Bennie Blades to Be Inducted Into the College Football Hall of Fame
May 16, 2006
Coral Gables – Bennie Blades, one of the greatest players ever in Miami Hurricanes football history, was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame, announced the National Football Foundation at a press conference at the Marriott Marquis in New York on Tuesday.
Blades is only the third Hurricanes player to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, joining Ted Hendricks and Don Bosseler, and he is the first from the modern era of UM football to be voted into the Hall of Fame. Two UM coaches are also in the Hall of Fame: Jack Harding and Andy Gustafson.
Blades will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame at the 49th annual Awards Dinner on December 5 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. He joins a class of 15 inductees, including Emmitt Smith, Bruce Smith, Mike Rozier, Charlie Ward and coaches Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden. They will all be officially enshrined at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend during ceremonies in summer 2007.
“I am ecstatic,” said Blades, who lives in Sunrise and is now working as a financial advisor. “I couldn’t keep from smiling when I heard the news. When the representative from the College Football Hall of Fame called me, I kept asking him, `Are you sure? Are you sure?’ There have been a lot of great Hurricanes players before me, during my era, and after me, and for me to be blessed with this honor and to be only the fifth person from UM and only the third player, I’m floored. Words can’t describe what it means to me.”
Blades played for the Hurricanes from 1985 to 1987. He was named first-team All-America in both 1986 and 1987 by both Associated Press and United Press International, adding honors as a senior in 1987 from Kodak, The Sporting News, the Walter Camp Foundation and the Football Writers Association of America. He received the Jim Thorpe Award as college football’s best defensive back in 1987. That year, he led UM to the national championship and a 12-0 record. He made 124 tackles, intercepted five passes and was named a consensus All-American. He ended his UM career as the school’s all-time leader with 19 interceptions and 305 interception return yards (both since broken). He also set school records for most consecutive games with an interception (five), total tackles by a safety (286), and unassisted tackles by a safety (155). Blades led the nation in interceptions in 1986 (0.91 per game). He was a first-round draft choice of the Detroit Lions (the third pick overall) in the 1988 NFL draft. He played for the Lions for nine seasons, appearing in 136 games. He finished his career in 1997 with the Seattle Seahawks.
“To sum up my UM career, it was a family,” said Blades, now 39. “That’s why I am honored. We were a tight-knit bunch. We played as one. We lived in the dormitories as one. Anybody on those teams from 1985 to ’87 could have been a star. We pushed each other, and especially with Jimmy Johnson pushing us during practice, the games were easy.”
Johnson, who recruited and coached Blades, said, “Bennie Blades was the most athletic, biggest and strongest defensive back I ever coached. He was a great hitter. He had great instincts and great speed – he had it all. I am really happy for Bennie. With all the great players who have played football at Miami, hopefully we will have a bunch more in the College Football Hall of Fame in the coming years.”
Miami head football coach Larry Coker said: “The Blades family has been a huge part of the football program at the University of Miami for years, with Bennie, Brian and Al having played integral roles in the success the Hurricanes have had. Bennie Blades exemplifies the spirit of the great players and the competitiveness that Miami represents. We are thrilled for Bennie and the entire Blades family.”
Miami athletic director Paul Dee said: “The University of Miami is extremely pleased and proud of the selection of Bennie Blades as the third student-athlete to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The others were Ted Hendricks and Don Bosseler, and they were of prior generations, so Bennie the first player of the modern generation of the last 25 years to be selected to the Hall. The University of Miami sincerely hopes that this is the beginning of the recognition of the great players that have played football during the last quarter century.”
