Gary Compton (born May 9, 1968) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

wide receiver and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

and briefly in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

and

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of t ...

. Compton played college football at

East Texas State East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

(now Texas A&M-Commerce) from 1987-1990 where he was an All-Conference and All-American Wide Receiver as well as a Harlon Hill Award candidate. He is the all-time leading career receiver for the A&M-Commerce Football program.

Early years

Compton was born and raised in

Irving, Texas Irving is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in Dallas County, it is also an inner ring suburb of Dallas. The city of Irving is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. According to a 2019 estimate from the United States Census Bur ...

. In an interview with ArenaFan.com, he described himself as a "Typical Texas kid. My parents dressed me up in Dallas Cowboys’ gear and enrolled me in youth football leagues as soon as I could walk. Since I was five-years-old, my parents had a football in my hands,” Compton said. “And the game has been a part of my life ever since.” Compton was a Football standout at

Irving High School Irving High School is a public high school in Irving, Texas Irving is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in Dallas County, it is also an inner ring suburb of Dallas. The city of Irving is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Acc ...

in Irving. His on the field successes earned him a Football scholarship to East Texas State University in

Commerce, Texas Commerce is a city in Hunt County, Texas, United States, situated on the eastern edge of North Texas, in the heart of the Texas Blackland Prairies. The town is south of the Texas/ Oklahoma border. Commerce is the second-largest city in Hunt Count ...

College career

Compton attended

East Texas State University East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

, where he was a standout wide receiver. A 4 year starter, he helped the Lions to an 8 win season and 2nd place finish in the Lone Star Conference in 1988 and in 1990 an LSC Conference Championship, and an appearance in the 1990 NCAA Division II playoffs finishing as national quarter-finalists with a 10-3 record. Compton graduated from ETSU in 1991 with a Bachelor's Degree in

Marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...

. Teaming up with future Arena League QB's

Michael Trigg Michael Scott Trigg is a former American football quarterback and head coach in the Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football at East Texas State University. Early years Trigg lettered in football, basketball and baseball at Theod ...

and Bobby Bounds, he helped the Lion offenses of the late 80's and 1990 to become some of the most potent in the country. He left Commerce as the All-Time leader in receiving, a four-time All-Lone Star Conference and two-time All-American selection. Compton holds school and conference records for receptions (181), yardage (3,041), and touchdowns (30) in a career.

Professional career

Compton went undrafted in the 1991 NFL draft but signed with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

as an undrafted free agent. He was with the team throughout training camp, but was released by the team prior to the start of the season. He then joined the Montreal Machine of the

for a short time before signing in the Arena Leagues, at first with the

Cleveland Thunderbolts The Cleveland Thunderbolts were an Arena football team based in Richfield, Ohio. The Thunderbolts were founded in 1991 and were a member of the Arena Football League (AFL). In 1994, the franchise relocated to Columbus The team played for four se ...

, and then was reunited with former Lion teammate

as he signed with the Dallas Texans. This began a long term career in the

that saw Compton play for the Dallas Texans, Fort Worth Cavalry, Milwaukee Mustangs, Indiana Firebirds,

Grand Rapids Rampage The Grand Rapids Rampage was an arena football team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The team began play in 1998 in the Arena Football League as an expansion team. They were last coached by Steve Thonn. Their home arena was the Van Andel Arena. ...

, Tampa Bay Storm, and

Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia TSOP, is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often feat ...

. Compton retired from Football in 2004.

Personal

Compton is married and has 3 sons and 1 daughter and lives in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. He has coached high school football in both Texas and Wisconsin and is currently the owner and operator of his own business.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Compton, Gary 1968 births Living people American football linebackers American football wide receivers Af2 coaches Dallas Texans (Arena) players Fort Worth Cavalry players Grand Rapids Rampage players Indiana Firebirds players Milwaukee Mustangs (1994–2001) players Milwaukee Mustangs (2009–12) coaches Philadelphia Soul players Tampa Bay Storm players Texas A&M–Commerce Lions football players People from Irving, Texas Coaches of American football from Texas Players of American football from Texas