Gregory Allen Blankenship (born March 24, 1954) is a former American football linebacker who played one season in the National Football League (NFL) with the Oakland Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born: | March 24, 1954 Vallejo, California, U.S. | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Vallejo High School | ||||
| College: | Cal State-Hayward | ||||
| Undrafted: | 1976 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||
Early life edit
Blankenship was born in Vallejo, California and attended Vallejo High School.[1]
College football edit
He matriculated at Cal State-Hayward[1] (since renamed California State University, East Bay). As a sophomore, Blankenship was named to the third-team Associated Press small college All-America football team in 1973.[2] In 1974, he was named to the UPI Little All-Coast football team.[3] After his senior season he was named to the Associated Press College Division All-America team as a first-team selection.[4]
Blankenship has been inducted into the California State University, East Bay Athletics Hall of Fame.[5]
Pro football career edit
Blankenship went undrafted in the 1976 NFL Draft, but was signed by the Oakland Raiders. He played four games for the Raiders before being cut.[6]
He was picked up by the Steelers about a month later, primarily to serve as a special teams player.[6][7] He played for the Steelers in the final six games of the 1976 season.[1]
Blankenship was cut by the Steelers prior to the 1977 season.[8] He was picked up in 1978 by the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League.[9]
References edit
- ^ a b c "Greg Blankenship bio". databaseFootball. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ "'Johnson Boys' Again Picked For Little All-America Team". Gettysburg Times. December 6, 1973. p. 18. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ "Boise State quarterback tops Little all-Coast team". Ellensburg Daily Record. December 11, 1974. p. 11. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ "Hieber named Little A-A". The Spokesman-Review. December 5, 1975. p. 39. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ "Athletics Hall of Fame". California State University, East Bay. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ a b Sheeley, Glenn (November 11, 1976). "Rescued Blankenship Happy To Be Aboard With Steelers". Pittsburgh Press. p. 33. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ Emert, Rich (August 26, 1977). "Russian roulette: Steelers can hardly win on final roster decisions". The Beaver County Times. pp. B-1. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ "Steeler Notes". Pittsburgh Press. July 25, 1977. pp. C3. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ "People in sport". Ottawa Citizen. April 20, 1978. p. 27. Retrieved 25 February 2010.