Career
He served as the head football coach at the University of Denver (1953–1954), Dartmouth College (1955–1970), the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (1971–1976), and Cornell University (1977–1982), compiling a career college football record of 168–112–7. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1987. Blackman was born in De Soto, Iowa on July 7, 1918.
He played football at the University of Southern California, beginning in 1937.
Blackman was named a captain of the freshmen team, but stopped playing after being stricken with polio. He was named an assistant coach at University of Southern California while still an undergraduate student.
After head coaching stints at the San Diego Naval Academy, Pasadena City College, and the University of Denver, Blackman was named head coach at Dartmouth College in 1955, where he was universally known among players and students alike as "The Bullet." In 16 seasons under Blackman, Dartmouth had a record of 104–37–3, including undefeated seasons in 1962, 1965, and 1970. In 1971, Blackman became the head coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
In six seasons with the Fighting Illini, Blackman had a record of 29–36–1.
Blackman returned to the Ivy League in 1977, where he replaced George Seifert as head coach of the Cornell University Big Red until 1982. Blackman retired to Hilton Head, South Carolina and died on March 18, 2000, in Burlingame, California.