Matt Blair was an outside linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

 for the Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

 of the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 for all 12 seasons of his career from 1974 to 1985.

Career

Blair was selected out of Iowa State University

Iowa State University

Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...

 by the Vikings in the second round of the 1974 NFL Draft

1974 NFL Draft

The 1974 National Football League Draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams was granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks....

 with the 51st overall selection. Blair quickly established himself as one of the top and speediest linebackers in the NFC

National Football Conference

The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...

, earning Pro Bowl

Pro Bowl

In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...

 honors for 6 consecutive seasons (1977–1982). In addition, Blair was selected All-Pro

All-Pro

All-Pro is a term mostly used in the NFL for the best players of each position during that season. It began as polls of sportswriters in the early 1920s...

 in 1980, All-NFC in 1978 & 2nd Team All-NFC in 1977, 1979 & 1981. He was also an exceptional special teams player, particularly in blocking punts because of his great speed and timing abilities.

Blair appeared in two Super Bowls with the Vikings, Super Bowl IX

Super Bowl IX

Super Bowl IX was an American football game played on January 12, 1975 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1974 regular season. It would be the last pro game at legendary Tulane Stadium...

 (1974 season) and Super Bowl XI

Super Bowl XI

Super Bowl XI was a football game played on January 9, 1977 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1976 regular season...

 (1976 season), losses respectively to the Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

 and the Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. Blair was injured most of the 1974 and 1975 seasons, not starting in the Vikings' NFC championship game win over the Los Angeles Rams in the 1974-75 NFL playoffs or in the Super Bowl. But he participated in special teams play in Super Bowl IX

Super Bowl IX

Super Bowl IX was an American football game played on January 12, 1975 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1974 regular season. It would be the last pro game at legendary Tulane Stadium...

, blocking Bobby Walden

Bobby Walden

Robert Earl Walden was a punter with a 14 year career in the National Football League from 1964 to 1977. He was a part of the Pittsburgh Steelers' Super Bowl IX and Super Bowl X winning teams....

's punt, recovered by Terry Brown (American football) in the endzone, the Vikings' only points all day, as they missed the extra point

Extra Point

Extra Point is a twice-daily, two-minute segment on ESPN Radio that covers generic sports-related topical news and opinion. The AM edition airs Monday through Saturday at various times between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, and the PM edition airs Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET...

. He was a vital part of the Vikings' 1976 season of 11 wins, 2 losses, and 1 tie, second in the NFL in least points allowed (176 points, 12.6 points per game). In particular, Blair recovered 5 fumbles and intercepted 2 passes from his linebacker position with Jeff Siemon

Jeff Siemon

Jeffrey Glenn Siemon is a former professional American football player and an inductee in the College Football Hall of Fame....

 in the middle and Wally Hilgenberg

Wally Hilgenberg

Walter Hilgenberg was a professional American football player.Hilgenberg was born in Marshalltown, Iowa in 1942. His family moved to Wilton where he grew up and graduated from Wilton High School....

 on the opposite side. The Vikings defeated the Rams again in the NFC championship game of the 1976-77 NFL playoffs, when Blair recovered 2 fumbles.