Born in Beetown, Wisconsin, in 1899, Blackbourn attended high school in Lancaster and played college football at Lawrence College in Appleton, under head coach Mark Catlin, Sr. He arrived on campus in 1918, but left after a semester to work on the family farm for several years, then returned to school.[4] He earned "all-state" honors three times for the Vikings and also was a catcher on the baseball team. While finishing his degree at Lawrence, he coached the Vikings' freshman football team in the fall of 1924.
In March 1948, Blackbourn became the backfield coach at Wisconsin under thirteenth-year head coach Stuhldreher, who resigned in December.[5] With a new staff at UW for 1949 under Ivy Williamson, Blackbourn moved over to Marquette University in Milwaukee as the line coach under longtime head coach Frank Murray,[6] who stepped down after the season for health reasons and was succeeded by Blackbourn in 1950.[7][8][9] In 1953, Marquette posted a 6–3–1 record, their best in over a decade.
Green Bay Packers
Succeeding Gene Ronzani as head coach of the Green Bay Packers, Blackbourn was hired in January 1954.[10][11] The franchise's third head coach, he had a 17–31 (.354) record in four years, with no post-season appearances, as the only scheduled playoff then was the NFL title game. Requested to resign after a disappointing 3–9 campaign in 1957, he refused and was fired in January 1958.[2][12][13] He had a year remaining on a five-year contract, at $25,000 annually, and backfield coach Ray McLean was promoted to head coach.[14][15]
After the dismissal by the Packers, Blackbourn became the head coach at Carroll College in Waukesha for a single season in 1958, and led the Pioneers to a 6–2 record.[16]
Return to Marquette
The sixteenth head coach at Marquette from 1950 through 1953, Blackbourn returned in 1959 to lead the program for its final two seasons.[17] His record there over six seasons was 24–30–4 (.448), which is third in total wins and twelfth in winning percentage.
Later life and death
After the Marquette football program was discontinued in December 1960,[18][19][20][21] Blackbourn was a scout in professional football for the Packers and others until he retired in 1972.[4][22] He was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978, and died in 1983 in his hometown of Lancaster.[22]