Dave Chapple
Encyclopedia
David Thayer Chapple is an artist
and former professional American football
player.
Born in 1947 in Palo Alto, California
, Chapple was All American in football at University of California, Santa Barbara
. He was a punter in the National Football League
between 1969-1975. Drafted by the San Francisco 49ers
in 1969, Chapple suffered a back injury and wasn't able to play for two years. He then signed with the Buffalo Bills
in 1971, playing only a single game. Moving to the Los Angeles Rams the following year, Chapple was selected to the Pro Bowl
after netting an average of 42.1 yards for the 1972 season, a statistic not bettered until 2007 by Shane Lechler
. After another season and a half, he moved to the New England Patriots
mid-season 1974, finishing his career with the remaining five games.
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 contemporary oil painter in the influence of the early California impressionist
landscape painters, Chapple has won numerous stamp contests for conservation groups and various state stamps for California, Kentucky, Utah and Idaho. His life-long passion for golf has translated into painting commissions for Jack Nicklaus
, ABC Sports, Fred Couples
, U.S. Open (golf)
, 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 the Chiron Corporation
, DuPont Nature Center, and Ameriflex, among others, as well a life-size bronze of Florence Griffith Joyner at the Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills, California
.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and former professional American football
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.
Born in 1947 in Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
, Chapple was All American in football at University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
. He was a punter in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
between 1969-1975. Drafted by the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
in 1969, Chapple suffered a back injury and wasn't able to play for two years. He then signed with the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 1971, playing only a single game. Moving to the Los Angeles Rams the following year, Chapple was selected to the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
after netting an average of 42.1 yards for the 1972 season, a statistic not bettered until 2007 by Shane Lechler
Shane Lechler
Edward Shane Lechler is an American football punter who currently plays for the Oakland Raiders in the National Football League. Lechler played college football for Texas A&M from 1996-1999. In the NFL, Lechler has been named an All-Pro eight times during his career...
. After another season and a half, he moved to the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
mid-season 1974, finishing his career with the remaining five games.
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 contemporary oil painter in the influence of the early California impressionist
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
landscape painters, Chapple has won numerous stamp contests for conservation groups and various state stamps for California, Kentucky, Utah and Idaho. His life-long passion for golf has translated into painting commissions for Jack Nicklaus
Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus , nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. He won 18 career major championships on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time. In addition to his 18 Majors, he was runner-up a...
, ABC Sports, Fred Couples
Fred Couples
Frederick Steven Couples is an American professional golfer who competes on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. A former World No. 1, he has won numerous events, most notably the 1992 Masters Tournament. In August 2011 he won his maiden senior major at the Senior Players Championship...
, U.S. Open (golf)
U.S. Open (golf)
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
, 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 the Chiron Corporation
Chiron Corporation
Chiron Corporation was a multinational biotechnology firm based in Emeryville, California that was acquired by Novartis International AG on April 20, 2006. It had offices and facilities in eighteen countries on five continents. Chiron's business and research was in three main areas:...
, DuPont Nature Center, and Ameriflex, among others, as well a life-size bronze of Florence Griffith Joyner at the Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills, California
Laguna Hills, California
Laguna Hills is a city located in southern Orange County, California, United States. Its name refers to its proximity to Laguna Canyon and the much older Laguna Beach. Other newer cities nearby—Laguna Niguel and Laguna Woods—are similarly named.-Geography:...
.