Blaine Elwood Bishop III (born July 24, 1970) is a former professional

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 with ...

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

in 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 ...

who played most notably for the Tennessee Titans. He was drafted by 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 as ...

in the

1993 NFL Draft The 1993 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot Ma ...

Early life

Bishop attended and played at Cathedral High School in Indianapolis - class of 1988. He then attended St. Joseph's College and played football there before transferring to play

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers, Indiana, Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, indust ...

in Muncie, Indiana. At Ball State University, Bishop earned All-Mid-American Conference Second-team choice in 1992 as a senior and 1990 as a sophomore. Named team captain his senior year. Bishop made 243 total tackles, 13 pass breakups, 15 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, one interception, and one blocked kick.

Professional career

Bishop was drafted in the eighth round (214th overall) of the

by the

. Bishop went on to have a successful NFL career, earning

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 ...

status four times in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 2000. He was also a three-time All-Pro selection, in 1995, 1996, and 2000. Bishop was widely recognized as the NFL's premier hitting safety during his tenure with the Oilers/Tennessee Titans. In 1999, the Titans made it to Super Bowl XXXIV in which Bishop started, however they lost to the Kurt Warner-led

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arri ...

. In 2002, he replaced

Damon Moore Damon Moore (born September 15, 1976, in Fostoria, Ohio) is a former American football safety in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oh ...

as the starting strong-side safety with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

, forming a tandem with free safety

Brian Dawkins Brian Patrick Dawkins Sr. (born October 13, 1973) is an American former football safety who played 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at Clemson and was drafted b ...

Personal life

Shortly after retiring from his playing career, Bishop worked briefly at WTVF "NewsChannel 5" in Nashville, Tennessee providing sports commentary, usually as part of Titans post-game coverage. He currently co-hosts a radio show in Nashville called "Blaine and Mickey” with Mickey Ryan on WGFX "104.5 the Zone" from 1 pm to 3 pm central each weekday. He also coaches the defense at Davidson Academy, a Nashville-area private high school. On Tennessee Titans game days, Bishop can be heard as part of the Titans Radio pre-game and post-game broadcast team on WGFX "104.5 the Zone", affiliates of the Titans Radio Network, and at www.titansradio.com. He is represented by KMG Sports Management. Bishop has also been an announcer for the Tennessee high school football state championship games along with former Titans teammate

Kevin Dyson Kevin Tyree Dyson (born June 23, 1975) is a former American football wide receiver of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tennessee Oilers 16th overall in the 1998 NFL Draft. He played college football at Utah. Dyson is best ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop, Blaine 1970 births Living people Players of American football from Indianapolis African-American players of American football American football safeties Houston Oilers players Tennessee Oilers players Tennessee Titans players Philadelphia Eagles players American Conference Pro Bowl players Ball State Cardinals football players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople Ed Block Courage Award recipients