George Blanda

High school

Youngwood High School

College

University of Kentucky

Pro team(s)

Chicago Bears, Baltimore Colts, Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders

Hall of Fame

⭐ Pro Football Hall of Fame

George Frederick Blanda was born on September 17, 1927, in Youngwood, Pennsylvania, a small borough in Westmoreland County's coal country, and attended Youngwood High School before going on to the University of Kentucky. Drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1949, Blanda would go on to play professional football for 26 seasons — a record that still stands. He began as a quarterback and placekicker with the Bears (1949–1958), endured a year in retirement, and resurfaced with the Houston Oilers of the AFL (1960–1966), leading them to the first two AFL Championships. But his most celebrated chapter came with the Oakland Raiders (1967–1975), where — at an age when most men were considering retirement — Blanda delivered a string of last-minute heroics in the 1970 season that became the stuff of legend: five consecutive weeks in which he either kicked game-winning field goals or threw late touchdown passes to rescue Raider victories. He played his last NFL game at age 48. Blanda's career totals include 2,002 points scored (all-time record at his retirement), 236 touchdown passes, and an iron constitution that defied the decades. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981. Grew up in Youngwood, Pennsylvania.