Greg Blankenship
American gridiron football player (born 1954)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gregory Allen Blankenship (born March 24, 1954) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for one season in the National Football League (NFL) with the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football for the Cal State Hayward Pioneers.
Vallejo, California, U.S.
| No. 57, 53 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Linebacker | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | March 24, 1954 Vallejo, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||
| Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | Vallejo | ||||||
| College | Cal State Hayward | ||||||
| NFL draft | 1976: undrafted | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Early life
Blankenship was born in Vallejo, California and attended Vallejo High School.[1]
College career
He matriculated at California State University, 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]
Professional 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]