Frank J. Blake (September 28, 1883 – June 27, 1948) was an

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

coach and

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

(FBI) agent. He served as the head football at

Mercer University Mercer University is a Private university, private Research university, research university in Macon, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the s ...

from 1908 to 1909. He was a graduate of

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

. His brothers— Dan, Bob, and Vaughn—played football at Vanderbilt, although Frank never lettered for the

Commodores Commodores, often billed as The Commodores, are an American funk and Soul music, soul group. The group's most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer. The members of the group met as m ...

. Blake entered Vanderbilt University in 1900, and learned the game of football from Walter H. Watkins. He began his coaching career in 1903 at the Bowen School, a prep school in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. In 1905, he moved to the Gordon Institute—now known as

Gordon State College Gordon State College is a public college in Barnesville, Georgia, United States. A member of the University System of Georgia (USG), Gordon State's spring 2023 enrollment was 2,846 students. Gordon College became a four-year state college in ...

—in

Barnesville, Georgia Barnesville is a city in Lamar County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,755, up from 5,972 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Lamar County and is just outside of the Atlanta metropol ...

. Blake was hired as football coach at Mercer in 1908. In the summer of 1910, Blake was initially reported to have been selected to succeed Dexter W. Draper as head football coach at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

. However, he was only a candidate for the job, along with Cyril Ballin of

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

Clarence W. Russell Clarence William Russell (? – February 5, 1919) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at West Virginia University in 1907, at the Colorado School of Mines in 1908, and at New Mexico Coll ...

, and Billy Wasmund. Blake returned to Bowen in 1911, where he coached the football team with Willis T. Stewart. Blake joined the FBI in 1919, and became head of its

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

office in 1921. He contributed to the arrest and conviction of Machine Gun Kelly. Blake retired from the FBI in 1942 after suffering a heart attack. He died on June 27, 1948, at his home in

Midlothian, Texas Midlothian is a city in northwest Ellis County, Texas, United States. The city is southwest of Dallas. It is the hub for the cement industry in North Texas, as it is the home to three separate cement production facilities, as well as a steel mil ...

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

* 1883 births 1948 deaths Mercer Bears football coaches High school football coaches in Georgia (U.S. state) High school football coaches in Tennessee Vanderbilt University alumni Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Sportspeople from Ellis County, Texas {{1900s-collegefootball-coach-stub