George Blanda

George Blanda

Blanda on a 1955 Bowman football card
No. 64, 22, 16
Position:	Quarterback, placekicker
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1927-09-17)September 17, 1927
Place of birth:	Youngwood, Pennsylvania
Date of death:	September 27, 2010(2010-09-27) (aged 83)
Place of death:	Alameda, California
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:	Youngwood (PA)
College:	Kentucky
NFL Draft:	1949 / Round: 12 / Pick: 119
Career history
Chicago Bears (1949) Baltimore Colts (1950) Chicago Bears (1950–1958) Houston Oilers (1960–1966) Oakland Raiders (1967–1975)
Career highlights and awards
NFL Man of the Year (1974) Bert Bell Award (1970) Associated Press Athlete of the Year (1970) 3× AFL champion (1960, 1961, 1967) 4× AFL All-Star (1961–1963, 1967) First-team All-AFL (1961) 2× Second-team All-AFL (1962, 1963) AFL Most Valuable Player (1961) 2× AFL passing yards leader (1961, 1963) AFL passing touchdowns leader (1961) AFL All-Time Team NFL records 26 seasons played 7 touchdown passes in a game (tied)
Career professional statistics
Pass attempts: 4,007 Pass completions: 1,911 TD–INT: 236–277 Passing yards: 26,920 Passer rating: 60.6 Points scored: 2,002
Player stats at PFR
Pro Football Hall of Fame

George Frederick Blanda (September 17, 1927 – September 27, 2010) was an American football quarterback and placekicker who played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Blanda played 26 seasons of professional football, the most in the sport's history, and had scored more points than anyone in history at the time of his retirement. Blanda retired from pro football in 1976 at the age of 48. He was one of only two players to play in four different decades (John Carney 1988–2010, is the other), and he holds the record for most extra points kicked.

Blanda was a quarterback and kicker at Kentucky. Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who later won fame and set countless records at Southeastern Conference rival Alabama, arrived in his sophomore year, following a 1–9 season. The Wildcats lost three games in each of the next three years.

Years later, returning to the University of Kentucky and recalling the time he met Bryant, Blanda said, "I thought this must be what God looks like."

Blanda was the starting quarterback his last two seasons at Kentucky (1947–1948), compiling 120 completions in 242 passes (49.6 percent completions), 1,451 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Blanda was signed by the Chicago Bears for $600 in 1949, an amount owner George Halas demanded back when he made the team. While primarily used as a quarterback and placekicker, Blanda also saw time on the defensive side of the ball at linebacker. It would not be until 1953 that Blanda would emerge as the Bears' top signal caller, but an injury the following year effectively ended his first-string status. For the next four years, he was used mostly in a kicking capacity. Later commenting on his testy relationship with Halas, Blanda noted, "he was too cheap to even buy me a kicking shoe." Blanda later reflected that by the 1950s the pro game had moved beyond Halas, who seemed to lack the interest he had earlier.