“B” is for Blanchard, Felix Anthony, Jr. (1924-2009)

“B” is for Blanchard, Felix Anthony, Jr. (1924-2009). Football player, Heisman Trophy recipient. “Doc” Blanchard was in Bishopville. He started playing football as a junior high student in Bishopville. In 1942 he played freshman football at the University of North Carolina. In 1944 he received an appointment to West Point. Blanchard distinguished himself as a fullback on the West Point football teams from 1944 to 1946. He received the Heisman Trophy as the nation’s top college player in 1945—the first junior to gain that recognition. He was named an All-American every year he played at West Point. Following graduation, Blanchard made the U.S. Air Force his career, flying missions as a fighter pilot in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. In 1959 Felix Anthony Blanchard, Jr. was inducted into the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame.