Matt Blair (September 20, 1950 – October 22, 2020) was an American professional football player who was an outside linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) for all 12 seasons of his career from 1974 to 1985. Blair was born in Hilo, Hawaii but his family moved to Ohio when he was in high school. He was recruited by Cincinnati but his academics were not up to standard so he enrolled at Northeast Oklahoma Junior College. Blair walked onto the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M football team and was a 1969 Junior College Championship squad member.
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He earned a half scholarship through football but had to join the basketball team to receive his other half scholarship. Blair was recruited by Florida, Florida State, Alabama, and Iowa State, among others. After a visit by Johnny Majors, Blair ultimately committed to Iowa State. While at Iowa State, Blair was a two-time letter winner. He was a member of ISU’s 1971 Sun Bowl team and was named the bowl’s most outstanding defensive player despite ISU’s loss. After sitting out the 1972 season with a knee injury, he rebounded with an impressive senior campaign in 1973. Blair earned All-America honors, tallying 77 tackles, one interception, and three fumble recoveries.
Blair was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 1974 NFL Draft with the 51st overall selection. Blair quickly established himself as one of the top and speediest linebackers in the NFC, earning Pro Bowl honors for 6 consecutive seasons (1977–1982) and making the NFL All-Rookie Team. In addition, Blair was selected All-Pro in 1980. He was also an exceptional special teams player, particularly in blocking punts because of his great speed and timing abilities. Blair is third in NFL history with 20 blocked kicks. Blair started for the Vikings his rookie season replacing the injured Roy Winston.
Matt Blair’s wife’s name is Mary Beth Blair. He always wanted to keep his personal life private. So not much is known about their relationship. In a 2015 interview with the Star Tribune, then-64-year-old Blair began crying, saying a neurologist told him and his wife, Mary Beth, that his early signs of dementia were likely the result of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain disease linked to concussions. Blair died on October 22, 2020, at the age of 70. His cause of death was not immediately announced, but Blair had been dealing with complications from dementia in recent years.
Matt Blair in a file pic. (image credits: twitter)
