| No. 6, 10 | |
| Date of birth | (1947-03-30)March 30, 1947 (age 77) |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | Palo Alto, California, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | Punter |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Weight | 184 lb (83 kg) |
| US college | UC Santa Barbara |
| NFL draft | 1969 / round: 10 / pick: 250 |
| Drafted by | San Francisco 49ers |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 1971 | Buffalo Bills |
| 1972–1974 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 1974 | New England Patriots |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Pro Bowls | 1 |
| Career stats | |
| |
David Thayer Chapple (born March 30, 1947) is an Americanartist and former professionalfootball player. He played as apunter in theNational Football League (NFL) between 1969 and 1975.
Born in 1947 inPalo Alto, California,[1] Chapple was All American in football atUniversity of California, Santa Barbara. Selected by theSan Francisco 49ers in1969 NFL/AFL draft, Chapple suffered a back injury and wasn't able to play for two years.[2] He then signed with theBuffalo Bills in 1971, playing only a single game. Moving to theLos Angeles Rams the following year, Chapple was selected to thePro Bowl after netting an average of 44.2 yards for the 1972 season, a statistic not bettered until 2007 byShane Lechler. After another season and a half, he moved to theNew England Patriots mid-season 1974, finishing his career with the remaining five games.[3]
Chapple developed artistic talents at a young age, winning art contests and awards from grammar school. While earning his degree at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Chapple worked in the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History as a bird taxidermist, which developed his interest in wildlife painting. He started his professional career as an artist in 1970 while playing professional football in Los Angeles, and turned his attention full-time to these artistic pursuits after retiring from football in 1975.
Primarily a contemporaryoil painter in the influence of the early Californiaimpressionist landscape painters, Chapple has won numerous stamp contests for conservation groups and various state stamps for California, Kentucky, Utah and Idaho. His lifelong passion for golf has translated into painting commissions forJack Nicklaus,ABC Sports,Fred Couples,U.S. Open,U.S. Senior Open, tour events, and various country clubs and golf courses around the country.
Further extending his artistic talents into sculpture in the 1980s, Chapple was commissioned by many corporations including theChiron Corporation, DuPont Nature Center, and Ameriflex, among others, as well a life-size bronze ofFlorence Griffith Joyner at the Saddleback Memorial Medical Center inLaguna Hills, California.[4]