Blair Kiel
No. 5, 6, 10, 16 | |||||||
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Position: | Quarterback | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Columbus, Indiana, U.S. | November 29, 1961||||||
Died: | April 8, 2012 Columbus, Indiana, U.S. | (aged 50)||||||
Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 211 lb (96 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Columbus East | ||||||
College: | Notre Dame | ||||||
NFL draft: | 1984 / Round: 11 / Pick: 281 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR · ArenaFan.com |
Blair Armstrong Kiel (November 29, 1961 – April 8, 2012) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL), Canadian Football League (CFL), and Arena Football League (AFL). He was a four-year starting quarterback and punter in college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 1980 to 1983. He was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1998. Kiel worked as an advisor to corporate real estate clients in the Indianapolis area. He retired to start a non-profit organization to help young athletes plan for when their athletic careers are over.
College
Kiel attended Columbus East High School in Indiana, where he was rated the #3 quarterback in the nation by Parade. Coach Dan Devine offered him a scholarship to the University of Notre Dame, where Kiel earned the starting quarterback job during his freshman year, four games into the 1980 season. The team achieved a 9-0-1 record and the #2 ranking before closing the season with losses at USC (3-20) and to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl (10-17).
Kiel went on to become the sixth all-time leading passer for Notre Dame, and holds the record for the team's longest pass play—a 96-yard bomb to Joe Howard against Georgia Tech in 1981. In his final game, he led his unranked team to victory over 13th-ranked Boston College in the Liberty Bowl.
Professional career
Kiel was selected by the
Personal
Kiel resided in the Fishers area with his fiancé Lisa and her son. Blair worked as a private quarterback coach. He died of a heart attack at Columbus Regional Hospital on April 8, 2012, at the age of 50.[1]
Kiel's nephew, Gunner Kiel, played college football for Notre Dame and Cincinnati. His brother, Kip, played for Butler; another nephew, Drew, played at Illinois State; a third nephew, Dusty, played at Indiana.[2]
References
- ^ "Ex-East, Notre Dame Star Blair Kiel Dies at 50". The Republic. April 8, 2012. Archived from the original on April 11, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
- ^ Long, Corey (April 27, 2011). "Gunner Kiel gets home schooled". ESPN. Retrieved February 29, 2024.