Sam Darnold's Family: His Grandfather Dick Hammer Was the Marlboro Man
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold has another close family member who played a prominent role, albeit a very different one.
His mom's dad, Dick Hammer, was the "Marlboro Man," the iconic advertising character. On a podcast, Sam Darnold described his grandfather as "one of the four original Marlboro Men. He was captain of a firefighting squad in L.A. He went to the 1964 Olympics, played volleyball. Played volleyball and basketball at USC as well." He agreed that his grandfather was a "true American hero" and a "man's man."
"I didn't even know him too. He died in 1999," Sam revealed. "I don't even know if it's real, to be honest...Unbelievable." But it is. The podcaster joked, "And his name was Dick Hammer on top of all of that."
“Don’t go be a big shot,” his grandfather advised a very young Sam, according to Sports Illustrated, which described Hammer as having strong athletic abilities as well.
"Strangers knew Dick as a USC basketball star (1951 to ’54), Olympic volleyball player (1964) and part-time actor who graced billboards as the Marlboro Man," SI confirmed.
Dick Hammer Also Became a Firefighter & Special Ed Teacher
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After playing the Marlboro Man, Hammer worked as "a firefighter and special-ed teacher at Nightingale Elementary School in Long Beach, jobs that suited him because he could pull people from cars and lift children from wheelchairs," SI reported.
Hammer was also known as an "LA Legend" and was a force on the basketball court, according to SFGate.com. In 1950, the Long Beach Press-Telegram described the 6-foot-2-inch Hammer as “a demon on rebounds and a long-shot artist," SFGate wrote, adding, "And that was before he made it to USC."
(Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
He also starred in a 1970s-era television show that starred firefighters, according to the LA Fire Museum. The show was called Emergency!
SFGate described Hammer as "tall, square-jawed." The publication also wrote that Hammer also made "appearances in commercial and print advertisements, too, including an oft-running Aunt Jemima ad."
The publication wrote that Hammer "Hammer became uncomfortable with his role in marketing cigarettes toward the end of his life" because of cigarettes' ties to lung cancer. He died of cancer himself at the age of 69, according to SFGate.
Sam Darnold Didn't Get to Know His Grandfather, But He Inherited His 'Athletic Ability'
According to People, Hammer died when Sam Darnold was only 2 years old. However, his mom believes that Sam inherited her father's athletic gifts.
"When Sam was really little, we used to tease him because we would say he got all the DNA because he could do anything,'' Chris told reporters, according to Fox Sports. "He got my dad's agility and athletic ability. My dad was the type of person that could pick up a game by just watching someone play. Sam's a lot like that."
On the podcast, Sam described realizing that his grandfather had an "awesome name," in the words of the podcaster, in high school.
"Pretty epic name. You know, his story too," Sam Darnold said.