Blanton Long Collier (July 2, 1906, Millersburg, Kentucky– March 22, 1983, Houston, Texas) was an American football coach who led the University of Kentucky (1954-1961) and Cleveland Browns (1963-1970). Events 310 - Pope Miltiades is elected 626 - In fear of assassination Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rival Year 1906 ( MCMVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Millersburg is a city in Bourbon County, Kentucky, United States. Events 238 - Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperor. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public, Co-educational, University, and is also the state's land-grant university located Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
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Career
After graduating from Kentucky's Georgetown College, Collier went to work at Paris High School, where he coached several sports. The Commonwealth of Kentucky ( is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Georgetown College may refer to Georgetown College (Georgetown University, a college within Georgetown University in Washington DC Paris High School may refer to In Canada: Paris District High School &mdash Paris Ontario In the United States After enlisting in the Navy during World War II, he was assigned to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Chicago, where he met Paul Brown, who was in charge of the station's football team. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Naval Station Great Lakes is the United States Navy 's Headquarters Command for training located in North Chicago Illinois. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Paul Eugene Brown ( September 7, 1908 - August 5, 1991) was a coach in American football and a major figure in the development When Brown took charge of the new Cleveland Browns after the war, he took Collier along as an assistant. The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. Collier served under Brown from 1946 to 1953, a period in which the team won all four titles in the fledgling All-America Football Conference (AAFC) before moving to the National Football League (NFL) in 1950. Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The All-America Football Conference (AAFC was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL from 1946 The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. That first season, the Browns captured the NFL title, then reached the championship game in each of the next three seasons.
University of Kentucky
When Paul "Bear" Bryant left the University of Kentucky after the 1953 season, Collier accepted an offer to return to his home state. The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public, Co-educational, University, and is also the state's land-grant university located Collier had several future star coaches serve as assistants under him at Kentucky, including Don Shula, Chuck Knox, Howard Schnellenberger, Bill Arnsparger, Ermal Allen, Ed Rutledge, John North and Bob Cummings. Donald Francis Shula (born January 4, 1930 in Grand River, Ohio) is an American former professional football coach Charles Robert "Chuck" Knox (born April 27, 1932 in Sewickley Pennsylvania) is a former football coach at the high school collegiate Howard Schnellenberger (born March 16, 1934) is an American football coach at both the professional and college level Bill Arnsparger (born December 16, 1926) is a former football coach who was primarily an assistant but served as head coach at both the professional John North may refer to John North (Christian author and speaker Christian author and speaker based in Sydney Australia John North (Trinity Robert Cummings ( June 10, 1908 – December 2, 1990) also known as Bob Cummings, was an American Motion picture Standout players at Kentucky under Collier included Lou Michaels and Schnellenberger. Lou Michaels is a former American football player who was a standout Defensive lineman for the University of Kentucky Wildcats and later
UK went 41-36-3 — and 5-2-1 against arch-rival Tennessee — under Collier. The University of Tennessee (also known as UT) sometimes called the University of Tennessee Knoxville ( UT Knoxville, or UTK) is the flagship Notable wins included winning at #15 Georgia Tech in 1954 and defeating #8 Ole Miss and #17 Tennessee in 1955, #12 Tennessee in 1957 and #20 Tennessee in 1959. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational Research University located in Oxford The University of Tennessee (also known as UT) sometimes called the University of Tennessee Knoxville ( UT Knoxville, or UTK) is the flagship The University of Tennessee (also known as UT) sometimes called the University of Tennessee Knoxville ( UT Knoxville, or UTK) is the flagship The University of Tennessee (also known as UT) sometimes called the University of Tennessee Knoxville ( UT Knoxville, or UTK) is the flagship However, Bear Bryant's shoes were hard to fill and Kentucky fired Collier in January of 1962. Collier returned to Brown's staff in Cleveland. No Kentucky head coach since Collier has left the Kentucky job with a winning record for his tenure in Lexington. The core of the team that Collier recruited formed the basis of the Thin Thirty. The Thin Thirty refers to the 1962 football team at the University of Kentucky. Collier's successor, Charlie Bradshaw, thinned the ranks from 88 to 30 players, that brutal season being chronicled in a new book, The Thin Thirty, by Shannon Ragland. Charlie Bradshaw coached college football at University of Kentucky and later at Troy State University (now Troy University)
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns Collier came back to did not resemble the championship teams of the 1950s. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive Other teams had caught up to Brown's strategies; new owner Art Modell felt Brown had too much control; and Brown's old-school disciplinarianism did not go over well with the players, especially Jim Brown. Arthur B Modell (born June 23, 1925, Brooklyn, New York) is a former National Football League team owner James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown (born February 17, 1936) is an American former professional football player who has also made After a 7-6-1 season in 1962, Modell fired Brown and offered the job to Collier. Collier only took the job at Brown's insistence; nonetheless, Brown never forgave Collier for replacing him.
Collier earned his players' respect by giving them more leeway both on and off the field. He let quarterback Frank Ryan change plays at the line of scrimmage and allowed more flexibility in pass routes and blocking schemes. Frank Beall Ryan (born July 12, 1936 in Fort Worth, Texas) is a retired American football Quarterback in the National
The changes paid off. In 1963, the team finished 10-4, and Jim Brown broke the NFL's single-season rushing record with 1,863 yards. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. The following season, the Browns went 10-3-1 and then upset the heavily favored Baltimore Colts 27-0 in the league championship. The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis Indiana. The 1964 National Football League championship game was the 32nd annual championship game Another Eastern Conference title followed in 1965, but the team lost the title game to the Green Bay Packers. Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. The 1965 National Football League Championship game was the 33rd championship game for the NFL The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay Wisconsin. Despite Jim Brown's retirement after the 1965 season, the Browns ran off another four consecutive winning seasons and went to the NFL championship in 1968 and 1969. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Collier was a quiet but emotional man. When a player fell asleep during a film session, Collier did not yell at the player as Brown would have done, but instead criticized himself for not making the session interesting enough. Collier had great respect for black players, which helped endear him to Jim Brown and his teammates. African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa
Browns fans remember Collier's tenure as a golden age of Browns football. The team was not shut out in any game, and giant Cleveland Stadium sold out for almost every game played during Collier's stint in Cleveland. Cleveland Stadium (also known as Lakefront Stadium and Cleveland Municipal Stadium) was a Baseball and American football stadium located in Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state
Somehow, Collier managed to achieve his success while going nearly deaf. Hearing loss forced him out of the head-coaching job after the 1970 season. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He continued to work for the Browns as a college scout.
Stats
Collier's record as head coach of the Browns was 76-34-2.
External links
- UK Education Hall of Fame entry
- Georgetown College Athletic Hall of Fame entry
- Kentucky football history (official site)
Other sources
- Grossi, Tony (2004). Tales from the Browns Sideline. (Champaign, Ill. ): Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-713-9
- Carroll, Bob, et al. (1999). Total Football II. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-270174-6.
- MacCambridge, Michael (2004). America's Game. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50454-0.
| Preceded by Bear Bryant |
University of Kentucky Head Football Coach 1954–1961 |
Succeeded by Charlie Bradshaw |
| Preceded by Paul Brown |
Cleveland Browns Head Coaches 1963–1970 |
Succeeded by Nick Skorich |
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