Sid Blanks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Del Rio, Texas, U.S.
Webster, Texas, U.S.
| No. 42, 22 | |||||||||||||
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| Position | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | April 29, 1941 Del Rio, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died | December 12, 2021 (aged 80) Webster, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | San Felipe (Del Rio) | ||||||||||||
| College | Texas A&I | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1964: 3rd round, 42nd overall pick | ||||||||||||
| AFL draft | 1964: 5th round, 38th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL/AFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Sidney Blanks (April 29, 1941 – December 12, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a running back in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Texas A&I and was the first-ever black football player in the Lone Star Conference[1] and the first African American player recruited and signed in the state of Texas. While Abner Haynes and Leon King played at North Texas two years earlier, neither were recruited. They were both walk-ons.
A halfback, Blanks played college football at Texas A&I University. Blanks was an All-American member of the Texas A&I Javelinas from 1960 to 1963. He was inducted into the Texas A&I Hall of Fame in 1981. In 2002 he was inducted into the Lone Star Conference Hall of Fame.
Recruited by College Football Hall of Fame coach Gil Steinke in 1960, Blanks was the first African American to play in the Lone Star Conference. He was also the first African American to receive a football scholarship at an integrated school in the state of Texas.
Professional career
Blanks played professionally in the American Football League for the Houston Oilers from 1964 through 1968. He also played for the Boston Patriots of the AFL in 1969, and the Patriots of the NFL in 1970.
Blanks was an AFL All-Star in 1964.