24 Facts About Ernie Blandin

Ernest Elmer Blandin was an American professional football player who was a tackle for six seasons with the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Colts in the All-America Football Conference and later the National Football League.

Ernie Blandin was a standout as a tackle playing college football for the Tulane Green Wave, earning consensus All-American honors as a senior in 1941.

Ernie Blandin was selected to play for the Philadelphia Eagles, but he instead joined the military and served in the Pacific theater of World War II.

Ernie Blandin was then sent to the Colts, where he remained through the 1950 season.

Ernie Blandin played one more year of professional football in 1953 with the second iteration of the Baltimore Colts.

Ernie Blandin was born June 21,1919, in Augusta, Kansas.

Ernie Blandin played football from his days at Leon High School in Leon, Kansas, starting out as a fullback until being moved to tackle during his collegiate years.

Ernie Blandin was a three-sport athlete in high school, winning a total of 11 letters in football, basketball, and track and field.

Ernie Blandin attended Tulane University and played for the Tulane Green Wave football team between 1939 and 1941.

Ernie Blandin was part of an offensive line that was one of the largest in the country at the time: the linemen averaged 214 pounds.

Ernie Blandin was named a consensus All-American after the 1941 season, being named to no fewer than eight All-American teams, including the illustrious eleven chosen by United Press International.

Ernie Blandin started for the East in the 1941 East-West Shrine Game.

Ernie Blandin was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 5th round of the 1942 NFL draft, but he delayed a professional football career to join the US Navy as America's involvement in World War II intensified.

Ernie Blandin served as a lieutenant in the Pacific theater, spending a year in the Marshall Islands and three months in Hawaii.

Ernie Blandin did play on service teams during the war, including the Georgia Pre-Flight Skycrackers in 1942 and the Pearl Harbor All-Stars in 1945.

Ernie Blandin signed with the Cleveland Browns in 1946 as the team geared up to play its first season in the All-America Football Conference.

Ernie Blandin rotated at left tackle with Chet Adams in 1946 and 1947.

Ernie Blandin played at left tackle for the Colts until 1950, when the franchise was terminated for financial reasons.

Ernie Blandin left football before returning for one additional season in 1953 with a new Baltimore Colts franchise established in that year to replace the defunct Dallas Texans of 1952.

Ernie Blandin died September 16,1958 in a nursing home in Randallstown, Maryland after a long illness.

Ernie Blandin was just 49 years old at the time of his death.

Ernie Blandin's body was interred at Baltimore National Cemetery with friends encouraged to make donations to the American Cancer Society in lieu of flowers at the time of his funeral.

Ernie Blandin was inducted into the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1987.

Ernie Blandin is a member of Tulane's sports hall of fame.