George Blanda
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Blanda went on to become the oldest quarterback to start a title game, and the oldest professional football player, with the longest career, 26 years. He remains a strong supporter of the AFL heritage, recently saying: "That first year, the Houston Oilers or Los Angeles Chargers (24-16 losers to the Oilers in the title game) could have beaten the NFL champion (Philadelphia) in a Super Bowl." Blanda said further: "I think the AFL was capable of beating the NFL in a Super Bowl game as far back as 1960 or '61. I just regret we didn't get the chance to prove it."
He is the placekicker on the All-Time All-AFL Team. Blanda was one of only 20 players to play all ten years of the AFL, one of only three who were in every AFL game their teams played, and is a member of the American Football League Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the University of Kentucky Hall of Fame.
Blanda held the record for most professional football games played with 340 until September 26, 2004, when it was broken by another placekicker, Morten Andersen.
Links
External links
- Blanda's page in the NFL Hall of Fame website (http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=29)
- American Football League Website (http://www.conigliofamily.com/AFLdotcom.htm)
- Blanda's (Oilers) citation on the AFL Hall of Fame website (http://www.conigliofamily.com/Oilers.htm#GEORGEBLANDA)
- Blanda's (Raiders) citation on the AFL Hall of Fame website (http://www.conigliofamily.com/Raiders.htm#GeorgeBlanda)
- American Football League All-time Team (http://www.conigliofamily.com/AFLAllTimeTeam.htm)
- Blanda's citation in the University of Kentucky Hall of Fame (http://www.uky.edu/Education/hofamers/blanda.html)