Frank Thomas “Tom” Blanda was the youngest of 12 children born to Michael and Mary Blanda in Youngwood, PA. His parents met on board a ship while immigrating from Slovakia. Fortunately for all Mary had missed sailing on the Titanic.
As the youngest by seven years Tom often played alone using toy soldiers made of his mother’s clothes pins. Tom graduated valedictorian of Hempfield Area High School and planned to follow brother Paul’s footsteps and play football for the University of Pittsburgh. Fortunately, Coach Red Blaik lured him to West Point as a kicker and eventual starting quarterback where he set Academy records and was selected to the All-America Team.
Tom’s football skills caused routine comparisons to brother George, and humor is almost always involved when Tom Blanda stories are told. Tom was on the field with George when the Oilers played the Titans in New York. Late in the fourth quarter Tom was handed the clock controls. He was chagrined when referees whistled the game over and he still had time on the stadium clock. This story is only one in Tom’s repertoire, and as his yearbook states, “The Blanda joke is well known.”
Tom’s physical skills were honed through hard work and mental discipline. One night in the sinks he was witnessed throwing footballs while kneeling. He developed his arm strength for throwing long passes and to pitch on the Army Baseball Team. His mental discipline also paid off in academics as his presence on the USMA dean’s list attests.
Commissioned in Artillery, Tom started a fateful journey across the country to Fort Sill, OK. After visiting his brother George in Chicago, he continued his journey. He stopped at a diner in the little town of Miami, OK and struck up a conversation with the waitress, Brenda Whetstone. That was the beginning of a relationship that continued while Tom was at Fort Sill and Brenda was at the University of Oklahoma. Tom left Fort Sill for the 101st Airborne Division but after a few months made a major decision in his life. He drove back to Oklahoma and proposed to Brenda. They married in 1963 after her graduation. That fall they received orders for the 173d Airborne Brigade in Okinawa, but Tom was also invited to St. Louis, MO to try out for the Cardinals. They were “wined and dined” according to Brenda, and she was seated in the press box while Tom was on the field with the team for game day. He was offered a contract to be their back-up quarterback, but Tom decided his obligation to the Army had priority. It was a decision Tom never regretted, but Brenda had reason to when a year and a half later Tom was in Vietnam. His sense of humor endured, however. When asked by a reporter how he met his wife he joked, “She happened to be at the right place at the right time.”
In 1966, while at the advanced course, West Point asked Tom to scout his home area for football players. Army needed recruiting help during the transition to Coach Tom Cahill. Tom was then sent to RPI for a master’s degree in mathematics before returning to West Point to teach. During these three assignments Tom and Brenda welcomed Juli, Holly, and Katy to their family.
Tom loved teaching math at West Point. He had a reputation for his uniform being covered in chalk dust by the end of every day and for his weird sense of humor in the classroom. This memorable tour at West Point set the stage for Tom’s extremely successful 21-year teaching career.
A second tour in Vietnam as an advisor followed West Point, then assignments to CGSC, an enjoyable tour in Hawaii (where he was a duty officer aboard the PACOM airborne command center), and the Pentagon working classified plans. Tom and Brenda decided to retire to San Antonio, TX and received a final assignment to HQ5AR to close out his military career.
Tom’s love of teaching led to a professorship for 12 years at the University of the Incarnate Word. He continued his technique of weaving corny jokes into mathematical theory and created a math and engineering program for grades 7-10 that was recognized statewide. He grew concerned that too many students were unprepared for college level math. He believed he could help overcome this by moving to the Texas Military Institute, a religious military high school that boasts of many famous alumni, including General of the Army Douglas MacArthur.
He loved teaching at TMI and told Brenda he “felt like I’ve come home.” He worked with each student to assure their success and “danced a jig” in his kitchen on July 14, 2005 when the last round of students’ scores came in positive for advanced placement college math. He went to the driving range to celebrate. There he suffered a fatal heart attack and passed July 21, 2005.
TMI named the flagpole at their football stadium in his honor. Their Class of 2005 dedicated their yearbook to him, and among the most important tributes are personal notes from students and cadets throughout his career. One recently wrote to Brenda that “she found herself using the same crazy jokes that Mr. Blanda had used” and wanted Mrs. Blanda to know what an impact Tom had had on her life.
Tom leaves a wonderful legacy for his daughters and grandchildren—Thomas, Toby, Ruby and Trinity—and his alma mater, of humor, dedication, success, and loving help to others.
Be Thou at Peace.
— Brenda Blanda and Classmates