George Blanda, one of football’s great legends died today at the age of 83 after a short illness. Blanda was known for his toughness, versatility and longevity, surviving 26 seasons and 340 games in the NFL as a quarterback and a kicker; five more years than any other player in history. He retired at age 48 as the league’s all-time leading scorer, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.
Blanda, whose career dated to an era when players routinely manned two positions, scored a then-record 2,002 points. He achieved that success by throwing for 236 touchdowns and running for nine, as well as kicking 335 field goals and 943 extra points.
“If you put him in a group of most-competitive, biggest-clutch players, I think he’d have to be the guy who would win it all,” his Raiders coach, John Madden, said in a phone interview Monday. “He was the most competitive guy that I ever knew.”
His most remarkable achievement occurred during a five-game series in 1970 when the 43-year-old Blanda led the Raiders to four victories and one tie with late touchdown throws or field goals. In a game with Cleveland he threw a tying touchdown pass with one minute, 34 seconds remaining, then kicked the game-winning 52-yard field goal during the final seconds.
