13 Facts About Earl Blaik

Earl Henry "Red" Blaik was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and United States Army officer.

Earl Blaik was born in Detroit, the son of William Earl Blaik, a blacksmith and carriage maker who emigrated from Glasgow, Scotland in 1883.

Earl Blaik played college football for three seasons at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, under Chester 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.

In 1927, Earl Blaik 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, Earl Blaik was hired as head football coach at Dartmouth College.

Earl Blaik coached one Hall of Fame player at Dartmouth, Bob MacLeod.

In 1941, Earl Blaik was tapped to be head football coach for the United States Military Academy.

The latter was a condition Earl Blaik made as a requirement for him to accept the position, believing Army to be severely handicapped in the size of its linemen.

In 1946, Earl Blaik was selected as the AFCA Coach of the Year.

Earl Blaik was one of the first coaches to analyze the game play-by-play, charting a team's tendencies on every down with the use of game film.

Earl Blaik resigned as head football coach of Army on January 13,1959, to become a vice president at the Avco Corporation.

Earl Blaik received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Ronald Reagan in 1986.

Earl Blaik died in 1989 at age 92 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.