Background
Dampier was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and played at Southport High School in the suburb of Southport.
Dampier was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and played at Southport High School in the suburb of Southport.
Dampier was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and played at in the suburb of Southport. He also played in an annual all-star game featuring top high-school players from Indiana and Kentucky.
A 6-foot-tall guard, Dampier is one of only a handful of men to play all nine seasons in the American Basketball Association (American Bar Association) (1967–1976), all with the Kentucky Colonels. He also was one of just two players to play all nine American Bar Association seasons with the same team The other was Byron Beck of the Denver Rockets, later renamed the Nuggets.
After the American Bar Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976 Dampier also played three seasons (1976–1979) in the National Basketball Association (National Basketball Association) with the San Antonio Spurs.
Dampier was a multi-sport athlete at the, playing baseball as well as basketball. Playing under the legendary coach Adolph Rupp, Dampier, Tommy Kron and Pat Riley led the Wildcats to the 1966 National Collegiate Athletic Association championship game, where they lost to Texas Western College (now the University of Texas at El Paso).
During his three years at Kentucky (at the time, freshmen were ineligible to play varsity sports), Dampier was a two-time All-American and three-time All-Southeastern Conference selection. He was also named Academic All-Securities and Exchange Commission twice and Academic All-American once.
Upon graduation from Kentucky in 1967, Dampier scored 1,575 points, at the time third-most in school history behind only Cotton Nash (1,770) and Alex Groza (1,744).
In 1967 the Cincinnati Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) selected Dampier in the fourth round of the National Basketball Association Draft and the Kentucky Colonels selected him in the American Bar Association draft. Dampier eventually signed with the Kentucky Colonels of the fledgling American Bar Association and teamed with Darel Carrier to form the most explosive backcourt duo in the league. In each of the American Bar Association"s first three seasons, both Dampier and Carrier averaged at least 20 points per game.
Both were three-point field goal specialists (the American Bar Association had used the three-point field goal from its inception), but especially Dampier who made 500 during a three-year stretch: a record 199 during the 1968-1969 season, 198 in 1969-1970 and 103 in 1970-1971.
At the conclusion of the American Bar Association"s history, Dampier made a career-record 794 3-point field goals. He also finished first all-time in the American Bar Association in games played (728), minutes played (27,770), points scored (13,726), and assists (4,044).
During the 1970-1971 season, he hit 57 consecutive free throws for what was then a pro record (American Bar Association or National Basketball Association). Seven times, he was named an American Bar Association All-Star.
He was a unanimous choice for the American Bar Association Top 30 team
He played on the Colonels" 1975 American Bar Association championship team, which featured a later Kentucky standout, Dan Issel, as well as 7"2" center Artis Gilmore. After the 1976 season, the American Bar Association ceased operations with Kentucky and two other teams folding. Dampier was selected by the San Antonio Spurs (one of the four teams to join the National Basketball Association in the American Bar Association–National Basketball Association merger) in the 1976 American Bar Association Dispersal Draft.
Playing mostly as a role player behind George Gervin, Dampier averaged 6.7 points in 232 National Basketball Association games.
Dampier later served as an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets. Several divisions in the 21st century semi-pro American Bar Association were initially named after stars of the old American Bar Association, including Dampier.
The league was later divided into the Red, White, and Blue Divisions—the colors of the balls used in both the old and new American Bar Association. Today, the league is divided into 12 regions based geographically. Dampier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September, 2015.
