Doc Blanchard

Felix Anthony "Doc" Blanchard (December 11, 1924 – April 19, 2009) was an American football player and serviceman who became the first junior to win the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award, and was the first football player to win the James E. Sullivan Award, all in 1945. He played football for the Army Cadets, where he was known as "Mr. Inside".

Because his father was a physician, Felix Blanchard was nicknamed "Little Doc" as a boy. After football, he was a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force, and served from 1947 until 1971, when he retired with the rank of colonel.

Early life Blanchard was born on December 11, 1924, in McColl, South Carolina. His father was a doctor and had played college football at Tulane University and Wake Forest University. Because NCAA rules at the time did not allow freshmen to play varsity, Blanchard played with the freshman team.

An all-around athlete, Blanchard served as the placekicker and punter in addition to his primary roles as an offensive fullback and a linebacker on defense. He soon teamed with Glenn Davis on the 1944–45–46 teams (Davis won the Heisman in 1946, the year after Blanchard won it). They formed one of the most lethal rushing combinations in football history. In his three seasons at West Point, Blanchard scored 38 touchdowns, gained 1,908 yards and earned the nickname "Mr. Inside." Teammate Davis earned the nickname "Mr. Outside" and in November 1945, they both shared the cover of Time magazine.

In addition to football, Blanchard was also a member of the Army track and field team, with a shot put championship and a ten-second 100-yard dash in 1945. After he was turned down in for a furlough to play in the NFL, became a fighter pilot, and flew the F-80 Shooting Star. He lived with his daughter Mary and her husband Aaron for the last fifteen years of his life. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living Heisman Trophy winner, and is interred at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.

Honors and memorials Blanchard was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959. —high school alma mater, Saint Stanislaus College prep school in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The trophy, awards and jersey were enshrined in the Brother Alexis Memorial Resource Center on the Saint Stanislaus campus until they were briefly lost to flooding during Hurricane Katrina. The items have since been recovered.

Beginning in 2004 the Rotary presents the Doc Blanchard Award as well as the Glenn Davis Award to the two high school football players participating in the U.S. Army All American Bowl who best exemplify the U.S. Army's high standard of excellence in community service, education and athletic distinction. The Doc Blanchard Award is given to a player from the Bowl's East team, while the Davis Award is given to a player from the Bowl's West team. The first recipient of the Doc Blanchard Award was Ryan Baker.

West Point announced in April 2009, before Blanchard's death, that Blanchard's number 35 would be retired, and it was on October 10 during a home game against Vanderbilt.