Photo by Neidy Gutierrez / SOC Images.
Born and raised in the Bergen-Lafayette section of Jersey City, Robert Hampton is recognized as the “winningest” coach in Jersey City Public High School history. But before his run as coach, in 1993 Hampton ventured onto a new life in North Carolina, where he worked as a banker, then became an afterschool teacher at the local YMCA.
When tragedy happened on Sept. 11, 2001, Hampton couldn’t find his family or friends from his hometown, and he just “didn’t want that separation anymore.” On a 12-hour journey back to Jersey City, nervous for his homecoming, two songs kept him inspired: “Home” by Stephanie Mills (1974) and “Don’t Give Up” by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush (1986).
And home welcomed Hampton back with open arms.
Over 20 years later and a 22-year stint as Lincoln High School’s football coach, Hampton has accomplished a historical 121-83 record, seven division titles, three sectional final appearances and—the accolade he’s most proud of—countless athletes who have grown into college players, professional football players, police officers and teachers.
“I hope that the city realizes the gems they have in this community,” Hampton told Slice of Culture.
“I think that just developing the neighborhood, and giving kids an opportunity to express themselves and see a way out of some of the situations they’re in… You want to feel like ‘I can live here and I can make things better and I’m welcomed here.’ So we need to be more of a welcoming community… [Help] more people feel like, ‘Hey, I can grow here. I can raise a family here, and we can be special here together, and we can move this community forward.’”
Love For The Lions
Hampton was introduced to football when he was 12 years old and played for the Lafayette Lions in 1973. He fell in love.
He was an “aggressive” kid, but sports helped keep him in check. Out of football, basketball and baseball, football gave him what he needed—without getting into trouble. He played outside linebacker, defensive end and guard tackle, all of which are defensive positions meant to protect the quarterback of a team.
“I couldn’t really catch [the football] that well so I blocked,” he laughed.
When it came time for high school, Hampton already knew where he wanted to go: Lincoln High School. And getting to attend the Jersey City public school was “like a dream come true,” he said, because he was continuing his family’s tradition of playing for the Lions.
“I felt like Dorothy from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ going to Oz, everything was there. It was outstanding…,” Hampton smiled.
“I felt like that was a high school that was gonna get me everything I needed to move on in life. And I was right. It did, it gave me everything I needed: confidence [and] the ability to play sports socially. It met all my needs as a shy teenager growing up.”
The Bergen-Lafayette kid graduated from Lincoln in 1979 with all-conference and all-county team recognitions—and was also a two-time class president, he laughed, noting that he needed to add that— and went off to play linebacker at Boston University before transferring to Northeastern University. From there, he graduated with a degree in political science in 1984.
And though he was away from Jersey City between 1993 to 2001, his hometown story started right back up in 2002 once he returned to Bergen-Lafayette and got an opportunity to be a Snyder High School teacher and the freshman coach at Lincoln.
Like Yours, Like Mine, Like Home
When Hampton returned to the Lions’ football den, the program was “at the bottom,” former Jersey City Public Schools Superintendent Franklin Walker previously described. Lincoln, let alone Jersey City, was not on anyone’s radar as a competitive football team.
Until Hampton took over.
He spent two years as assistant coach before being bumped up to the program’s head coach. In 2008, he helped the Lions qualify for their first state tournament in 21 years, and they kept on returning every year until 2016.
The teams he guided recorded a 73-25 record underlined with five division titles—four of which in a row between 2013-16—and three state sectional finals appearances. The 2015 team included Frank Darby, a First Team All-State receiver, former NFL Atlanta Falcon and current wide receiver for the UFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks.
From there, the success continued to stack:
- 2009 Tri County champions
- 2009 New York Jets High School Coach of the Week
- 2013 HCIAL (Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic League) County and League champions
- 2014 HCIAL League champions
- 2015 HCIAL County and League champions
- 2016 SFC (North Jersey Super Football Conference) League champions
The Lions reached the state tournament 13 out of 15 times from 2008 to 2023 with Hampton. His 2020 team rewarded him with his 100th win, becoming the first Jersey City Public Schools head coach to ever do so. He retired in 2024 with 121 victories under his belt, holding the 10th most all-time among Hudson County football coaches, according to NJ.com.
‘WE WIN LIFE’
But behind the numbers and statistics, Hampton always brought the spotlight back to the kids.
“They taught me so much how to deal with life and how to deal with adversity and how to deal with everything from highs and lows. The young men I had were just tremendous individuals… We had rough boys that some of ’em are no longer on earth through the street issues, and some of ’em are doing really well in life. And I just think it was an opportunity to just grow. And, as a football coach we’ve done well.”
– Hampton
“We did really well… But the biggest thing was, like we said, at Lincoln, ‘We win life.’ And a lot of these boys are now teachers, cops. I have a kid that’s in the NFL camp in the Minnesota Vikings, Elijah Williams, we have an NFL player Frank Darby who’s playing for the UFL right now [for the] St. Louis BattleHawks. And we have countless other kids who are just in school doing well. So we use football as a catalyst to move forward to win life.”
“WE WIN LIFE”: Hampton made the quote known as he wore a black hat that read it in all caps. He strutted with the hat in nearly 100 degree weather as he walked through Berry Lane Park where—despite the immense heat wave—a handful of young athletes and coaches came out on an early summer morning to put in work for a season that is just weeks away.
Music was blasting—from hip-hop, rap to some R&B—and footballs were thrown as you could hear the rustling of the green turf under their cleats and the “pop” when someone made a catch. Everyone on the field stopped what they were doing when Hampton made his way over, greeting him with a dap up and a smile.
Hampton’s achievements are engraved in signs hung in Berry Lane Park and alongside the sidewalks near Lincoln High School on 60 Crescent Street in Jersey City, but with the young athletes and students, his impact comes to life.
In addition to being the head football coach, Hampton was also the crisis intervention teacher where he’d diffuse situations before it became volatile. He’d do in-school suspensions when necessary, but he honed in on utilizing art therapy and writing.
Words For His Former Players + Hopes For The Next Generation
It’s been almost a year that Hampton stepped down from his roles and he wants to remind his players that: “I’m proud of them. I love them.”
“Make sure you just learn to be accountable and… learn how to be resilient… life is hard, but know how to handle the hard times without quitting,” he added.
One of Hampton’s homegrown successes was former Hudson Catholic Coach Lamar McKnight, who played as the quarterback in Lincoln’s first playoff team and constantly credited Hampton for molding his coaching style. He tragically died in December 2024 alongside his brother, Darryl, and four others in an explosive car crash.
When asked about saying some words about McKnight, he smiled.
“They had a joy that was very, very contagious. They had a joy of moving forward and helping kids and being great coaches. And the bottom line for both of them were, they wanted to do better, and they wanted kids to be better,” Hampton said.
“They wanted kids to win. And they weren’t selfish in that they were very, very, very open in their desire to see kids win ’cause if they felt you are winning, they’re winning. And that’s a great virtue to have as a human. You want kids to win.”
At Lincoln High School, “They’re all trying to find themselves. They’re all trying to find out what works for them,” Hampton described, and he hopes that the city can help them figure that out in a healthy, welcoming way.
And everyone can be welcoming, Hampton said, you just need to care.
“Visit the neighborhood bars, go to Cherry’s [Lounge], go to Lady G’s [Empanadas], go to Light Rail Cafe, go to Bright Side [Tavern]… Go to a high school football game. Go to a high school basketball game… Go to the Hudson Catholic football game. Go to a Snyder [versus] Lincoln Showdown, go to a Ferris [versus] Dickinson game. Go watch the young ladies run [from] St. Doms [at the] Armory. Don’t live in a cocoon.”
Looking ahead, Hampton is planning to run a blog and is currently writing a book that puts his memoirs together. He also plans on travelling.
In between those plans, even in nearly 100 degree weather, Hampton still found time to go back to the young athletes training at the Berry Lane football field.
