Chamberlin was selected by the Omaha World-Herald as an all-state halfback while playing for the undefeated 1911 Nebraska Wesleyan football team that won the NIAA championship.

Chamberlin also competed for Nebraska Wesleyan in baseball as a pitcher and outfielder and in track as a sprinter and weight man.

He is a fierce and aggressive runner and adopts the system of bowling over the opposing tacklers in much the same style as the famous Coy of Yale.

[4] In 1915, Chamberlin moved to the end position for the undefeated 1915 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team that again won the Missouri Valley championship.

[2] After leading the Cornhuskers to a 20–19 victory over Notre Dame, The Omaha World-Herald wrote of Chamberlin: "His defensive stunts bordered upon the miraculous, while his open field running, in which he displayed that famous 'side walk trot' to the best advantage, brought victory to the colors of the Cornhuskers.

[5] At the end of the season, he was a consensus All-American on the 1915 College Football All-America Team with first-team honors from Frank G. Menke,[6] Walter Eckersall,[7] and Parke H.

[2] In August 1916, he was hired as the athletic director and football coach at Doane College in Crete, Nebraska.

Chamberlin signed with George Halas' 1920 Decatur Staleys team that compiled a 10–1–2 record and finished second in the APFA.

On December 3, 1921, before a crowd of 13,000 in Chicago, the Staleys defeated the first-place Buffalo All-Americans in what was touted as the championship game.

"[2] In 1922, Chamberlin joined the Canton Bulldogs in multiple roles as a player, head coach, team captain, and part owner.

[17] Three players from the 1922 Bulldogs (Chamberlin, Lyman, and Pete Henry) were later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

[25] With Chamberlin still serving as player/coach, the Bulldogs compiled a 7–1–1 record, outscored opponents by a total of 229 to 60, and won their third consecutive NFL championship.

[27] In three seasons with the Bulldogs, Chamberlin led the franchise to three NFL championships and a record of 28–1–4, having outscored opponents by a combined total of 659 to 94.

[31] On December 4, 1926, the Yellow Jackets defeated the previously unbeaten Chicago Bears, 7–6, to secure the championship.

In a 1968 book titled "Pro Football's All-time Greats", the author wrote that Chamberlin blocked both an extra point and a field goal in the victory over the Bears,[2] though contemporary accounts do not corroborate the claim.

[34] With the exception of Ben Jones, the 1927 Cardinals lacked star players, and Chamberlin at age 33 started only one game.

His accomplishment of winning a championship with three separate franchises in a major North American sports league would not be matched until 1997, when Scotty Bowman won the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals.

[50] Per Chamberlin's request, his body was cremated, and his ashes were either spread in his hometown, Blue Springs, Nebraska,[51] or placed near the Schiller linden tree north of Architectural Hall on the University of Nebraska–Lincoln campus.