Who is Todd Blackledge? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Todd Alan Blackledge

Age: 63 Years, 63 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Cherie Blackledge

father: Ron Blackledge

mother: Linda Saccucci

Born Country: United States

American Football Players American Men

Notable Alumni: Penn State University

U.S. State: Ohio

More Facts

education: Princeton High School, Hoover High School, Penn State University

Recommended For You

Recommended Lists:

American Sportspersons

American Football

Pisces Men

Childhood & Early Life

Todd Alan Blackledge was born on February 25, 1961, in North Canton, Ohio, United States, to Linda Saccucci and Ron Blackledge, who is a former American football player and NFL assistant coach. After his father became the offensive coordinator for the Princeton Tigers football team, the family relocated to Princeton, New Jersey, where he attended Princeton High School in 1975-76.

He returned to his home city of Canton after his father was named the offensive coordinator at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, in 1977. He finished his high school graduation from North Canton Hoover High School in 1979.

He participated in a number of sports, including basketball, baseball and football, and was invited to the BC ALL Stars Basketball Camp as an all-league forward while attending Hoover High. However, there he realized that competition was steep and that his talents were better suited for football, on which game he decided to concentrate.

Continue Reading Below

College Career

Todd Blackledge studied speech communications at Pennsylvania State University as he wanted to pursue a career in sports broadcasting, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a 3.8 grade point average in 1983. He sat out his freshman year at Penn State due to a broken arm, and went on to play as a starter for three seasons under Coach Joe Paterno.

He led the Nittany Lions to a 31–5 record and to the 1982 national championship, where they defeated No. 1 ranking Georgia to win the 1983 Sugar Bowl by 27–23. He threw for 228 yards, including a decisive 4th-quarter 47-yard touchdown to Gregg Garrity, and was named the 'Most Valuable Player' of the game.

Despite early inconsistencies, he improved his stats each year and registered a school record of 22 touchdowns during his senior year in 1982, for which he earned the 'Eric Walker Award'. He won the 'Davey O'Brien Award' for best quarterback in the nation at the end of the season and was named a first team Academic All-American along with three more Penn State players.

Professional Career

Todd Blackledge, only a junior in terms of athletic eligibility, had told 'People' that he would go to the 1983 NFL Draft if he felt that he could be a No. 1 draft pick. He was chosen by the Kansas City Chiefs as the seventh pick in the first round, ahead of Hall of Famer Jim Kelly, Tony Eason, Ken O'Brien, and Dan Marino.

He played five seasons with the Chiefs, primarily as a back-up to Pro-Bowl quarterback Bill Kenney, and starting 24 games, threw more interceptions (32) than touchdowns (26), completing only 49% of his attempted passes. In 2017, he was named the biggest draft bust in the franchise’s history by Adam Teicher, who covers the Kansas City Chiefs for ESPN.

He finished his career at Kansas City with a winning record of 13-11 in games started, and played with the Pittsburgh Steelers for two seasons in 1988-89 before ending his professional career. Playing as a backup to Bubby Brister with the Steelers, he registered 2-3 in games started, finishing his NFL career 15-14 as a starter, throwing for 5,286 yards with 29 touchdowns and 38 interceptions.

Broadcasting Career

Todd Blackledge started his broadcasting career as a sports-talk radio host for WHBC in Canton, Ohio and WKNR in Cleveland. During this period, he also served as an analyst for Indianapolis Colts' preseason games, the Big East Network and ESPN, and worked on the Emmy Award-winning 'Penn State Football Story'.

He joined ABC Sports as a college football analyst in 1994 and became the lead analyst for CBS Sports' college football coverage in 1999. He returned to ESPN as an analyst in 2006 and appeared in several college football events on the network, including 'ESPN College Football Saturday Primetime'.

For the Saturday primetime series on ESPN, he initially joined play-by-play announcer Mike Patrick and sideline reporter Holly Rowe. A huge foodie, he soon got his own segment titled 'Todd’s Taste of the Town' in 2007, in which he sampled local restaurant dishes, and later launched the website tasteofthetowntodd.com.

He was paired with Brad Nessler and sideline reporter Erin Andrews in 2009, but later appeared alongside sportscaster Sean McDonough and Holly Rowe, and also regularly contributed to 'College GameDay', 'SportsCenter' and ESPN Radio. Due to an emergency, he had filled in for Phil Simms on September 10, 2000, calling the Oakland Raiders and Indianapolis Colts game with Greg Gumbel, on CBS Sports.

Coaching Career

Todd Blackledge, who fell in love with basketball as a child after playing with hoops, became the head varsity basketball coach at his alma mater Hoover High School in North Canton, Ohio, in April 2014. He subsequently told reporters, "Basketball was my favorite sport, baseball might’ve been my best sport, and I made a career out of football."

While he had mentioned that his broadcasting career at ESPN would not affect his coaching career, he finally resigned from his position in March 2018 stating that the position needed "someone with a singular focus".

Family & Personal Life

Todd Blackledge is married to Cherie Blackledge, whom he first met in Kansas City, and with whom he has four children. The family lives in the village of Hills & Dales in Jackson Township in Ohio.

He was inducted into the 'Academic All-America Hall of Fame' in 1997 and received the prestigious 'NCAA Silver Anniversary Award' in 2008. He was honored with Penn State's 'Distinguished Alumni Award' on June 5, 2009, and is on the Board of Visitors for Penn State's Center for Sports Journalism.

Trivia

In the early 1970s, Todd Blackledge's father Ron and fellow player and coach Pat Narduzzi's father Bill Narduzzi were assistants on head coach Fran Curci's staff at the University of Kentucky. During this period, the two used to box in the garage at Blackledge's home in Lexington.

Todd Blackledge Biography