Melvin Cornell Blount (born April 10, 1948) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

player who was a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

(NFL) for fourteen seasons. A five-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

er, he was inducted into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

in . Blount is considered one of the best cornerbacks to have ever played in the NFL. His physical style of play made him one of the most feared defensive backs in the game at a time when pass interference rules were less stringent. He founded the Mel Blount Youth Home.

Early life

Blount was born in

Toombs County, Georgia Toombs County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 26,067. The county seat is Lyons and the largest city is Vidalia. The county was created on August 18, 190 ...

. The early years of his life were spent in poverty on a Georgia farm. Blount was a star in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

at Lyons High School. After graduation he was offered a scholarship to

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the largest historically black college or university (HBCU) in Louisiana, a ...

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the county seat, parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, E ...

. While there he was a Pro-Scouts

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n pick as both

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly di ...

and

Playing career

Blount was the prototype cornerback of his era and a significant reason why the

were the dominant team of the

in the 1970s. A third-round draft choice of the

Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

in 1970, he had the size, speed, and quickness for the position, plus the toughness and mental ability to adjust his coverage tactics and excel despite rule changes that favored receivers. A Pro-Scouts All-American as both a

and cornerback at

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

, Blount became a starter in the Steelers secondary beginning in 1972. That season, he did not allow a single touchdown. Blount was equally effective playing either zone or man-to-man defense. Known for his rugged style of play, his specialty was the "bump-and-run" pass defense. Because of his size and speed, he physically overpowered pass receivers. Midway through his career however, the rules regarding pass coverage were changed making such harassment of a receiver illegal. The rule would come to be named the

Mel Blount Rule The following nicknames are given to a unit (defensive, offensive and special teams) or a secondary nickname given to some teams used to describe a style of play or attitude of teams at times in accordance with phrases in popular culture of the ti ...

. Blount had 57 interceptions in his career; he returned them for 736 yards and two touchdowns. He intercepted at least one pass in all 14 NFL seasons and led the league in interceptions with 11 in 1975. Blount also was used as a kickoff returner early in his career. He totaled 36 returns for 911 yards and a 25.3-yard average. He also recovered 13 opponents' fumbles, two of which he returned for touchdowns. Blount, who was named the NFL's most valuable defensive player in 1975 by the

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, earned

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

acclaim in 1975, 1976, 1977, and 1981. He also was a four-time All-AFC selection and played in five

s. His fumble recovery in the

1979 AFC Championship Game Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

led to the Steelers' winning touchdown in a 27–13 victory over the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

. Earlier in Super Bowl XIII Blount's interception began a Pittsburgh drive which resulted in a go-ahead touchdown in a 35–31 victory over the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

After the NFL

Following his football career, Blount became Director of Player Relations for the NFL, serving in the position from 1983 to 1990. He also became active in charity work. He founded the Mel Blount Youth Home, a shelter and Christian mission for victims of child abuse and neglect in Toombs County, Georgia in 1983. In 1989, he opened a second youth home in

Claysville, Pennsylvania Claysville is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area since 1950. The population was 728 at the 2020 census. Claysville Elementary School, part of the McGuffey School District is ...

, near Pittsburgh. The Mel Blount Youth Home was investigated for the use of corporal punishment in the 1990s.

Legacy

In 1989, Blount was inducted into the

and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted in the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2011. In 1994, he was named to the NFL's 75th anniversary All-Time team. In 1999, he was ranked number 36 on ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. Blount has two daughters, Shuntel and Tanisia, and five sons: Norris, Dedrick, Akil, Jibri, and Khalid. His son Akil played college football at

Florida A&M Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...

and was signed as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

. Jibri played college basketball at Cleveland State before transferring to play for North Carolina Central University. His youngest son, Khalid Blount, is a football player who was ranked as a two-star recruit by Rivals before attending

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Gh ...

. Blount currently resides in Buffalo Township, northeast of Pittsburgh, on a farm that includes the site of his former youth home.

Early life

Playing career

After the NFL

Legacy

References

External links