Raiders legend George Blanda dies at 83

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Raiders legend George Blanda dies at 83
Vittorio Tafur, Dwight Chapin, Chronicle Staff Writers
September 27, 2010

"George Blanda has just been elected King of the World!"

Those were the words of radio announcer Bill King after another great comeback orchestrated by the Raiders' legendary quarterback/kicker in 1970. Having come off the bench to first throw a game-tying touchdown pass and then kick the game-winning field goal, Mr. Blanda continued an amazing stretch of five games that etched his name onto a short list of the NFL's all-time clutch performers.

Today, football fans around the world are mourning the loss of Mr. Blanda, who died Monday after a brief illness. He was 83.

Mr. Blanda was known for his toughness, versatility and longevity, surviving 26 seasons and 340 games in the NFL as a quarterback and a kicker. That's five more years than any other player in history. In 1975, at the age of 48, he retired as the league's all-time leading scorer, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.

"George's multitalented flair for the dramatic highlighted the excitement of pro football during an important period of growth for our sport," Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a prepared statement.

Best came last

Some of Mr. Blanda's best work came in his last decade in the NFL, with the Oakland Raiders.

"He's a legend who you think would live forever," former Raiders coach Tom Flores said.

"He was about as tough a competitor as I've ever been around, and he never changed. He became a very good friend."

After playing college ball for Bear Bryant at the University of Kentucky, the Pennsylvania-born Mr. Blanda spent 10 seasons with George Halas and the Chicago Bears, helping lead them to the NFL title game in 1956.

When he left the Bears in 1959 after a squabble over money and playing time, he retired and sat out a season.

The next season, Mr. Blanda was coaxed into joining the Houston Oilers of the new American Football League.

"I signed with Houston because I knew Bud Adams (the team owner) had a lot of money," Mr. Blanda recalled later.

He paced the Oilers to the first two AFL titles in 1960 and 1961. Blanda nearly won a third straight title, but his team lost to the Dallas Texans in double overtime after coming back from a 17-0 deficit.

"I will always think of myself as an AFL player," he once said.

Raiders owner Al Davis acquired the 39-year-old Mr. Blanda in 1967, after he had already put in 17 years of pro ball, for the waiver price of $100. Mr. Blanda played nine seasons in the Bay Area, often spectacularly, as a kicker and backup quarterback to Daryle Lamonica.

Mr. Blanda's most memorable season in Oakland was 1970, when over a five-game stretch, he won four games and tied another with either his arm, his foot or both. The feat led him to be named AFC Player of the Year at age 43.

"Al Davis always liked my attitude, and my time with the Raiders was special, because it looked like my career was over," the always blunt Mr. Blanda said. "Instead, I played another nine years, which by itself was more than twice the average playing career."

Final-game field goal

In his last game, Mr. Blanda kicked a 41-yard field goal and made an extra point in a 16-10 loss to Pittsburgh in the 1975 AFC Championship Game.

When he retired after the 1975 season, he held the pro scoring record of 2,002 points, since broken by kickers Gary Anderson and Morten Andersen. Mr. Blanda also passed for 26,920 yards but held the record for interceptions (277) until Brett Favre passed him in 2007.

Mr. Blanda also set marks for most career field-goal attempts (637) and most points after touchdowns made and attempted (943 of 959).

With Davis as his presenter, Mr. Blanda was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.

"Two renegades, me and Al Davis," Mr. Blanda said. "It was great."

Among other things that day, Davis said, "George Blanda inspired a whole nation in 1970. I really believe he is the greatest clutch player in the history of this game."

Mr. Blanda was voted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1989.

After retirement, Mr. Blanda gave motivational speeches to corporate groups, played celebrity golf events around the country (he was a 7-handicapper) and followed another favorite sport, horse racing.

He and his wife, Betty, split time between Chicago and La Quinta, near Palm Springs.

The Raiders released a statement mourning the loss of one of their greatest players.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of the great George Blanda. George was a brave Raider and a close friend of Raiders owner Al Davis. Our heart goes out to his wife, Betty, and the Blanda family, and we grieve with them for our great friend."

The family will hold a private funeral service. A memorial service will be held, with the time and place to be announced.

E-mail Vittorio Tafur at vtafur@sfchronicle.com. Chronicle staff writer Ron Kroichick contributed to this report.

This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Favre throws 421st career TD, surpasses Marino

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Favre throws 421st career TD, surpasses Marino
By JON KRAWCZYNSKI, AP Sports Writer
September 30, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Brett Favre is No. 1 -- with a bullet.

Favre broke Dan Marino's record for career touchdown passes Sunday, zipping No. 421 to Greg Jennings in the first quarter of the game against the Minnesota Vikings.

He hit Jennings on a 16-yard slant for the score with 4:56 left in the quarter, and like most of his touchdown throws through his brilliant 17-year career, this one had plenty of steam on it.

Ever the jubilant celebrator, Favre sprinted to the end zone and hoisted Jennings on his left shoulder. He joined in hugs with his teammates on the sideline, as thousands of Packers faithful who made the trip from Wisconsin cheered loudly.

Even those dressed in purple stood and applauded when the announcement was made, and a taped message from Marino played on the big screen.

"I loved holding the touchdown record for the past 13 years," Marino said. "But if someone was going to break it, I'm glad it was someone like you, who has always competed at the highest level and always played to win."

It's the latest, and possibly the most hallowed record claimed by the league's last true gunslinger. Two weeks ago, Favre broke John Elway's mark for career victories by a quarterback when he led the Packers to a 35-13 win over the New York Giants.

The soon-to-be 38-year-old also holds the marks for career completions and consecutive starts by a quarterback, which hit 241 Sunday, moving him past former Vikings center Mick Tingelhoff into second place on the list for all players.

Former Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall holds the all-time mark with 270 consecutive starts.

Late in the second quarter, Favre broke another Marino record when he threw the 8,359th pass of his career, and is also within shouting distance of Marino's record for yards passing.

Favre tied Marino's record with three touchdown passes in the Packers' 31-24 victory over San Diego last week, including the record-tying 57-yard completion to Jennings that gave the Packers the lead late in the game.

Marino held the record since 1995, but Favre's reign could be considerably shorter. Old No. 4 has acknowledged that most, if not all, of the records he sets in his career will be challenged very shortly by the Colts' Peyton Manning.

But perhaps even more impressive than the numbers Favre has put up is the manner in which he has done it.

Favre entered the league in a different era, when guys like Marino, Jim Kelly, Warren Moon and Steve Young played the game with an aggressiveness and a swagger that is uncommon among today's quarterbacks.

While offenses have moved away from that mentality more toward "game managers," the league's biggest gambler hasn't let go of his high-risk, high-reward style. That mentality has thrilled fans in Green Bay ever since he first stepped onto the Lambeau Field turf in 1992, but it has also earned him his fair share of criticism over the years.

He has been accused of being careless with the football at times, but Favre will be the last one to apologize for entering the game two interceptions shy of tying George Blanda's career record.

Favre was pressured on his first pass attempt Sunday, and he blindly winged a pass far down field for Jennings that was intercepted by Darren Sharper. But Favre was bailed out by an illegal contact call on Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield, and the Packers punted four plays later.

After Jeff Dugan fumbled to give the Packers the ball in Minnesota territory, Favre hit Donald Lee on a nice touch pass for 27 yards. Two plays later -- history.

This season, coach Mike McCarthy has reined in Favre a little bit, and it has worked brilliantly so far for the Packers, who started the season 3-0 for the first time since 2001.

And while there is no single record for quarterbacks that carries the significance of Barry Bonds passing Hank Aaron's career home run record, McCarthy said Marino's touchdown mark probably comes closest.

But Favre said he didn't think the touchdown record was getting anywhere near the hype that Bonds' pursuit of Aaron received over the summer. He laughed off any further comparison to Bonds, smiling as he jokingly flexed his forearms to prove he doesn't quite measure up.

AP Sports Writer Chris Jenkins in Green Bay contributed to this story.