Greg Blankenship
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.
No. 57, 53 | |||||
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Position: | Linebacker | ||||
Personal information | |||||
Born: | Vallejo, California, U.S. | March 24, 1954||||
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 ยท PFR |
Early life
Blankenship was born in Vallejo, California and attended Vallejo High School.[1]
College football
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
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
- "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.
- 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.