Earl Blaik Earl Henry " Red " Blaik ( February 15 , 1897 – May 6 , 1989 ) was an American football player , coach , college athletics administrator , and United States Army officer . He served as the head football coach at Dartmouth College from 1934 to 1940 and at the United States Military Academy from 1941 to 1958 , compiling a career college football record of 166 – 48 – 14 . His Army football teams won three consecutive national championships in 1944 , 1945 and 1946 . Blaik was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1964 . Early life and playing career . Blaik was born in Detroit , Michigan , the son of William Blaik , a blacksmith and carriage maker who emigrated from Glasgow , Scotland in 1883 . In 1901 the family moved to Dayton , Ohio , where his father became a contractor . He played college football for three seasons at Miami University in Oxford , Ohio under Chester J . Roberts , George Rider and George Little and two seasons at the United States Military Academy at West Point where he became a third - team All - American . Following his graduation in 1920 , Blaik served in the United States Cavalry for two years . After his military service , Blaik married and worked in the construction business with his father . Coaching career . During the 1924 and 1925 seasons , Blaik worked as a part - time assistant coach for Miami University . For a few months in 1926 , he accepted a coaching position on the staff of University of Wisconsin – Madison head football coach George Little . In 1927 , Blaik became a part - time coach at the United States Military Academy until 1930 when he was accepted on the staff as a full - time assistant coach . In 1934 , Blaik was hired as head football coach at Dartmouth College . At Dartmouth he coached for seven seasons and compiled a record of 45 – 16 – 4 , his Dartmouth teams had a 22 - game unbeaten streak from 1934 to 1937 . He coached one Hall of Fame player at Dartmouth , Bob MacLeod . In 1941 , Blaik was tapped to be head football coach for the United States Military Academy . Army had suffered two consecutive losing seasons in 1939 and 1940 , a first since 1906 , and dropped its requirements for its coach to be a serving graduate and that all players meet restrictive height - to - weight limitations . The latter was a condition Blaik made as a requirement for him to accept the position , believing Army to be severely handicapped in the size of its linemen . The United States Naval Academy did not have the same restrictions and the Army surgeon general was persuaded to drop the requirement for football players . At West Point , Blaik coached for 18 seasons compiling a 121 – 32 – 10 record . Blaik ' s Army teams had a 32 - game unbeaten streak from 1944 to 1947 , won consecutive national titles in 1944 and 1945 , and finished second in the nation in 1946 with their record blemished only by a scoreless tie with rival Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium . In 1946 , Blaik was selected as the AFCA Coach of the Year . In 1948 , he became one of the first college coaches to implement a two - platoon system , using players strictly for offense or defense . Blaik was also one of the first coaches to analyze the game play - by - play , charting a team ’ s tendencies on every down with the use of game film . During his tenure at West Point , Blaik coached three Heisman trophy winners , Doc Blanchard in 1945 , Glenn Davis in 1946 and Pete Dawkins in 1958 , as well as a total of 11 Hall of Fame players . Twenty of his former assistant coaches became head coaches in their own right : Paul Amen , George Blackburn , Clarence Boston , Eddie Crowder , Paul Dietzel , Bobby Dobbs , Sid Gillman , Jack Green , Andy Gustafson , Dale Hall , Tom Harp , Herman Hickman , Stu Holcomb , Frank Lauterbur , Vince Lombardi , John Sauer , Richard Voris , Murray Warmath , Bob Woodruff , and Bill Yeoman . Legendary fighter pilot Colonel Robin Olds also served as an assistant coach to Blaik . Dietzel , while at LSU , and Murray Warmath , while at Minnesota , won national championships as head coaches . Gillman , while head coach of the San Diego Chargers won an AFL championship . Lombardi , as head coach of the Green Bay Packers , won five NFL titles and the first two Super Bowl s . During Blaik ' s tenure , the Army team adopted the nicknames " Black Knights " and " Black Knights of the Hudson " , which has now come to refer to all intercollegiate athletic teams at West Point . Among his West Point players , Blaik was known for being a stern and disciplined coach . They nicknamed him " The Colonel . " Later life and death . Blaik resigned as head football coach of Army on January 13 , 1959 to become a vice president at the Avco Corporation . In 1964 , he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . His alma mater , Miami University honored him by induction into the university ' s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1969 . Blaik received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Ronald Reagan in 1986 . Blaik died in 1989 at age 92 in Colorado Springs , Colorado . On September 25 , 1999 , the football field at West Point ' s Michie Stadium was named Blaik Field in his honor . Portrayal in media . In 2005 , ESPN produced a television film called " Code Breakers " about the honor code scandal that plagued Blaik ' s 1951 team . In the film , Blaik is portrayed by actor Scott Glenn .