Milbourne King Block, Sr. -- known as King Block (April 11, 1929 – October 6, 2014)
—was an American
college football player and coach. He was the head coach at
Arkansas State College
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from ...
(now ASU) from 1960 to 1962 and amassed a 13–14 record.
[King Block Records by Year]
, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved August 21, 2010.
Early years
Born in
Superior, Nebraska
Superior is a city in Nuckolls County, Nebraska, Nuckolls County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city population was 1,957.
Superior bills itself as the "Victorian Capital of Nebraska", and holds a ...
,
[ Block earned 12 athletic ]letters
Letter, letters, or literature may refer to:
Characters typeface
* Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet.
* Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...
at Twin Falls High School
Twin Falls High School is a public secondary school in Twin Falls, Idaho, one of two traditional high schools operated by the Twin Falls School District.
School history
Twin Falls High School was founded in 1907. Citizens passed a bond in 1909 t ...
in south central Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...
,University of Idaho
The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...
in Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
, where he was a fullback under head coach Dixie Howell
Millard Fleming "Dixie" Howell (November 24, 1912 – March 2, 1971) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He played college football as a halfback at the University of Alabama from 1932 to 1934 and with the Washington Redski ...
.[ He was selected in the 21st round of the ]1951 NFL Draft
The 1951 National Football League Draft was held January 18–19, 1951, at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago. The Baltimore Colts folded after the 1950 season, and the NFL placed their players in the 1951 NFL draft.
This was the fifth year that th ...
by the Detroit Lions. At Idaho, he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is t ...
fraternity,
Coaching career
After a coaching stint at Grangeville High School in north central Idaho,Arkansas State
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
coaching staff as the backfield assistant in 1955, under head coach Gene Harlow
Gene Mitchell Harlow (March 8, 1919 – December 31, 1998) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Arkansas State College, now Arkansas State University, from 1955 to 1957, compiling a record of 15–12 ...
, who had been the guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison ...
s coach at Idaho while Block was in college.[ Block was promoted to head coach in February 1960 and compiled a 13–14 record in three seasons.]quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
."Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
under head coach Bob Devaney
Robert Simon Devaney (April 13, 1915 – May 9, 1997) was a college football coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Wyoming from 1957 to 1961 and at the University of Nebraska from 1962 to 1972, compiling a career record of . ...
.defensive backs coach
In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
Bennie Ellender.Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
, Block joined the staff of new head coach Bert Clark
Robert B. Clark Jr. (February 12, 1930 – December 13, 2004) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Washington State University for four seasons, from 1964 through 1967.
Early life and playing career
Born in Wichita ...
at Washington State
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
in 1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
and remained in Pullman through 1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
.[ He later served as an assistant at Iowa State until 1972. Aside from coaching football, Block also competed in rodeo events and bred ]quarterhorse
The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at ...
s,The Dutch Rub
''Tri City Herald'', April 28, 1964. which he later parlayed into "King Blocks Korral," one of the largest western stores in Iowa.
Death
After a lengthy illness, Block died in 2014 at age 85 in Ozark, Missouri
Ozark is a city in and the county seat of Christian County, Missouri. Its population was 21,284 as of the 2020 census. The 2019 population estimate was 20,482. Ozark is also the third largest city in the Springfield, Missouri Metropolitan Area, ...
; his remains were cremated.[
]
Head coaching record
References
External links
*
Gem of the Mountains
' - 1950 - University of Idaho yearbook - 1949 football season - King Block - p. 217
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Block, King
1929 births
2014 deaths
American football fullbacks
Arkansas State Red Wolves football coaches
Idaho Vandals football players
Iowa State Cyclones football coaches
Nebraska Cornhuskers football coaches
Washington State Cougars football coaches
People from Twin Falls, Idaho
People from Superior, Nebraska
High school football coaches in Idaho
Players of American football from Idaho
Players of American football from Nebraska
Non-traditional rodeo performers