The former Bears' defensive tackle played 12 seasons and it's a miracle he wasn't crippled for life by 12 knee surgeries -- six on each -- while breaking most of his fingers twice.
It couldn't stop Hampton from compiling 82 career sacks, winning Super Bowl XX, going to four Pro Bowls and being named All-Pro in 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1988.
He certainly was aptly nicknamed "Danimal."
"I got a 7-year-old son and he says, 'Dad. Why? Why did you play and get all beat up?' I told him that was the best part about it -- to challenge yourself," said the Arizona native. "I didn't realize it when I was young, but when you feel good, it's easy.
"Then the older you get, the more liabilities you have with injuries. Man, that's when it becomes challenging. That's when you separate the men from the boys."
No. 99's manhood was never questioned.
As Hampton strolled into Torrence Liquors shortly after 5 p.m., dozens of waiting fans cheered loudly and applauded. He smiled back and waved.
"I'm 53 years and I feel fine," he said before signing. "I had one knee replaced. I need the other knee replaced sometime soon. But I wouldn't change a thing.
"Being able to commit myself to something like (the NFL) has been a blessing and not a curse."
The road to Arkansas, where he played for then-coach Lou Holtz, was not an easy one. As a youngster, Hampton suffered a terrifying fall from a tree that kept him out of organized sports from grades 7-10.
He couldn't play football until his junior and senior years.
"People don't understand the body is an amazing resilient engine that rebuilds itself," Hampton said. "I'm fortunate. It could be a lot worse. At some point, you just got to stand back and say, 'Wow. To be able to do what I did.'
"The day I walked away from the game, somebody asked, 'Don't you want to be able to run again?' I said hell, no, that's all I did for 20 years -- run. I don't miss it at all."
As the 2010 Bears prepare for their first postseason appearance in four years, a continuing theme among many of their players is that Hampton and his 1985 Super Bowl teammates have been living solely off their fame for too long.
"When we came along, everybody was talking about the '63 (Bears) championship. And they would've still been talking about it if we hadn't won," Hampton said. "So, to be THE man, you've got to beat THE man and win the whole thing.
"I don't remember seeing Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull crying over the fact the Blackhawks won last year. They embraced it. We want to embrace this team."
Hampton folded his arms and slowly shook his head.
"It's a big city. It's a big world. There's lots of room," he said. "All they need to do is realize that we're not their competition. It's the Packers and New Orleans Saints.
"Those are the guys they need to worry about."
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