Blanton Collier, with UK player Lou Michaels,
2016 Ky Pro Football Hall
Former University of Kentucky coach Blanton Collier was among five new inductees named Friday to the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The 2016 class also includes former Kentucky State defensive end Council Rudolph, former UK tackle Warren Bryant, former Eastern Kentucky safety Myron Guyton and former Louisville safety Ray Buchanan.
Also during the induction ceremony, former UK player and U of L coach Howard Schnellenberger will receive the 10th annual Blanton Collier Award for Integrity.
“Kentucky is the only state in the country with a pro football hall of fame,” said Dr. Steve R. Parker, chair of the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame Inc. board of directors. “We’re in a unique position to recognize great accomplishments in football, but also have as our main objective to offer financial assistance to organizations that enrich the lives of children.”
Collier, from Millersburg, Paris High School and Georgetown College, coached UK from 1954-61 and is the last Wildcats coach to post a winning career record (41-36-3) at Kentucky. He went on to coach the Cleveland Browns. He died in 1983.
Rudolph, from Anniston, Ala., played in the NFL for the Houston Oilers, St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1970s.
Bryant, who played at UK from 1973-76, went on to an NFL career that included stops with the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Raiders.
Buchanan, from Chicago, played for the Colts, Falcons and Raiders in a career that ended in 2004.