Former NFL Great Dan Hampton and Wife Gina Help Make Trinity Lutheran Golf Outing a Success

If you’re a Chicago sports fan, you’re no doubt familiar with big Dan Hampton, NFL Hall-of-Famer.

You may not, however, be familiar with little Dan Hampton, third-grader.

Big Dan Hampton took to the links Friday in Oak Brook to help out little Dan Hampton and the rest of his Burr Ridge schoolmates.

Big Dan Hampton said “there’s a pretty good reason,” why he wanted to take part in the third annual Golf Fore the Kids event at Marriott’s Willow Crest Golf Course. “He’s a hundred-pound third grader. That’s our son, little Dan.

“All the people at Trinity are wonderfully giving and the least Gina, my wife, and I can do is give back,” Hampton continued. “She has been instrumental in trying to put this thing together with Aaron Landgrave, the principal.”

The annual outing has grown from 50 participants two years ago to 130 this year.

“We’re doing a lot better and we’re excited and very grateful for all the people who participated,” Gina Hampton said. “We had a lot of great participants and a lot of great sponsors.”

Participants included some of Hampton’s Chicago Bears teammates, such as linebacker Otis Wilson, defensive tackle Jim Osborne, tight end Jim Thornton, and wide receiver Glen Kozlowski.

Hampton, a defensive tackle, played 12 seasons for the Bears after being drafted in the first round of the 1979 NFL draft. He played in four Pro Bowls and was a member of the last Bears’ Super Bowl championship team in 1985.

This year’s Bears team opens regular season play Sunday and Hampton was asked about the outlook for the 2011 Monsters of the Midway.

“They have a chance to do anything and everything they want,” he said. “They’ve got a quarterback who is capable and equipped to win any game they play.”

Hampton indicated the Bears were likely to win eight to 10 games, but could do even better if QB Jay Cutler plays up to his capabilities.

“At the end of the day, when you have a great quarterback -- and Jay Cutler, in my mind, has a chance to be an elite quarterback -- you’ve got a chance to win a lot of games,” Hampton said.

Friday, though, Hampton was focused on golf, and he sensed some divine intervention at work helping steer rainy weather away from the course.

“I think the big man was watching and the skies opened up,” he said. “It got sunny and everybody had a ball. It was just a great day.”

Gina Hampton said the target for the event was to raise $15,000 for the school’s Tuition Assistance Fund, which helps students attend the school who might not otherwise have the opportunity due to financial hardships.

In addition to 18 holes of golf, participants got to try their luck at a putting contest. There was also a raffle and a helicopter golf-ball drop.