44 Facts About Blanton Collier

Blanton Long Collier was an American football head coach who coached at the University of Kentucky between 1954 and 1961 and for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League between 1963 and 1970.

Blanton Collier left the position to join the US Navy in 1943 during World War II.

Blanton Collier was fired after the 1961 season and Brown rehired him as an assistant.

Blanton Collier was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1976, and retired to Texas, where he died in 1983.

Blanton Collier was well-liked by players and renowned as a good sportsman and student of the game.

Blanton Collier attended from Paris High School, where he played football and basketball, and worked as a tobacco-picker in the summers during high school.

Blanton Collier went to work at Paris High School in 1928 as a mathematics teacher, and coached several of the school's sports teams.

Blanton Collier married Mary Varder from Paris in 1930, and spent 16 years at the high school before enlisting in the US Navy in 1943 during World War II.

Blanton Collier was 37 years old when he joined the military; although he likely could have avoided enlisting because he was a teacher and had a family, he felt serving in the war was his duty.

Blanton Collier was assigned to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station north of Chicago, where he was a survival swimming instructor.

Blanton Collier was once called to report to his ship over a loudspeaker, but did not hear it.

At Great Lakes, Blanton Collier went regularly to observe the practices of the station's service football team, the Great Lakes Bluejackets.

Blanton Collier took notes and hoped to pick up some football knowledge he could use when he returned to Paris.

Blanton Collier served under Brown from 1946 to 1953, a period in which the team won all four titles in the AAFC before moving to the National Football League in 1950.

Blanton Collier's coaching style was the opposite of Brown's; Brown was a disciplinarian whose stern nature and aloofness often brought him into conflict with players, while Blanton Collier was a friendly, warm man whose patience and studiousness endeared him to players.

In 1954, Blanton Collier was named the coach of the year in the Southeastern Conference.

Blanton Collier was replaced a week later by Charlie Bradshaw, an assistant to Bear Bryant at Alabama.

Bryant had led the Wildcats to appearances in three major bowl games, but Blanton Collier never led the Wildcats to a bowl during his tenure.

Blanton Collier was criticized for his poor recruiting skills, a crucial factor for college coaches.

Standout players under Blanton Collier included All-Americans Lou Michaels and Schnellenberger.

Blanton Collier attended the Browns' training camps in Ohio during the summers, and Brown's family visited Blanton Collier on occasion in Lexington.

Blanton Collier said he was happy to be back with the Browns, saying it was "like returning home".

Brown praised Blanton Collier's teaching and called him a "scientific football man" and "one of my closest friends".

Blanton Collier started a weekly radio show, which grated against Paul Brown's emphasis on discipline and teamwork over individualism.

Brown made some changes as a result of the pressure from his players and Modell, and allowed Blanton Collier to put into place a "check-off system" that allowed the quarterback to run several approved alternative plays to the ones Brown called.

When Blanton Collier was praised in the Cleveland Press for instituting the system successfully Brown put an end to it.

Blanton Collier told Modell he first needed the blessing of his wife and of Brown, to whom he still felt a sense of loyalty.

Blanton Collier called Brown, who told him he had to take the job because he had a family to support.

Blanton Collier accepted a three-year contract that would pay him $35,000 a year.

In contrast with Brown, Blanton Collier was almost universally liked by players and other coaches.

Blanton Collier was soft-spoken, which was unusual for a head coach, but he earned the respect of the team with his extensive knowledge and his willingness to give players more freedom than Brown ever did.

Toward the end of the season, Blanton Collier met with the team's leaders and told them the racism had to stop.

Ever the student, Blanton Collier took full advantage of the opportunity.

Blanton Collier told Modell that he could no longer hear his players, and it was difficult to read their lips through new face masks that obscured their mouths.

Modell tried to help by getting Blanton Collier to try new hearing aids, and even sent him for acupuncture treatment, but none of it worked.

Blanton Collier struggled during press conferences because he often could not hear what reporters were asking and answered the wrong questions.

Blanton Collier continued to work with the Browns after he stepped down, serving as a scout and quarterbacks coach until leaving the game for good in 1976.

Blanton Collier was the coach of the college team in the 1971 College All-Star Game, a now-defunct matchup between the NFL champion and a selection of the best college players from around the country, replacing former Browns quarterback Otto Graham.

Blanton Collier was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1976, and retired to a house on a lake in Texas, where he played golf and visited with friends and family.

Blanton Collier's wife died in 1996 and was buried next to him in Paris, Kentucky.

Blanton Collier was recognized after his death for his sportsmanship, intelligence, and mild manner.

Blanton Collier was inducted into the University of Kentucky College of Education Hall of Fame in 2001.

In 2007, the Kentucky chapter of the NFL Players Association established a Blanton Collier Award given annually to a football player or players who excel both on and off the field.

Blanton Collier was inducted into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.