Joe F. Blair

Joseph F. Blair (May 12, 1923 – November 15, 1995; written as joe f. blair) was an American sports publicist for the University of Maryland and the Washington Redskins of the National Football League.

Biography A native of Freeport, Pennsylvania, Blair graduated from Freeport High School in 1941. He served in the United States Army Air Forces for three years as a tail gunner during the Second World War. During a mission, he lost part of a finger from combat wounds and received the Purple Heart. Blair attended the University of Pittsburgh after the war and later transferred to the University of Missouri. He was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. The Washington Post credited him with publicizing the 1953 Maryland Terrapins football team with the voters for national championship selection, many of whom were unable to see the team firsthand. In 1962, Blair left Maryland to work for the Washington Redskins as the club's publicity director. Blair developed a reputation for being protective of Maryland's players. He persuaded senior quarterback John Kaleo to speak to the media for the first time a week before the season. According to Blair, "The kid had never played a full game at Maryland ... I said, 'Look, son, if you play a bad game, these reporters are going to destroy you. You better go out and make as many friends as you can, in case you don't become a star.'"

The press box at Byrd Stadium was named the Blair–Zane Media Work Area partly in his honor in 1991. The University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame inducted Blair in 2005.