A former American football defensive back. A safety, he played college football at Hofstra University, and played professionally in the American Football League for the New York Jets in the 1968 season. That season, the Jets defeated the Oakland Raiders in the AFL Championship game, and went on to humble the heavily favoured NFL champion Baltimore Colts in the third AFL-NFL World Championship game. He followed Jets centre John Schmitt as the second Hofstra alumnus to play for the team. D'Amato is now Hofstra's Special Assistant to the President for Alumni Affairs.