NCAA News Archive - 2009

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Former Heisman winner Blanchard dies at 84


Doc Blanchard won the 1945 Heisman Trophy. AP Photo/Lindsay
Apr 21, 2009 9:28:04 AM


The NCAA News

Former Army running back and Heisman Trophy winner Felix “Doc” Blanchard died of pneumonia Saturday at his home in Bulverde, Texas.

Blanchard, who won the 1945 Heisman Trophy and teamed with Glenn Davis to form one of the most famous backfields in college football history, was 84.

The famous tandem helped lead Army to a 27-0-1 record from 1944 to 1946. The tie was a 0-0 battle against Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium on November 9, 1946.

New York Sun columnist George Trevor described Blanchard as “Mr. Inside” and Davis as “Mr. Outside.” Army won consecutive national championships in 1944-45 and finished unbeaten again in 1946. The 1944 Army team averaged 56 points and allowed only 3.9 points per game.

In a 28-game career, Blanchard scored 38 touchdowns and led the country in scoring in 1945. Blanchard also played linebacker on defense and handled the team’s kicking duties.

Blanchard was the first junior to win the Heisman Trophy. He also won the Maxwell Trophy and Sullivan Award the same year.

Blanchard, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959, played his freshman year at North Carolina before being drafted into the military the next year, where he served until receiving his appointment to the U.S. Military Academy in 1943.

He was selected third overall in the 1946 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he was required to enlist in the military. After graduating from West Point in 1947, Blanchard joined the U.S. Air Force, where he flew fighter planes during the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Blanchard was the earliest living Heisman Trophy winner until his death, according to the Associated Press.

Davis died of complications from prostate cancer in 2005.



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