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Earl Henry "Red" Blaik (February 15, 1897 – May 6, 1989) was a American football coach. He was head football coach for the United States Military Academy between the 1941 and the 1958 seasons, and for Dartmouth College between the 1934 and the 1940 seasons. During his coaching career Blaik won 166 games lost 48 games and tied 14 games. His Army football teams won consecutive national championships in 1944 and 1945.
Early life
Blaik was born in Detroit, Michigan. He played college football four seasons at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio under C. J. Roberts, George Rider and George Little and two seasons at the United States Military Academy at West Point where he became a third-team All-American. Following his graduation in 1920 Blaik served in the United States Cavalry for a short time after World War I. After his military service Blaik worked in the construction business in Dayton, Ohio with his father.
Coaching Career
During the 1924 and 1925 seasons Blaik worked as a part-time assistant coach for Miami University. For a few months in 1926 he accepted a coaching position on the staff of University of Wisconsin head football coach George Little and in 1927 he became a part time coach at the United States Military Academy until 1930 when he was accepted on the staff as a full time assistant coach. In 1934 Blaik was hired as head football coach at Dartmouth College. At Dartmouth he coached for seven seasons and compiled a record of 45-16-4, his Dartmouth teams had a 22 game unbeaten streak from 1934 to 1937. He coached one Hall of Fame player, Bob MacLeod. In 1941 Blaik was tapped to be head football coach for the United States Military Academy. At West Point he coached for 18 seasons compiling a 121-32-10 record. Blaik's Army teams had a 32 game unbeaten streak from 1944 - 1947, won consecutive national titles in 1944 and 1945 and finished second in the nation in 1946 due to a scoreless tie with rival Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium in New York. In 1946 he was selected as National Coach of the Year. During his tenure at West Point, Blaik coached three Heisman trophy winners, Doc Blanchard in 1945, Glenn Davis in 1946 and Pete Dawkins in 1958 as well as 11 Hall of Fame players. Overall 20 of his former assistant coaches became head coaches in their own right. They were:
Paul Amen, George Blackburn, Chief Boston, Eddie Crowder, Paul Dietzel, Bobby Dobbs, Sid Gillman, Jack Green, Andy Gustafson, Dale Hall, Tom Harp, Herman Hickman, Stu Holcombe, Frank Lauterbur, Vince Lombardi, Johnny Sauer, Dick Voris, Murray Warmath, Bob Woodruff and Bill Yeoman.
Paul Dietzel while at LSU and Murry Warmath while at Minnesota won national championships as head coaches. Sid Gillman, while head coach of the Chargers won a professional football championship. Vince Lombardi, as head coach of the Packers, would win five NFL titles and the first two Super Bowls.
During Blaik's tenure the Army team adopted the nickname the "Black Knights", which has now come to refer to all intercollegiate athletic teams at West Point.
Among his West Point players Blaik was nicknamed 'The Colonel', known for being a stern and displined coach he is quoted regarding the subject "Good fellows are a dime a dozen, but an aggressive leader is priceless."
Post Coaching Career
Blaik resigned as head football coach of Army on January 13, 1959 to become a vice president at the Avco Corporation. In 1964 he was inducted in to the College Football Hall of Fame. His alma mater, Miami University in 1969 honored him by induction into the university's Athletic Hall of Fame. Blaik received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Ronald Reagan in 1986.
Blaik died at age 92 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. On September 25, 1999 the football field at West Point's Michie Stadium was named Blaik Field in his honor.
In 2005 ESPN produced a television film called "Code Breakers" about the 1951 honor code scandal that plagued Blaik's 1951 team. In the film Blaik is portrayed by actor Scott Glenn.
External links
American football tight ends | Army Black Knights football players | Miami RedHawks football players | Army Black Knights football coaches | Dartmouth Big Green football coaches | College Football Hall of Fame | United States Army officers | Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients | West Point graduates | Miami University alumni | People from Michigan | 1897 births | 1989 deaths
"Earl Blaik"