Greg Sampson
Encyclopedia
Ralph Gregory Sampson is a former professional American football
player.
in 1972, where he starred as a defensive end, playing on two Rose Bowl-winning teams (1971 and 1972).
Sampson grew up in Long Beach, California
and graduated in 1968 from Millikan High School
, where he first joined the football team his junior year as the kicker.
In 1972, he was drafted in the first round by the Houston Oilers as a defensive end. In 1974, he switched to offensive tackle and steadily improved, until he became second team ALL-AFC in 1978. But then during a 1979 pre-season drill with his teammates, his helmet was struck and a blood clot in the brain developed. A surgical intervention removed it, probably saving his life, but he could no longer play and retired after the 1979 season.
In 2010, Sampson was voted by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times as the Houston Oilers best offensive lineman in the history of the team.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player.
College and professional career
Sampson graduated from Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1972, where he starred as a defensive end, playing on two Rose Bowl-winning teams (1971 and 1972).
Sampson grew up in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
and graduated in 1968 from Millikan High School
Millikan High School
Robert A. Millikan Senior High School is a high school in Long Beach, California administered by the Long Beach Unified School District. It is located near the intersection of Spring Street and Palo Verde Avenue in East Long Beach on a campus approximately one square mile...
, where he first joined the football team his junior year as the kicker.
In 1972, he was drafted in the first round by the Houston Oilers as a defensive end. In 1974, he switched to offensive tackle and steadily improved, until he became second team ALL-AFC in 1978. But then during a 1979 pre-season drill with his teammates, his helmet was struck and a blood clot in the brain developed. A surgical intervention removed it, probably saving his life, but he could no longer play and retired after the 1979 season.
In 2010, Sampson was voted by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times as the Houston Oilers best offensive lineman in the history of the team.