Doc Blanchard

This article refers to the college football player. For the Vietnam Navy Corpsman, see Doc Steven Blanchard.

Doc Blanchard
'Time magazine cover from October 23, 1945. Blanchard is on the right.
Date of birth	December 11 1924 (1924-12-11) (age 83)
Place of birth	Bishopville, South Carolina
Position(s)	Fullback
College	West Point
NFL Draft	1946 / Round 1/ Pick 3
Awards	1945 Heisman Trophy
College Hall of Fame

Felix Anthony "Doc" Blanchard (born December 11, 1924, raised in Bishopville, South Carolina) is best known as the Army football player who won the 1945 Heisman, Maxwell Award, and James E. Sullivan Award. The son of a doctor who had played football at Tulane and Wake Forest, Felix Blanchard was nicknamed "Little Doc" as a boy.^[1]

Army football

After completing his freshman season at the University of North Carolina in 1942, Blanchard enlisted in the United States Army, took basic training in Miami and was assigned to the Air Force’s ground school in Clovis, New Mexico. He received an appointment to the United States Military Academy on July 2, 1944. During his three years at West Point his team under coach Earl "Red" Blaik compiled an undefeated 27-0-1 record. Blaik once explained what made Blanchard unique:

Imagine a big bruising fullback who runs one hundred yards in ten seconds flat, who kicks off into the end zone, who punts fifty yards, who can also sweep the flank as well as rip the middle, who catches laterals or forward passes with sure-fingered skill, and who makes his own interference. That's Mr. Blanchard.

An all-around athlete, Blanchard served as placekicker and punter in addition to his primary roles as linebacker and fullback. In the latter capacity, he teamed with fellow Heisman winner Glenn Davis to form one of the most lethal rushing combinations in football history, scoring 38 touchdowns and earning the nickname "Mr. Inside."^[2]

After football

Although he had the opportunity to play professional football after graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1947, Blanchard chose a career in the military, serving in the United States Air Force as a jet pilot during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. His Heisman Trophy, and his Maxwell and James E. Sullivan awards, are currently enshrined at his former high school, Saint Stanislaus College, in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi. In Blanchard's honor, the Interstate 20/U.S. Route 15 interchange near his hometown of Bishopville, South Carolina has been officially named the Felix "Doc" Blanchard Interchange.

References

External links

• Doc Blanchard: Army War Machine
• The Doc Blanchard Project