Greg Blankenship

Gregory Allen Blankenship (born March 24, 1954) is a former American football linebacker who played one season in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Greg Blankenship
No. 57, 53
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1954-03-24) March 24, 1954
Vallejo, California
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
Roster status:retired
Career NFL statistics as of Week 14, 1976
Games Played:10
Games Started:1
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at 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
  1. "Greg Blankenship bio". databaseFootball. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  2. "'Johnson Boys' Again Picked For Little All-America Team". Gettysburg Times. December 6, 1973. p. 18. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  3. "Boise State quarterback tops Little all-Coast team". Ellensburg Daily Record. December 11, 1974. p. 11. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  4. "Hieber named Little A-A". The Spokesman-Review. December 5, 1975. p. 39. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  5. "Athletics Hall of Fame". California State University, East Bay. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  6. Sheeley, Glenn (November 11, 1976). "Rescued Blankenship Happy To Be Aboard With Steelers". Pittsburgh Press. p. 33. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  7. 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.
  8. "Steeler Notes". Pittsburgh Press. July 25, 1977. pp. C3. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  9. "People in sport". Ottawa Citizen. April 20, 1978. p. 27. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
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