39 Facts About Fred Biletnikoff

Frederick Biletnikoff was born on February 23,1943 and is an American former professional football player and coach.

Fred Biletnikoff played as a wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League and National Football League for 14 seasons and later was an assistant coach with the team.

Fred Biletnikoff retired as an NFL player after the 1978 season then played one more season in the Canadian Football League for the Montreal Alouettes in 1980.

Fred Biletnikoff was known for running smooth, precise pass routes.

Fred Biletnikoff is a member of both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame.

Fred Biletnikoff attended Florida State University, where he played college football for the Florida State Seminoles football team and earned consensus All-American honors after leading the country in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns as a senior.

The Fred Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the most outstanding receiver in NCAA Division I FBS, is named in his honor.

Fred Biletnikoff was born and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania, the son of Natalie and Ephriam Fred Biletnikoff.

In Erie, Fred Biletnikoff attended what was then Technical Memorial High School, now Erie High School, whose athletic field now bears his name.

In high school, Fred Biletnikoff excelled in football, basketball, baseball, and track.

Fred Biletnikoff was a champion high jumper and earned All-City honors in basketball and baseball.

Fred Biletnikoff's younger brother Bob was a starting quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes in the mid-1960s.

Fred Biletnikoff turned down other notable offers to attend Florida State University in Tallahassee.

Fred Biletnikoff missed several games during his first varsity season in 1962 with a broken foot.

Fred Biletnikoff played on both sides of the ball his junior season, leading the team in receptions and interceptions.

Fred Biletnikoff was a consensus pick for the 1964 College Football All-America Team, receiving first-team honors from four official selectors: the Associated Press, Central Press Association, Football Writers Association of America, and Newspaper Enterprise Association.

Fred Biletnikoff was Florida State's first consensus All-American in football.

Fred Biletnikoff compiled 100 receptions for 1,655 yards and 20 touchdowns in his career with the Seminoles, which at the time were all school records.

Fred Biletnikoff signed with the Raiders, where he played for fourteen seasons.

In 1966, he caught his first touchdown pass, thrown by quarterback Tom Flores, who later became the Raiders' head coach the season after Fred Biletnikoff was released by the team.

Fred Biletnikoff popularized the use of Stickum, an adhesive that many players applied to their hands to assist with catching and gripping the ball.

Fred Biletnikoff would apply the substance all over his body and uniform prior to a game, a practice that was later picked up by Raiders cornerback Lester Hayes after Biletnikoff introduced him to it.

Fred Biletnikoff did not see playing time on offense until the seventh game of the year, against the Boston Patriots, in which he caught seven passes for 118 yards.

Fred Biletnikoff's production increased significantly with Oakland's acquisition of quarterback Daryle Lamonica in 1967.

Fred Biletnikoff was invited to play in the 1967 AFL All-Star Game.

Fred Biletnikoff recorded his only 1,000-yard receiving season in 1968, when he caught 61 passes for 1,037 yards and six touchdowns.

Fred Biletnikoff was an AFL All-Star for the second time and earned first-team All-AFL honors from the Associated Press, the Newspaper Enterprise Association, Pro Football Writers of America, The Sporting News, Pro Football Weekly, and the New York Daily News.

Fred Biletnikoff recorded over 100 receiving yards in a postseason five times.

Fred Biletnikoff was released by the Raiders prior to the 1979 season.

Fred Biletnikoff began his career in coaching soon after his retirement from playing.

In 1989, Fred Biletnikoff became wide receivers coach for the Oakland Raiders, a position he held until 2007.

Fred Biletnikoff was sentenced to 55 years to life imprisonment.

Fred Biletnikoff called Ali an "animal" after the sentencing and said his hatred for him would never go away.

In 2015, Fred Biletnikoff founded Tracey's Place of Hope in Loomis, California, a shelter for domestic violence victims and substance abuse treatment for females ages 14 to 18.

Fred Biletnikoff was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988.

In 1999, Fred Biletnikoff was ranked number 94 on The Sporting News' list of the "100 Greatest Football Players".

Fred Biletnikoff was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1991.

The Fred Biletnikoff Award, awarded annually by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation to the nation's outstanding receiver in NCAA Division I FBS since 1994, is named in his honor.

In 2016, Fred Biletnikoff was named the Walter Camp Man of the Year by the Walter Camp Football Foundation in recognition of his public service and his contributions to football.