George Blanda dies at age 83

These cards are my oldest and newest cards of George Blanda, Topps 1969 and Topps 2009.  George Blanda passed away on Monday at the age of 83.  His was a quarterback and a kicker during his football career, which spanned 26 seasons, No one played longer or scored more points than Blanda.

He began his career in 1949 with the Chicago Bears and ended it with the Oakland Raiders at the age of 48, just before the 1976 season.

Blanda was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981,

As a quarterback, Blanda had 1,911 completions out of 4,007 passes for 26,920 yards, 236 touchdowns.  In one game, he threw seven touchdown passes, a feat only four other quarterbacks have equaled.

Blanda was the original “long range field goal kicker”, knocking in 50+ yard field goals, which was unusual for his time. He kicked 335 field goals and 943 extra points, which is more than anyone else in football history.

I keep my 1969 Blanda with my Joe Namath, Gale Sayers, Johnny Unitas and Dick Butkus cards and looking back at Blanda’s numbers, it is clear why he belongs there.  I doubt we will ever see anyone play 25 seasons or until the age of 48 again, and certainly not with the kind of diversity to be able to take on the positions of Quarterback and Kicker.