Chris Hammons
Chris Hammons | |
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Born | April 1, 1978 |
Education | University of Oklahoma(B.A.,J.D.) |
Occupations |
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Organizations |
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Television | Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X |
Spouse | Jennifer Prochaska |
Children | 2 |
College football career | |
Oklahoma Sooners – No. 81 | |
Position | Special teams/tight end |
Major | History |
Personal information | |
Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Weight | 260 lb (118 kg) |
Career history | |
College |
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Bowl games |
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High school | Sulphur |
Career highlights and awards | |
Christopher Hammons(born April 1, 1978), is anAmericanlawyerbest known for competing on the reality competition showsSurvivorandThe Amazing Race.In his college days, he playedfootballfor theUniversity of Oklahoma.
Early life
[edit]Hammons was born April 1, 1978, and grew up inSulphur, Oklahoma.He and his family later moved toWilburton,where they lived in atrailerwithout running water.[1]In 1995, his father Billy Lowell Hammons was arrested inArkansason drug possession charges and, after pleadingno contest,was subsequently sentenced to serve up to 40 years in prison.[2]Chris Hammons would move back to Sulphur, where he played football and basketball atSulphur High School.[1][3]
College years
[edit]In 1996, Hammons earned a scholarship to play football atEast Central University(ECU) inAda, Oklahoma.After only one year at ECU, he left the program and joined the football team at theUniversity of Oklahoma(OU), as awalk-on.He wasredshirtedhis first year at OU,[1]but the following year, he finally saw some playing time with the Sooners, playing bothtight endandspecial teams.[4]After the 1998 season, OU head coachJohn Blakewas fired,[5]and was replaced byBob Stoops,[6]who awarded Hammons a full scholarship after becoming impressed by the redshirt walk-on's leadership abilities.[7]
In 1999, Hammons scored his onlytouchdownwith OU, off a pass fromJosh Heupelin a game againstBaylor.The Sooners went on to win that game, 41–10. Hammons also led his team in receptions that day,[8]and after the game, he was awarded the game ball for his efforts.[3]
In his senior year, injuries limited his playing time, and he was relegated to playing special teams only, though he would be named one of the Sooners' team captains for the2000 season.That year, Oklahoma finished the regular season undefeated, won theBig 12title, and was invited to playFlorida Statein theOrange Bowlon January 3, 2001, for the national championship. At the start of the game, Hammons and the other team captains met at midfield for the opening coin toss. With the television cameras pointed right at him, he gave a shout-out to his incarcerated father by screaming, "What's up, dad?" Oklahoma would go on to win the Orange Bowl to claim the national championship for OU.[1]
Career and family
[edit]Hammons graduated Oklahoma in 2001 with aBachelor of Artsdegree in history, and would later attend law school and earn hisJuris Doctor.His first job as a lawyer was with the firm of Foshee & Yaffe inOklahoma City.[1]His first case as an attorney had him defending a client who had been charged with a double felony. The trial resulted in an acquittal.
In 2005, Hammons was at the law office one day when he met a youngphysical therapystudent named Jennifer Prochaska. The two of them would soon marry, and together they would have two sons, Costner and Jacks. Hammons' father-in-law Gary was also an attorney at F&Y at the time that Hammons and his future wife met.[1]
Hammons' father, Billy Lowell, was released from prison after serving more than 11 years of his sentence.[1]Billy Lowell Hammons died in 2014, at the age of 60.[9]
In 2009, Hammons partnered with associate Jeff Laird, as well as Laird's son, to start their ownOKClaw firm, Laird Hammons Laird. Hammons' father-in-law would join them at LHL the following year.[1]
Survivor
[edit]Hammons is a huge fan of the television seriesSurvivor.Having watched it since its premiere in 2000, he eventually decided to apply to be on the show. After several applications, he finally got the call to be on the program.[7]
Hammons was selected to be in the cast ofSurvivor: Millennials vs. Gen X,the series' 33rd season overall, which aired in 2016. At the start of the game, Hammons, who was born in 1978, was assigned to the Takali tribe, along with other members ofGeneration X.During the reward challenge on Day 11, he made a huge defensive move in the water by restraining opponents Justin "Jay" Starrett andAdam Kleinsimultaneously, allowing teammate David Wright to swim to the goal and score a point for Takali. Hammons himself would go on to score the winning point for his tribe, to win the reward challenge.
On Day 13, a tribal reshuffle took place, and Hammons was switched to Vanua, formerly the tribe consisting entirely ofmillennials.There, he formed a bond with new tribemate Zeke Smith, who also happened to originally come fromOklahoma.Following the merge on Day 21, Hammons reunited with fellow Gen X-ers Bret Labelle and Sunday Burquest, who were separated from Hammons after being sent to Ikabula, a brand new tribe formed at the Day 13 tribal reshuffle. Before Tribal Council on Night 23, it was Hammons who suggested that his alliance vote out millennial Michelle Schubert, as she was perceived as being unlikely to possess, and play, a hidden immunity idol. Schubert was indeed voted out that night.
By Day 26, Hammons had become a target for elimination, by rival and former Takali tribe-mate Wright. On Day 28, Hammons tried to convince the millennials to join him, Burquest, and Labelle in voting against Jessica Lewis, whom Hammons had been targeting for quite some time. At Tribal Council on Night 28, only Starrett voted with Hammons' alliance; the remaining millennials voted with Wright and his allies. By a vote of 7–4, Hammons was sent out of the game at 11th place, making him the third member of the jury. After leaving the Tribal Council area, he realized that his ally Smith was among those who had turned against him.[10]
At the Final Tribal Council, Hammons praised Klein for having the gumption to convince fellow finalist Ken McNickle to flip on Wright at the Final Four—although McNickle would claim that it was his decision alone to vote out Wright. Hammons went on to lobby the jury to vote for Klein to be the game's winner. In the end, the entire jury, including Hammons, voted to give Klein the title of Sole Survivor, over finalists Hannah Shapiro and McNickle.
The Amazing Race
[edit]Hammons competed inSeason 31ofThe Amazing Race,which featured past players from CBS reality showsSurvivorandBig Brother,as well as teams from previous seasons ofThe Amazing Race.Hammons was teamed up withSurvivor 33alumni and friend Bret Labelle.[11]Hammons and Labelle were eliminated in sixth place.
References
[edit]- ^abcdefghBurkes, Paula (March 20, 2016)."Executive Q&A: Dad's incarceration, national title for OU shaped laid-back lawyer".Daily Oklahoman.The Oklahoman Media Company.RetrievedDecember 3,2016.
- ^Billy Lowell Hammons vs. State of Arkansas,S.W.2d(Ark. March 10, 1997) ( "Appellant Billy Lowell Hammons appeals his convictions...He was sentenced to 40 years in prison with 10 years suspended on the first conviction and to 10 years on the second conviction, with the two sentences to run concurrently...On March 1, 1995, Hammons was arrested for possession of controlled substances...Hammons entered a conditional plea of nolo contendere to the charges pursuant to Ark. R.Crim. P. 24.3 and was sentenced accordingly." ).
- ^abTramel, Berry (August 29, 2016)."Former Sooner Chris Hammons will be on Survivor".Daily Oklahoman.The Oklahoman Media Company.RetrievedDecember 3,2016.
- ^Tramel, Berry (November 15, 1998)."Hammons Reaches His Crazy Dream".Daily Oklahoman.The Oklahoman Media Company.RetrievedDecember 3,2016.
- ^Shapiro, Mark (November 23, 1998)."Blake Fired As Oklahoma Football Coach".Chicago Tribune.Tribune Media Co.RetrievedDecember 17,2016.
- ^Bailey, Eric (November 22, 2013)."Oklahoma hit a homer in hiring Bob Stoops".Tulsa World.BH Media.RetrievedDecember 17,2016.
On Dec. 1, 1998, Stoops was named Oklahoma's head coach.
- ^abKemp, Adam (September 20, 2016)."OU football: Former OU football player tries to beat the odds again, win 'Survivor'".Daily Oklahoman.The Oklahoman Media Company.RetrievedDecember 3,2016.
- ^"Baylor vs Oklahoma".USA Today.Gannett Co. September 18, 1999.RetrievedDecember 11,2016.
- ^"Obituaries – Billy Hammons".Jones-Harkins Funeral Home.RetrievedDecember 8,2016.
- ^Hammons, Chris (December 2, 2016)."Survivor Season 33 Farewell – Chris Hammons".YouTube.Google, Inc.RetrievedDecember 17,2016.
- ^Keegan, Kayla (April 17, 2019)."'Amazing Race' 2019 Has SO Many Shocking Twists (Like the 'Big Brother' and 'Survivor' Crossover) ".Good Housekeeping.Hearst Magazine Media, Inc.RetrievedApril 19,2019.
External links
[edit]- 1978 births
- American lawyers
- East Central Tigers football players
- Living people
- Oklahoma Sooners football players
- People from Cleveland County, Oklahoma
- People from Latimer County, Oklahoma
- University of Oklahoma alumni
- University of Oklahoma College of Law alumni
- Oklahoma lawyers
- Players of American football from Oklahoma
- Participants in American reality television series