Forrest Blue

{{Short description|American football player (1945–2011)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Forrest Blue

| image = Forrest Blue 1975.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Blue, {{circa}} 1975

| number = 75, 50

| position = Center

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1945|9|7}}

| birth_place = Marfa, Texas, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|7|16|1945|9|7}}

| death_place = Carmichael, California, U.S.

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 6

| weight_lb = 261

| high_school = Chamberlain
(Tampa, Florida)

| college = Auburn (1965–1967)

| draftyear = 1968

| draftround = 1

| draftpick = 15

| pastteams = * San Francisco 49ers ({{NFL Year|1968|1974}})

| highlights =

| statlabel1 = Games played

| statvalue1 = 148

| statlabel2 = Games started

| statvalue2 = 82

| statlabel3 = Fumble recoveries

| statvalue3 = 5

| pfr = B/BlueFo00

}}

Forrest Murrell Blue Jr. (September 7, 1945 – July 16, 2011) was an American professional football center who spent eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the San Francisco 49ers from 1968 to 1974 and the Baltimore Colts from 1975 to 1978.

Early life

Blue was born in Marfa, Texas on September 7, 1945. He spent his teenage years in Tampa, Florida where his family moved after his father, a United States Army captain, retired there. A 1963 graduate of George D. Chamberlain High School, he made the National Honor Society and starred on the varsity teams in football, baseball, track and basketball. He was a member of the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Class AA football champions in 1961. He eventually was inducted into the Tampa Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and named the sixth-best football player ever from Hillsborough County, Florida by the St. Petersburg Times in 1999.[http://tampabayonline.net/reports/top100/no21.htm Pugliese, Nick. "Tampa Bay's All-Century Team: No. 21 Forrest Blue," The Tampa Tribune.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426071057/http://tampabayonline.net/reports/top100/no21.htm |date=April 26, 2012 }}{{Cite web |url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/obituaries/chamberlain-star-forrest-blue-went-on-to-shine-in-the-nfl/1182156 |last=Meacham |first=Andrew |title=Chamberlain star Forrest Blue went on to shine in the NFL |work=St. Petersburg Times |date=July 24, 2011 |access-date=December 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040616/http://www.tampabay.com/news/obituaries/chamberlain-star-forrest-blue-went-on-to-shine-in-the-nfl/1182156 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead}}

College career

Blue was a three-year letterman as a center for the Auburn Tigers from 1965 through 1967 under head coach Ralph Jordan.{{Cite web |url=http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/aub/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/2011-supplement.pdf |title=2011 Auburn Football Fact Book |website=Auburn University Athletics |access-date=December 25, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110617/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/aub/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/2011-supplement.pdf}} He played for the College All-Stars in its 34–17 defeat to the Green Bay Packers on August 2, 1968.{{Cite web |title=1968 College All-Stars roster |website=mmbolding.com |url=http://www.mmbolding.com/BSR/The_Chicago_All-Star_Game_Roster_1968.htm |access-date=December 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224236/http://www.mmbolding.com/BSR/The_Chicago_All-Star_Game_Roster_1968.htm |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |title=The 1968 College All-Star Game |website=mmbolding.com |url=http://www.mmbolding.com/BSR/The_Chicago_All-Star_Game_1968.htm |access-date=December 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501111042/http://www.mmbolding.com/BSR/The_Chicago_All-Star_Game_1968.htm |archive-date=May 1, 2012 |url-status=dead}}

In May 2013, he was posthumously inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Blue was selected 15th overall in the 1968 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers. Blue helped the team win three straight division titles, and was named an All-Pro team three times.[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1971/allpro.htm "1971 NFL All-Pros" pro-football-reference.com] July 20, 2011[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1972/allpro.htm "1972 NFL All-Pros" pro-football-reference.com] July 20, 2011[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1973/allpro.htm "1973 NFL All-Pros" pro-football-reference.com] July 20, 2011[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1974/allpro.htm "1974 NFL All-Pros" pro-football-reference.com] July 20, 2011

Death

Blue died at an assisted living facility in Carmichael, California of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/20/SPN51KCHLM.DTL "Forrest Blue Dies After Years of Dementia" San Francisco Chronicle] July 20, 2011 He was one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease, which is caused by repeated hits to the head.{{cite news |title=The driving force behind Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) |website=Concussion Legacy Foundation |url=https://concussionfoundation.org/cte-resources/subconcussive-impacts |access-date=July 2, 2023 |archive-date=July 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702123543/https://concussionfoundation.org/cte-resources/subconcussive-impacts |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |author=Ken Belson and Benjamin Mueller |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/20/sports/football/cte-study-concussions-brain-tackle.html |title=Collective Force of Head Hits, Not Just the Number of Them, Increases Odds of C.T.E. The largest study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy to date found that the cumulative force of head hits absorbed by players in their careers is the best predictor of future brain disease. |work= The New York Times |date=June 20, 2023 |access-date=July 2, 2023 }}

References

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