Age: 36 (Sept. 17)
14th
season in pro football, 4th in AFL & with Oilers
College: Kentucky
Height: 6’2” Weight: 215
Prelude:
Blanda was
chosen by the Chicago Bears in the 12th round of the 1949 NFL draft
and, with a very brief hiatus in Baltimore, played for them for ten years. He
led the league in passing attempts (362) and completions (169) in 1953, but
otherwise was forced to share the quarterback job while handling the
placekicking. After two seasons (1957 & ’58) in which he saw scant action
at quarterback, he retired. The creation of the new AFL in 1960 pulled Blanda
out of retirement, and he led the Oilers to the first league title while
throwing for 2413 yards and 24 touchdowns. He followed that up with a 1961 season
that started slowly (he was actually briefly benched) but ended up with his
winning AFL Player of the Year honors, leading the league in passing yards
(3330) and yards per attempt (9.2) as well as tossing a record 36 TD passes
(tied by Y.A. Tittle in the NFL in 1963 but not broken until 1984) as the
Oilers, following a fortuitous coaching change, went on to win a second AFL
Championship. Blanda was still an AFL All-Star choice in ’62 as he threw for
2810 passing yards and 27 TDs, but he was intercepted 42 times. Houston topped
the Eastern Division for the third straight year, losing the AFL title to the
Dallas Texans in overtime.
1963 Season Summary
Appeared in
all 14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 423
[1]
Most
attempts, game – 43 at Denver 10/13
Completions –
224 [1]
Most
completions, game – 25 at NY Jets 9/22
Yards – 3003 [1]
Most yards,
game – 342 at Oakland 12/22
Completion
percentage – 53.0 [3]
Yards per
attempt – 7.1 [5]
TD passes – 24
[2]
Most TD
passes, game – 5 at Oakland 12/22
Interceptions
– 25 [1]
Most
interceptions, game – 5 vs. Oakland 9/7
Passer rating
– 70.1 [4]
300-yard
passing games – 2
200-yard
passing games – 10
Rushing
Attempts – 4
Yards – 1
Yards per
attempt – 0.3
TDs – 0
Kicking
Field goals –
9 [5, tied with Dick Guesman]
Most field
goals, game – 2 vs. Oakland 9/7, vs. Denver 9/14
Field goal
attempts – 24 [4, tied with Dick Guesman & Mack Yoho]
Most field
goal attempts, game – 6 vs. Denver 9/14
Field goal percentage
– 37.5 [7]
PATs – 39 [3]
PAT attempts
– 39 [3]
Longest field
goal – 46 yards vs. Oakland 9/7, at Boston 11/1
Scoring
Field goals –
9
PATs – 39
Points – 66
[7, tied with Lance Alworth]
Awards & Honors:
2nd
team All-AFL: AP, NY Daily News
AFL All-Star Game
Oilers went 6-8
to finish third in the AFL Eastern Division while leading the league in passing
yards (3210).
Aftermath:
Blanda led
the AFL in both passes and completions in 1964 and ’65, although again in
interceptions as well. The team’s record tailed off badly and QB Don Trull was
drafted and groomed to be Blanda’s replacement. At age 39, Blanda was let go by
Houston following the 1966 season and signed with the Oakland Raiders. He
proved to be a capable backup quarterback, especially in a remarkable 1970
season when he again received MVP consideration, and placekicker for the
Raiders through 1975, at age 48. Blanda retired as the all-time NFL leader in
scoring (2002 points) and field goals (335), as well as seasons played (26 –
the record that still stands), and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of
Fame, Class of 1981.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
