Forrest Murrell Blue Jr. (September 7, 1945 – July 16, 2011) was an American football center who spent eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the San Francisco 49ers (1968–1974) and Baltimore Colts (1975–1978).
 Blue c. 1975 | |||||||||
| No. 75, 50 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Center | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | September 7, 1945 Marfa, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | July 16, 2011 (aged 65) Carmichael, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 261 lb (118 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Chamberlain (Tampa, Florida) | ||||||||
| College: | Auburn (1965–1967) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1968 / round: 1 / pick: 15 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Early years
editBlue 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 Athletic 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, Florida by the St. Petersburg Times in 1999.[1][2]
College career
editBlue was a three-year letterman as a center for the Auburn Tigers from 1965 through 1967 under head coach Ralph Jordan.[3] He played for the College All-Stars in its 34–17 defeat to the Green Bay Packers on August 2, 1968.[4][5]
In May 2013, he was posthumously inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
Professional career
editBlue was selected 15th overall in the 1968 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers. Blue helped the team win three straight division titles, and was named an All-Pro team three times.[6][7][8][9]
Death
editBlue died at an assisted living facility in Carmichael, California of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).[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]
References
edit- ^ Pugliese, Nick. "Tampa Bay's All-Century Team: No. 21 Forrest Blue," The Tampa Tribune. Archived April 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 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.
- ^ "2011 Auburn Football Fact Book" (PDF). Auburn University Athletics. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
- ^ "1968 College All-Stars roster". mmbolding.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
- ^ "The 1968 College All-Star Game". mmbolding.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
- ^ "1971 NFL All-Pros" pro-football-reference.com July 20, 2011
- ^ "1972 NFL All-Pros" pro-football-reference.com July 20, 2011
- ^ "1973 NFL All-Pros" pro-football-reference.com July 20, 2011
- ^ "1974 NFL All-Pros" pro-football-reference.com July 20, 2011
- ^ "Forrest Blue Dies After Years of Dementia" San Francisco Chronicle July 20, 2011
- ^ "The driving force behind Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)". Concussion Legacy Foundation. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
- ^ 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.