Joseph F. Blair (May 12, 1923 – November 15, 1995; written as joe f. blair) was an American sports publicist for the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

and the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

of 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 ...

Biography

A native of

Freeport, Pennsylvania Freeport is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated along the Allegheny River in the southwestern corner of the county. The population was 1,736 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

, Blair graduated from Freeport High School in 1941. He served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

for three years as a

tail gunner A tail gunner or rear gunner is a crewman on a military aircraft who functions as a gunner defending against enemy fighter or interceptor attacks from the rear, or "tail", of the plane. The tail gunner operates a flexible machine gun or au ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. During a mission, he lost part of a finger from combat wounds and received the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

. Blair attended the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

after the war and later transferred to the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. He was a member of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...

fraternity. In 1950, the University of Maryland hired Blair as its

sports information director A sports information director is a type of public relations worker who provides statistics, team, and player notes, as well as other information about a college or university's sports teams to the news media and public. Abbreviated as "SID," sports ...

. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' credited him with publicizing the 1953 Maryland Terrapins football team with the voters for national championship selection, many of whom were unable to see the team firsthand. In 1962, Blair left Maryland to work for the

as the club's publicity director. Blair returned to the University of Maryland in 1983 as an assistant sports information director for Jack Zane. The

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

honored Blair with the Marvin "Skeeter" Francis Award for service in 1993. Blair developed a reputation for being protective of Maryland's players. He persuaded senior quarterback John Kaleo to speak to the media for the first time a week before the season. According to Blair, "The kid had never played a full game at Maryland ... I said, 'Look, son, if you play a bad game, these reporters are going to destroy you. You better go out and make as many friends as you can, in case you don't become a star.'" Blair suffered a stroke on a flight to attend the Maryland–

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

football game on October 27, 1995. He was hospitalized in

Allegheny General Hospital Allegheny General Hospital is a large urban hospital located at 320 East North Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is part of the larger Allegheny Health Network. History Allegheny General Hospital, also known locally by the acronym "AGH", i ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, where he died on November 15, 1995. During his hospitalization, Maryland dedicated its game against

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

to Blair, which it won, 30–13, to secure its first winning season since 1990. Blair spelled his name in all lowercase letters on news releases. He once told ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'', "Don't you write about this in the paper. If you're going to get the space, give it to some deserving kid." Eighteen children were named in honor of Blair by his friends. According to ''The Sun'', he never forgot the name of any of Maryland's football or

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

players. The press box at

Byrd Stadium SECU Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park, University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. It is the home of Maryland Terrapins football and Maryland Terrapins men's lacrosse, men's l ...

was named the Blair–Zane Media Work Area partly in his honor in 1991. In November 1996, the University of Maryland established the Joe F. Blair Memorial Scholarship Fund in his memory.Joe F. Blair Memorial Scholarship Fund
University of Maryland, retrieved October 9, 2011. The

University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame The University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1982 by the M Club Foundation to honor student-athletes, coaches, and administrators who made significant contributions to athletics at the University of Maryland, College Park, U ...

inducted Blair in 2005.Maryland Athletics Walk of Fame and History
, University of Maryland, retrieved October 9, 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Joe F 1923 births People from Freeport, Pennsylvania United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces soldiers University of Pittsburgh alumni University of Missouri alumni Washington Redskins personnel Maryland Terrapins athletic directors 1995 deaths