Daniel Bigelow Blake, Jr. (May 22, 1882 – September 7, 1953) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

player and coach.

Early years

Dan Bigelow Blake, Jr. was born on May 22, 1882 in

Cuero, Texas Cuero ( ) is a city in and the county seat of DeWitt County, Texas, United States. Its population was 8,128 at the 2020 census. History The city of Cuero had its start in the mid-19th century as a stopping point on the Chisholm Trail cattle route ...

to Daniel Bigelow Blake, Sr. and Mary Clara Weldon. Dan, Sr. was a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and once president of the Nashville Academy of Medicine.

Playing years

Vanderbilt

Blake was a prominent halfback and end for

Dan McGugin Daniel Earle McGugin (July 29, 1879 – January 23, 1936) was an American football player and coach, as well as a lawyer. He served as the head football coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1904 to 1917 and again from ...

Vanderbilt football The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt University in the sport of American football. The Commodores compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East D ...

teams from

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having been ...

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, a ...

, winning multiple SIAA titles. His two brothers, Bob and Vaughn, also played on those teams. Dan, Bob, and Vaughn were captains of the

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship French cruiser Jean Bart ( ...

, and

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 4 ...

Vanderbilt teams respectively. Dan Blake was selected consensus All-Southern in 1906. At Vanderbilt he was a member of the

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and co ...

fraternity and stood 5 feet 11 and weighed some 165 pounds.

1903

Dan played end in 1903, the same position as his brother Bob.

1904

One writer in

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

still contended Blake, who "played left half for Vanderbilt, '04, being taken from left end, which position he played in '03. End is his position; he is heavy, weighing about 170, is fast, a good tackler, advances the ball well, and is a fair punter."

1906

Dan was captain of the 1906 team, considered one of the school's greatest. Dan made the field goal to tie

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

4 to 4, a score that would remain until the final two minutes saw a Michigan touchdown.

Coaching years

Hopkinsville High

He went on to coach at

Hopkinsville High School Hopkinsville High School is a four-year public high school located in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, with over 1,000 students. It is operated by the Christian County Public Schools school district. History There was controversy in 1925 when the Christi ...

Hopkinsville, Kentucky Hopkinsville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2010 census was 31,577. History Early years The area of present-day Hopkinsville was initially claimed in 1796 b ...

. While there he was manager of the electric light and gas plants of the Kentucky Public Service Company.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Dan American football halfbacks 1882 births 1953 deaths Vanderbilt Commodores football players People from Cuero, Texas Players of American football from Texas All-Southern college football players High school football coaches in Kentucky