Mel Blount
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Melvin Cornell Blount (born April 10, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons. A five-time Pro Bowler, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.[1]
Blount played college football for the Southern Jaguars. He is considered one of the best cornerbacks to have ever played in the NFL.[2] His physical style of play made him one of the most feared defensive backs in the game at a time when pass interference rules were less stringent. He founded the Mel Blount Youth Home.
Early life
Blount was born in
Playing career
Blount was the prototype cornerback of his era and a significant reason why the
A Pro-Scouts All-American as both a
Midway through his career however, the rules regarding pass coverage were changed making such harassment of a receiver illegal.[
Blount, who was named the
NFL career statistics
Legend | |
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AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year
| |
Won the Super Bowl | |
Led the league | |
Bold | Career high |
Regular season
Year | Team | Games | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Int | Yds | Y/I | Lng | TD | FR | Yds | Y/F | TD | ||
1970 | PIT | 14 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
1971 | PIT | 14 | 10 | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1972 | PIT | 14 | 13 | 3 | 75 | 25.0 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 35 | 17.5 | 1 |
1973 | PIT | 14 | 14 | 4 | 82 | 20.5 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
1974 | PIT | 13 | 13 | 2 | 74 | 37.0 | 52 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1.7 | 0 |
1975 | PIT | 14 | 14 | 11 | 121 | 11.0 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1976 | PIT | 14 | 14 | 6 | 75 | 12.5 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
1977 | PIT | 14 | 13 | 6 | 65 | 10.8 | 37 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 0 |
1978 | PIT | 16 | 15 | 4 | 55 | 13.8 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1979 | PIT | 16 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0.3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 0 |
1980 | PIT | 16 | 16 | 4 | 28 | 7.0 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 32.0 | 0 |
1981 | PIT | 16 | 16 | 6 | 106 | 17.7 | 50 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1982 | PIT | 9 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1983 | PIT | 16 | 16 | 4 | 32 | 8.0 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 1 |
Career | 200 | 189 | 57 | 736 | 12.9 | 52 | 2 | 13 | 105 | 8.1 | 2 |
Postseason
Year | Team | Games | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Int | Yds | Y/I | Lng | TD | FR | Yds | Y/F | TD | ||
1972 | PIT | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1973 | PIT | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1974 | PIT | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1975 | PIT | 3 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1976 | PIT | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1978 | PIT | 3 | 3 | 2 | 29 | 14.5 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
1979 | PIT | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 |
1982 | PIT | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
1983 | PIT | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
Career | 19 | 19 | 4 | 59 | 14.8 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 |
After the NFL
Following his football career, Blount became Director of Player Relations for the NFL, serving in the position from 1983 to 1990. He also became active in charity work. He founded the Mel Blount Youth Home, a shelter and Christian mission for victims of child abuse and neglect in Toombs County, Georgia in 1983. In 1989, he opened a second youth home in Claysville, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. The Mel Blount Youth Home was investigated for the use of corporal punishment in the 1990s.[4]
Legacy
In 1989, Blount was inducted into the
Blount has two daughters, Shuntel and Tanisia, and five sons: Norris, Dedrick, Akil, Jibri, and Khalid.
His son
Blount currently resides in Buffalo Township, on a 303-acre (1.23 km2) farm that includes the site of his former youth home.[9]
References
- ^ Bradley-Stek, Tara (March 16, 1984). "Mel Blount retires after 14 year career". The Gettysburg Times. AP. p. 13. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
- ^ Bofah, Kofi. "The greatest NFL cornerbacks of all time". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
- ^ a b "Hall of Famers: Mel Blount". The Official Site of the Pro FootballHall of Fame. Archived from the original on September 3, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
- ^ "Delinquent Care". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. April 10, 1993. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
- ^ "All Inductees". BlackCollegeFootballHOF.org. Archived from the original on February 2, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
- ^ Dani Bostick (May 1, 2016). "Akil Blount signs with Miami Dolphins was released and now has been signed the Pittsburgh Steelers". USAToday. Archived from the original on July 8, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- ^ "Jibri Blount - Cleveland State Men's Basketball". Cleveland State Men's Basketball. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- ^ "North Carolina Central Eagles Roster". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
- ^ "Steelers' HOF Mel Blount continues pursuing his passion in retirement". WPXI.com. November 18, 2018. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
External links
- Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
- 75th Anniversary All-Time Team: NFL.com
- Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- Mel Blount at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
- Mel Blount Youth Home