George C. Blankley (October 7, 1918 – December 29, 2016) 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 with ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head basketball coach at Boise Junior College—now

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

—from 1948 to 1962, compiling a record of 206–139. Blankey was also the head football coach at Boise Junior College from the middle of the 1950 season through the 1951 season, assuming the responsibility after Coach

Lyle Smith Lyle Hilton Smith (March 17, 1916 – July 26, 2017) was an American football and basketball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Boise Junior College—now Boise State University&mdas ...

was called into the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during the early part of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Blankley compiled a record of 16–2 as head football coach of BJC. In 1962 was hired as

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

and head football coach at General Beadle State College—now known as Dakota State University—in

Madison, South Dakota Madison is a city in Lake County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 6,191 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lake County and is home to Dakota State University. Geography Madison is located at (44.007734, -97.114738). ...

. He resigned as head football coach following the 1969 season, compiling a record of 27–39–1 in eight seasons. Blankley was born in

Curwensville, Pennsylvania Curwensville is a borough in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States, north of Altoona on the West Branch Susquehanna River. Coal mining, tanning, and the manufacture of fire bricks were the industries at the turn of the 20th century. In 1 ...

, and grew up playing football, basketball, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. He attended the

College of Idaho The College of Idaho (C of I) is a private liberal arts college in Caldwell, Idaho. Founded in 1891, it is the state's oldest private liberal arts college and has an enrollment of over 1,000 students. The college's alumni include eight Rhode ...

, where he played football, as an end, and baseball. Blankey graduated from college in 1941. He played minor league baseball with the Boise Pilots of the Pioneer Baseball League that year before becoming the

and coach at

Kuna High School Kuna High School is a public high school in Kuna, Idaho, the only traditional high school in the Kuna Joint School District #3, located in southwest Ada County, west of Boise and south of Meridian. The school colors School colors (also known a ...

. From 1943 to 1945, he taught physical education at his alma mater and then served as a physical trainer in the United States Marines. In 1948, Blankley was coaching basketball at Caldwell High School in

Caldwell, Idaho Caldwell (locally CALL-dwel) is a city in and the county seat of Canyon County, Idaho. The population was 59,996 at the time of the 2020 United States census. Caldwell is considered part of the Boise metropolitan area. Caldwell is the location of ...

Head coaching record

Junior college football

College football

Notes

References

1918 births 2016 deaths American football ends Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Boise State Broncos football coaches Boise State Broncos men's basketball coaches Boise Pilots players College of Idaho Coyotes baseball players College of Idaho Coyotes football players Dakota State Trojans athletic directors Dakota State Trojans football coaches High school basketball coaches in Idaho People from Connellsville, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Fayette County, Pennsylvania People from Caldwell, Idaho United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II {{1950s-collegefootball-coach-stub