Gregory Allen Blankenship (born March 24, 1954) is an American former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

who played one season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

and 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Early life

Blankenship was born in

Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California, United States, and the second largest city in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the ci ...

and attended

Vallejo High School Vallejo High School is a high school located in Vallejo, California. It is part of the Vallejo City Unified School District and has been in the heart of Vallejo for more than 100 years. It currently serves the west side of the city (west of Int ...

College career

He matriculated at Cal State-Hayward (since renamed California State University, East Bay). As a sophomore, Blankenship was named to the third-team Associated Press small college

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

football team in 1973. In 1974, he was named to the UPI Little All-Coast football team. After his senior season he was named to the Associated Press College Division All-America team as a first-team selection. Blankenship has been inducted into the California State University, East Bay Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Blankenship went undrafted in the

1976 NFL draft The 1976 NFL draft was an annual player selection meeting held April 8–9, 1976, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, New York. The draft lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks making the first two ...

, but was signed by the Oakland Raiders. He played four games for the Raiders before being cut. He was picked up by the Steelers about a month later, primarily to serve as a

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

player. He played for the Steelers in the final six games of the 1976 season. Blankenship was cut by the Steelers prior to the 1977 season. He was picked up in 1978 by the

British Columbia Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blankenship, Greg 1954 births Living people Players of American football from Vallejo, California American football linebackers Oakland Raiders players Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of Canadian football from California Cal State Hayward Pioneers football players