Fred Biletnikoff

Frederick Biletnikoff (born February 23, 1943) is an American former professional football player and coach. He played as a wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons and later was an assistant coach with the team. He retired as an NFL player after the 1978 season then played one more season in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Montreal Alouettes in 1980. While he lacked the breakaway speed to be a deep-play threat, Biletnikoff was one of the most sure-handed and consistent receivers of his day with a propensity for making spectacular catches. He was also known for running smooth, precise pass routes. He is a member of both the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1988) and College Football Hall of Fame (1991).

Biletnikoff attended Florida State University, where he played college football for the Florida State Seminoles football team and earned consensus All-American honors after leading the country in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns as a senior. The Fred Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the most outstanding receiver in NCAA Division I FBS, is named in his honor.

Through his AFL and NFL career, Biletnikoff had 589 receptions for 8,974 yards and 76 touchdowns and had a then-league-record 10 straight seasons of 40 or more receptions during a time when teams emphasized running over passing. With the Raiders, Biletnikoff played in the second AFL-NFL World Championship game—retroactively known as Super Bowl II—and in Super Bowl XI, in which he was named the game's MVP in a victory over the Minnesota Vikings. A four-time Pro Bowl selection, he also played two AFL All-Star games, three AFL title games and five AFC championship games.

Early life

Biletnikoff was born and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania,<ref name=pabook>Template:Cite web</ref> the son of Natalie (Karuba) and Ephriam Biletnikoff. All four of his grandparents were Russian immigrants.<ref name=Birchfield>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>1920 United States Federal Census, 1930 United States Federal Census</ref> In Erie, Biletnikoff attended what was then Technical Memorial High School, now Erie High School, whose athletic field now bears his name. In high school, Biletnikoff excelled in football, basketball, baseball, and track.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He was a champion high jumper and earned All-City honors in basketball and baseball.<ref name="Tafur">Template:Cite news</ref> His younger brother Bob was a starting quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes in the mid-1960s.<ref name=bobmi>Template:Cite news</ref>

College career

Biletnikoff making a catch during a game against the University of Oklahoma at the Gator Bowl in 1965

Biletnikoff turned down other notable offers to attend Florida State University in Tallahassee. He missed several games during his first varsity season in 1962 with a broken foot. He played on both sides of the ball his junior season, leading the team in receptions and interceptions. That year, he returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown off a pass thrown by George Mira of the Miami Hurricanes, a record which stood until 1987, when Deion Sanders broke it by one yard.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As a senior in 1964, Biletnikoff led the nation with 1,179 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns, and finished second in receptions (70) and scoring (90).<ref name=collegestats>Template:Cite web</ref> One of his touchdowns came in the first quarter against the Florida Gators, which helped the Seminoles earn their first victory in the in-state rivalry, 16–7.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Seminoles finished the year with a 36–19 victory over Oklahoma in the Gator Bowl, in which Biletnikoff set school records with 13 receptions for 194 yards and four touchdowns.<ref name=Nohe>Template:Cite news</ref> He was a consensus pick for the 1964 College Football All-America Team, receiving first-team honors from four official selectors: the Associated Press,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Central Press Association,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Football Writers Association of America,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Newspaper Enterprise Association.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was Florida State's first consensus All-American in football.<ref name=Nohe/> Biletnikoff compiled 100 receptions for 1,655 yards and 20 touchdowns in his career with the Seminoles, which at the time were all school records.<ref name=collegestats/> While in college Fred also joined the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the end of the third quarter of the January 1st 1965 Gator Bowl, Oakland Raiders coach Al Davis left the pressbox for a position behind the FSU bench. He expected to sign Biletnikoff who the Raiders had drafted in second round of the 1965 AFL draft as soon as the game ended. Lou Creekmur, scout for the Detroit Lions, who owned the NFL rights to Biletnikoff, asked, "No chance for Detroit, Fred?" "No, sir, I've decided to sign with Oakland," replied Fred. The instant the game ended, Davis got the wide receiver's signature on a contract.

Professional career

After graduating from FSU, he was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 1965 AFL draft, 11th overall and by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the 1965 NFL draft, the 39th overall selection. Biletnikoff signed with the Raiders, where he played for fourteen seasons. With Oakland, he was nicknamed "Coyote", and "Doctor Zhivago" because of his Russian heritage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1966, he caught his first touchdown pass, thrown by quarterback Tom Flores, who later became the Raiders' head coach the season after Biletnikoff was released by the team.<ref name=waive>Template:Cite news</ref>

Although he lacked the breakaway speed to be a deep threat, Biletnikoff's precise pass routes and sure hands made him one of the most consistent receivers of his day,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and a favorite target of Raiders quarterbacks Daryle Lamonica and Ken Stabler. "I like catching passes", he explained. "And I like playing outside. I would be lost if I were ever told to do anything on a football field except catch passes."<ref name=notso>Template:Cite news</ref> Through his career he recorded 589 receptions, and had a league record 10 straight seasons of 40 or more receptions from 1967 to 1976,<ref name="Raiders">Template:Cite web</ref> since surpassed by many players. Following the retirement of Charley Taylor, Biletnikoff spent the 1978 season (his last) as the NFL's active leader in career receiving yards, and retired ranked 5th all-time.<ref>Career receiving yards, 1978 leaderboard</ref>

Biletnikoff popularized the use of Stickum,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> an adhesive that many players applied to their hands to assist with catching and gripping the ball. He would apply the substance all over his body and uniform prior to a game, a practice that was later picked up by Raiders cornerback Lester Hayes after Biletnikoff introduced him to it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The use of Stickum was banned by the NFL in 1981.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In his rookie season, Biletnikoff played primarily on special teams. He did not see playing time on offense until the seventh game of the year, against the Boston Patriots, in which he caught seven passes for 118 yards.<ref name=Miller/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His production increased significantly with Oakland's acquisition of quarterback Daryle Lamonica in 1967. That year, he caught 40 passes for 876 yards and five touchdowns and led the league with an average of 21.9 yards per reception. He was invited to play in the 1967 AFL All-Star Game.<ref name=PFR>Template:Cite web</ref> In that year's AFL championship game, Biletnikoff had two receptions for 19 yards in the Raiders' 40–7 blow-out win over the Houston Oilers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In Super Bowl II against the Green Bay Packers, he caught two passes for 10 yards as the Raiders were defeated 33–14.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Biletnikoff recorded his only 1,000-yard receiving season in 1968, when he caught 61 passes for 1,037 yards and six touchdowns. The following season, in 1969 he caught a career-high 12 receiving touchdowns. He was an AFL All-Star for the second time and earned first-team All-AFL honors from the Associated Press, the Newspaper Enterprise Association, Pro Football Writers of America, The Sporting News, Pro Football Weekly, and the New York Daily News.<ref name=PFR/> The AFL merged into the National Football League in 1970. In his first five seasons in the NFL, Biletnikoff was invited to four Pro Bowls.<ref name=Rollow>Template:Cite news</ref>

A highly productive receiver in the postseason, Biletnikoff left the NFL as the all-time leader in postseason receptions (70), receiving yards (1,167), and receiving touchdowns (10) accumulated over 19 postseason games.<ref name=Miller/> He recorded over 100 receiving yards in a postseason five times.<ref name=PFR/> In the 1968 American Football League playoffs, he had 14 receptions for 370 yards and four touchdowns through two games. In the 1976–77 NFL playoffs, Biletnikoff recorded 13 receptions for 216 yards and a touchdown. This included four catches for 79 yards to set up three Oakland scores in the Raiders' 32–14 victory in Super Bowl XI, for which he was named Super Bowl MVP.<ref name=HOF>Template:Cite web</ref>

Biletnikoff was released by the Raiders prior to the 1979 season.<ref name=waive/> After a year off, he played one season in the Canadian Football League for the Montreal Alouettes in 1980. In his lone CFL season, Biletnikoff caught 38 passes, second-most on the team, for 470 yards and four touchdowns.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

NFL career statistics

Legend
	Super Bowl MVP
	Won the Super Bowl
	Led the league
Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	Games		Receiving					Template:Abbr
		Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr
1965	OAK	14	8	24	331	13.8	53	0	0
1966	OAK	10	7	17	272	16.0	78	3	2
1967	OAK	14	9	40	876	21.9	72	5	1
1968	OAK	14	14	61	1,037	17.0	82	6	0
1969	OAK	14	14	54	837	15.5	53	12	1
1970	OAK	14	14	45	768	17.1	51	7	0
1971	OAK	14	14	61	929	15.2	49	9	1
1972	OAK	14	14	58	802	13.8	39	7	0
1973	OAK	14	14	48	660	13.8	32	4	0
1974	OAK	14	14	42	593	14.1	46	7	0
1975	OAK	11	10	43	587	13.7	26	2	0
1976	OAK	13	13	43	551	12.8	32	7	0
1977	OAK	14	14	33	446	13.5	44	5	1
1978	OAK	16	2	20	285	14.3	49	2	0
Career		190	161	589	8,974	15.2	82	76	6

Postseason

Year	Team	Games		Receiving
		Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr
1967	OAK	2	2	4	29	7.3	10	0
1968	OAK	2	2	14	370	26.4	57	4
1969	OAK	2	2	3	70	23.3	31	2
1970	OAK	2	2	8	138	17.3	38	2
1972	OAK	1	1	3	28	9.3	12	0
1973	OAK	2	2	3	23	7.7	8	0
1974	OAK	2	2	11	167	15.2	27	1
1975	OAK	1	0	0	0	—	0	0
1976	OAK	3	3	13	216	16.6	48	1
1977	OAK	2	2	11	126	11.5	18	0
Career		19	18	70	1,167	16.7	57	10

Coaching career and later life

Biletnikoff began his career in coaching soon after his retirement from playing. He served on the coaching staff of Orange Glen High School (1982), Palomar College (1983), Diablo Valley College (1984), Oakland Invaders (1985), Arizona Wranglers (1986), and Calgary Stampeders (1987–88). In 1989, Biletnikoff became wide receivers coach for the Oakland Raiders, a position he held until 2007.<ref name="Dubow">Template:Cite news</ref>

In February 1999, Biletnikoff's daughter Tracey was found strangled to death at age 20 in Redwood City, California.<ref name="Lynem">Template:Cite news</ref> Tracey's boyfriend, Mohammed Haroon Ali, was convicted of first-degree murder in 2012 after admitting he strangled her with a T-shirt at a drug and alcohol treatment center during an argument over whether he had relapsed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was sentenced to 55 years to life imprisonment. Biletnikoff called Ali an "animal" after the sentencing and said his hatred for him would never go away.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2015, Biletnikoff founded Tracey's Place of Hope in Loomis, California, a shelter for domestic violence victims and substance abuse treatment for females ages 14 to 18.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=Morelli>Template:Cite news</ref>

Honors

Biletnikoff was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988.<ref name=Miller>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1999, Biletnikoff was ranked number 94 on The Sporting News' list of the "100 Greatest Football Players".<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> He was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1991. The Fred Biletnikoff Award, awarded annually by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation to the nation's outstanding receiver in NCAA Division I FBS since 1994, is named in his honor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2016, Biletnikoff was named the Walter Camp Man of the Year by the Walter Camp Football Foundation in recognition of his public service and his contributions to football.<ref name=Morelli/>

See also

• List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders

External links

• Template:Profootballhof
• Template:Cfbhof
• Template:Footballstats
• Stats Crew profile