all-state recognition in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

and setting the school record with a throw of 157’4” in the discus. Gambol graduated from Oxford in 1982. He was a charter member of the Oxford High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010.

College career

Gambol was a member of the

Iowa Hawkeyes football The Iowa Hawkeyes football program represents the University of Iowa in college football. The Hawkeyes compete in the Big Ten Conference. Iowa joined the Conference (then known as the Western Conference or Big Nine) in 1899 and played their first ...

team from 1983 to 1986 and a two-year

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from 1985 to 1986. He was originally recruited to Iowa as a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

after being noticed by head coach

Hayden Fry John Hayden Fry (February 28, 1929 – December 17, 2019) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 1962 to 1972, North Texas State University—now known ...

at an Iowa Hawkeye summer camp in 1982, but eventually switched to offensive line. Gambol was also a four-year letterman for the track team, participating in the shot put and discus, and was the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

shot put champion during the 1987 outdoor track season. He graduated form Iowa with a

Bachelor of Business Administration A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of busine ...

in finance in 1986 and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

in 1991.

Professional career

Gambol was selected by the

in the third round, with the 58th overall pick, of the

. He officially signed with the team on July 23. He was placed on injured reserve on September 7, 1987, and spent the entire season there. The next year, Gambol played in one game for the Colts during the 1988 NFL season before being waived on September 22, 1988. Gambol was claimed off waivers by the

on September 23, 1988. He played in 11 games for the Chargers in 1988 and became a free agent after the season. Gambol signed with the

on March 22, 1989. He was released on September 5 but later re-signed on November 15, 1989. He appeared in six games during the 1989 season and became a free agent in February 1990. He was signed by the

on April 1, 1990. He played in all 16 games, starting 15, for the Patriots in 1990 and became a free agent after the season.

References

External links

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gambol, Chris 1964 births Living people Players of American football from Pittsburgh Track and field athletes from Pennsylvania American football offensive linemen American male shot putters American male discus throwers Iowa Hawkeyes football players Iowa Hawkeyes men's track and field athletes Indianapolis Colts players San Diego Chargers players Detroit Lions players New England Patriots players 20th-century American sportsmen