[1] Blair graduated Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas and briefly attended Prairie View A&M University.

He began his baseball career at the age of 16, playing for a barnstorming team in Mineola, Texas, and went on to join the United States Army, where he became the youngest African American to serve as a first sergeant in the Army during World War II.

He pitched from 1946 to 1951, for teams including the Indianapolis Clowns, Cincinnati Crescents, and was a player-manager for the Dallas Black Giants.

He played against players such as Cool Papa Bell, Satchel Paige, and Hilton Smith.

After retiring from baseball, he became a fixture in the community, running a local newspaper, the Elite News, and organizing golf tournaments and parades.