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Forrest Blue
No. 75, 50
Position: Offensive lineman
Personal information
Born:(1945-09-07)September 7, 1945
Marfa, Texas, U.S.
Died:July 16, 2011(2011-07-16) (aged 65)
Carmichael, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:261 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High school: Tampa (FL) Chamberlain
College: Auburn
NFL draft: 1968 / Round: 1 / Pick: 15
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:148
Games started:82
Player stats at NFL.com ·  PFR

Forrest Murrell Blue Jr. (September 7, 1945 – July 16, 2011) was an offensive lineman who spent eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the San Francisco 49ers (1968–1974) and Baltimore Colts (1975–1978).

Blue was born in Marfa, Texas on September 7, 1945. He spent his teenage years in Tampa, Florida where his family moved after his father, a United States Army captain, retired there. A 1963 graduate of George D. Chamberlain High School, he made the National Honor Society and starred on the varsity teams in football, baseball, track and basketball. He was a member of the Florida High School Activities Association (FHSAA) Class AA football champions in 1961. He eventually was inducted into the Tampa Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and named the sixth-best football player ever from Hillsborough County by the St. Petersburg Times in 1999. [1] [2]

Blue was a three-year letterman as a center for Ralph "Shug" Jordan at Auburn University from 1965 through 1967. [3] He played for the College All-Stars in its 34–17 defeat to the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field on August 2, 1968. [4] [5]

Selected 15th overall in the 1968 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers out of Auburn University, Blue helped the team win three straight division titles, and was named an All-Pro three times. [6] [7] [8] [9]

Blue died at an assisted living facility in Carmichael, California of chronic traumatic encephalopathy. [10] He was one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease, which is caused by repeated hits to the head. [11] [12]

In May 2013, he was posthumously inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

References

  1. ^ Pugliese, Nick. "Tampa Bay's All-Century Team: No. 21 Forrest Blue," The Tampa Tribune. Archived April 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Meacham, Andrew (July 24, 2011). "Chamberlain star Forrest Blue went on to shine in the NFL". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  3. ^ "2011 Auburn Football Fact Book" (PDF). Auburn University Athletics. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
  4. ^ "1968 College All-Stars roster". mmbolding.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
  5. ^ "The 1968 College All-Star Game". mmbolding.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
  6. ^ "1971 NFL All-Pros" pro-football-reference.com July 20, 2011
  7. ^ "1972 NFL All-Pros" pro-football-reference.com July 20, 2011
  8. ^ "1973 NFL All-Pros" pro-football-reference.com July 20, 2011
  9. ^ "1974 NFL All-Pros" pro-football-reference.com July 20, 2011
  10. ^ "Forrest Blue Dies After Years of Dementia" San Francisco Chronicle July 20, 2011
  11. ^ "The driving force behind Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)". Concussion Legacy Foundation. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  12. ^ Ken Belson and Benjamin Mueller (June 20, 2023). "Collective Force of Head Hits, Not Just the Number of Them, Increases Odds of C.T.E. The largest study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy to date found that the cumulative force of head hits absorbed by players in their careers is the best predictor of future brain disease". The New York Times. Retrieved July 2, 2023.

External links

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