Gil Chapman

Who is Gil Chapman?

Gil Chapman is a former American football player, politician and businessman.

Chapman became one of the leading scorers in the history of New Jersey high school football while playing for Thomas Jefferson High School from 1968 to 1970. In 1970, he was picked by Parade magazine as the "Number 1 Player in America." He has also been selected as one of New Jersey's top ten offensive football players of the 20th Century.

From 1972 to 1974, he played college football for the University of Michigan under head coach Bo Schembechler. During his three years at Michigan, he scored 18 touchdowns and gained over 2,500 total yards, including 1,090 return yards, 919 rushing yards and 517 rushing yards. At the conclusion of his career, he held Michigan's all-time records for career kickoff return yardage and single-game kickoff return yardage.

Chapman played professional football for the New Orleans Saints during the 1975 NFL season. As a rookie, he ranked fifth in the NFL with 12.2 yards per punt return and tenth with 804 total return yards.

After retiring from football, Chapman served from 1978 to 1983 on the City Council in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the first African-American to hold any elected office in the city. He worked in management and sales for the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority from 1979 to 1984, including several years as the operations manager of Giants Stadium. From 1986 to 2009, he owned and operated a Ford Motor Company dealership on Staten Island, New York.