This article is about the punter. For Humorist, see Ray Guy (humorist).
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William Ray Guy (born December 22, 1949) is a retired American footballpunter for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders.[1] Coming from the University of Southern Mississippi, he was the only pure punter ever to be drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft when the Oakland Raiders selected him in 1973. He is considered one of the best punters of all time, and was
the first pure punter nominated for the professional football Hall of Fame. However, as of 2013, he is still not voted into the Hall of Fame.
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Ray Guy was the first and only punter ever to be selected in the first round in the NFL Draft as of 1973.
Ray Guy retired in 1986. During his career, Guy:
Played in 207 consecutive games
Punted 1,049 times for 44,493 yards, averaging 42.4 yards per punt, with a 33.8 net yards average
Had 210 punts inside the 20 yard line (not counting his first 3 seasons, when the NFL did not keep track of this stat), with just 128 touchbacks
Led the NFL in punting three times
Had a streak of 619 consecutive punts before having one blocked
Has a record of 111 career punts in post season games
Had five punts of over 60 yards during the 1981 season
Ray Guy was selected to seven AFC Pro Bowl teams, and in 1994, he was named the punter on the National Football League's 75th Anniversary Team. His trademark was kicking punts that stayed in the air for so long that by the time the punt returner was able to field it, the Raiders' coverage unit had the field covered so well that a return was not possible. The statistic for hang time was instituted in the NFL during his career, reportedly because of him.
He was also an outstanding placekicker at Southern Mississippi, once kicking a then-record 61-yard field goal in a snowstorm during a game in Utah.
In 1972 he kicked a 93-yard punt in a game against the University of Mississippi. After his senior season at Southern Miss, Guy was named Most Valuable Player of the 1973 Chicago College All-Star Game, in which an all-star team of college seniors played the current Super Bowl champion. He was also a starting safety at Southern Miss; during his senior season, he intercepted a USM record eight passes, and was named an All-American defensive back. Guy also played quarterback in his early years and was officially the Oakland Raiders' last-string emergency quarterback, ironically replacing kicker-quarterback George Blanda in this position. During the time that Blanda was still with the Raiders, early in Guy's career, Guy would occasionally do kickoffs for the Raiders because the aging Blanda no longer had great range.
Guy has been inducted into both the Mississippi and Georgia Sports Halls of Fame, the National High School Sports Hall of Fame, and the College Football Hall of Fame, and many feel he is worthy of induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[2] In 1994, he was the first pure punter to be nominated for enshrinement. On April 21, 2008, Guy was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.[3]
Joe Horrigan, the historian of the Pro Football Hall of Fame once said: "He's the first punter you could look at and say: 'He won games.'" Guy's punts often doomed opposing offenses to poor field position.
At the 1976 Pro Bowl, Guy became the first punter to hit the Louisiana Superdome video screen. Officials raised the screen from 90 feet to 200 feet. The NFC team pulled the ball and had it tested for helium; it was filled with regular air.
The Ray Guy Award[]
In 2000, the Greater Augusta Sports Council instituted the Ray Guy Award, to be awarded to the nation's best collegiate punter. Since many collegiate punters nominated for the Ray Guy Award are either former students or work at his kicking camps, Guy himself does not participate in the voting process to avoid accusations of favoritism.
Pro kicking camps[]
In 2005, Ray Guy helped organize and participated in two-day kicking camps, held throughout the United States, for high-school punters, placekickers, and longsnappers. In 2007, the camp was once again held on the campus of Colorado College. He has help from son Ryan Guy.
Personal[]
Guy is married to Beverly Guy. He has two children, Ryan and Amber. His son Ryan works at Harlem Middle School as a coach.
On August 14, 2011, Guy filed for bankruptcy and was forced to put up his Super Bowl rings for auction. [4] The auction of the rings brought in $96,216, slightly higher than the upper estimate of 90K.[5][6]
