HAMPTON, Russell "Russ"

HAMPTON, CARTER

Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 1/30/2016 at 19:35:21

Russell "Russ" Hampton, 2013
Graceland University, Lamoni, Iowa

Bakersfield, California native Russell "Russ" Hampton came to Graceland in 1952 and made an immediate impact as a freshman for the Yellowjacket football team.

While attending Bakersfield High School, Russ starred in both football and basketball, was President of the Letterman's Club and was named "Best Student Athlete." His greatest memory of high school sports is the undefeated season the basketball team had his freshman year under Coach Joe Kegler.

After high school, Russ moved on to play end for Graceland College in 1952 and 1953 before transferring to UCLA in 1954. Playing both tight end and tackle for the Bruins, he went on to play on the undefeated National Championship team as well as facing Michigan State in the 1955 Rose Bowl.

After his successful collegiate career, Russ played football at the Naval Training Center in San Diego, California in 1956, before becoming an assistant football coach at UCLA in 1959. Hampton received his teaching credentials the following year from California State University, Los Angeles.

Russ then became a Physical Education instructor at Citrus Junior College while coaching the football and wrestling teams for the Owls. Other coaching experiences include his role as Assistant Football Coach at Washington State University from 1962-1964 and Assistant Football Coach at Stanford University from 1966-1968.

Russ dedicates the success of his athletic and coaching careers to the impact coaches had on his life. Coach Joe Kegler, his basketball coach from Bakersfield High School and Graceland College's Dick Carter who he felt taught him the most in terms of fundamentals and effort.

Other coaches who inspired Russ include Red Sanders and his staff, who coached the UCLA team to their National Championship and the Rose Bowl. Billy Barns, an assistant to Sanders, was directly responsible for Russ's three college coaching jobs including Citrus Junior College, Washington State and Stanford.

Now a resident of Kansas City, Missouri, Russ attributes his greatest successes to the health and well-being of his family, including his seven daughters, sixteen grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Russ was inducted into Graceland's Yellowjacket Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.

SOURCES: gujackets.com/f/Hall_of_Fame.php; gujackets.com/roster.php

Submission by Sharon R Becker, January of 2016