Ray Guy
- Oakland Raiders (1973-1981)
- Los Angeles Raiders (1982-1986)
- 7 × Pro Bowl ( 1973-1978, 1980)
- 8 × All- Pro ( 1973-1980 ) 1st and 2nd team
- 3 × Super Bowl champion (XI, XV, XVIII)
- 3 × AFC Champion
- NFL 75th Anniversary All- Time Team
- NFL 1970s All- Decade Team
- Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame (1994 )
- College Football Hall of Fame (2004)
- Georgia Sports Hall of Fame (1997)
- National High School Sports Hall of Fame (2004)
- Southern Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame (1978 )
- Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame (2002)
- Pro Football Hall of Fame (2014)
William Ray Guy ( born December 22, 1949 in Swainsboro, Georgia ) is an American former American football player at the position of the Punters. He played 14 years for the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League ( NFL) and won three Super Bowls with them (Super Bowl XI, XV and XVIII).
Youth
Born in Swainsboro Ray Guy grew up in Thomson, Georgia, and attended high school there. At school he played football, baseball and basketball. With his football team he won twice the state championship of Georgia. Also as a basketball player, he was successful and was elected to the state selection. For his athletic achievements, he was honored by his school a total of 16 times.
Playing career
College
Ray Guy studied from 1970 to 1972 at the University of Southern Mississippi. He played at the " Golden Eagles " College Football and baseball. For the football team, he ran as a defensive back, punter and kicker. In all three years of study he was voted the league selection in 1972 he was elected to the All- American. In the same year he participated in various college tryouts. Even as a baseball player made Guy nationwide attention. The Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals and the Atlanta Braves had a strong interest in signing of Guy. This rejected all offers and preferred a career in football.
NFL
Guy was in the first round, selected by the Oakland Raiders in the 1973 NFL Draft as the 23rd player. This guy is so far the only punter, who was signed in the first round Draft. The Raiders were under their Head Coach John Madden with players like Gene Upshaw, Willie Brown and Jim Otto is a top team in the NFL. Below him he could win his first Super Bowl in 1976. After a season with 13 wins in a defeat that Raiders first the AFC Championship Game won against assisted by Chuck Noll Pittsburgh Steelers with 24:7. In Super Bowl XI, the team of Guy had to play against the Minnesota Vikings, who were beaten with 32:14. In 1979 Tom Flores the coach of the Raiders. With him Guy still won the Super Bowl twice. After a 33:27 victory over the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship Game 1980, the team went to Oakland in Super Bowl XV against the Philadelphia Eagles, who had to leave with a 27:10 defeat the playing field.
1982 moved the Raiders to Los Angeles. The team remained a top team in the NFL. They won in the following year the Super Bowl XVIII. First, the San Diego Chargers were defeated in the AFC Championship game with 30:14 before the Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs remained chance against the Raiders in their 38:9 defeat.
After the 1986 season, Ray Guy ended his career. He was in the years 1974, 1975 and 1977, with 42.2, 43.8 and 43.3 yards average latitude of statistically best punter in the league. In 1992, he was the first time a female candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. By 2010, followed by eleven other nominations for inclusion in the Hall of Fame and it took until the end of the 2013 season until the first punter has been inducted into the Hall of Fame with him.
Honors
Ray Guy played seven times in the Pro Bowl eight times and was voted All- Pro. He is a member of the NFL 75th Anniversary All- Time Team, NFL 1970s All- Decade Team, in the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, the National High School Sports Hall of Fame and in the Southern Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, as well as in the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame. 2014 Ray Guy was the first punter taken in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.