Chris Lee Gamble (born March 11, 1983) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

who played nine seasons for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

High school career and personal life

He attended

Nova High School Nova High School is a public high school located in Davie, Florida and is part of the Broward County Public Schools district. It is one of four schools that comprise the Nova Center for Applied Research and Professional Development, the others ...

Davie Davie is a surname and a form of the masculine given name David. It can refer to: Surname * Alan Davie (1920-2014), Scottish painter and musician * Alexander Edmund Batson Davie (1847-1889), Canadian politician and eighth Premier of British Co ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. He left Nova to join Dillard High School in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

in 2000. He has two sons.

College career

Gamble played

, wide receiver, and all phases of

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

at Ohio State. He was an integral part of the 2002 National Championship team, which went 14-0. Gamble played all 3 ways at Ohio State, earning 1st Team All-Big Ten honors, and 3rd Team All-America honors for cornerback. Gamble had 4 interceptions for the 2002 season, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Gamble was known for his game-breaking ability in all facets of the game, including defense, offense, and kick returning. In 38 games, he started 18 times on defense and 12 times on offense (started on both offense and defense in five contests in 2002). Recorded 65 tackles (51 solos) with three stops behind the line of scrimmage, seven interceptions and 21 pass deflections. Also caught 40 passes for 609 yards (15.2 avg.), rushed six times for 68 yards (11.3 avg.) with a touchdown, returned 60 punts for 467 yards (7.8 avg.) and had 18 kickoff returns for 384 yards (21.3 avg.). Gamble majored in sports and leisure studies while at Ohio State.

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

The

selected Gamble in the first round (28th overall) in the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

. Gamble was the fourth cornerback drafted in 2004. Head coach John Fox named Gamble the starting cornerback to begin the regular season, alongside Ricky Manning. In 2004, Chris became the first

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

defensive player in Carolina Panthers history to start all 16 games, and earned ''Pro Football Weekly'' All-Rookie honors after establishing a Panthers rookie record with six interceptions, placing him in third in the NFL in interceptions. In 2005, Gamble led the Panthers once again with 7 interceptions, ranking him fourth in the NFL. In 2006, Gamble once again led the team in interceptions. He tied teammates Ken Lucas and Richard Marshall with three interceptions each. In 2007, he finished the year with 50 tackles with only 1 interception. In 2008, he finished the year with 3 interceptions and he also tied for third in the NFL in passes defended with 19. Through Gamble's career milestones, the Panthers rewarded him on November 28, 2008 to a six-year $53 million contract with $23 million guaranteed, making him one of the highest-paid defensive backs in the league. On March 8, 2013, Gamble was released by the Panthers. He played nine seasons in Carolina and holds the franchise record for interceptions with 27. On March 11, 2013, Gamble retired.Chris Gamble retires after release by Carolina Panthers
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Panthers franchise records

's NFL off-season, Chris Gamble held at least 3 Panthers franchise records, including: * Interceptions: career (27) * Int Ret Yds: season (157 in 2005), game (101 on 2005-11-06 @TAM)

NFL statistics

Key * GP: games played * COMB: combined tackles * TOTAL: total tackles * AST: assisted tackles * SACK: sacks * FF: forced fumbles * FR: fumble recoveries * FR YDS: fumble return yards * INT: interceptions * IR YDS: interception return yards * AVG IR: average interception return * LNG: longest interception return * TD: interceptions returned for touchdown * PD: passes defensed

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamble, Chris 1983 births American football cornerbacks American football wide receivers Carolina Panthers players Living people Ohio State Buckeyes football players Sportspeople from Broward County, Florida Nova High School alumni Players of American football from Florida Players of American football from Boston