Ray Guy, the first punter to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame, died Thursday. He was 72. Check out what did Ray Guy die from.
Ray Guy : Death | What did die from | Hall of Fame
Guy attended Thomson High School in Thomson, Georgia, where he was a four-sport star.
Playing quarterback, safety, linebacker, and tailback, aside from kicking and punting duties, Guy led Thomson to the Georgia Class A state football championships in 1967 and 1968.
Guy averaged 49.7 yards per punt in 1968. Playing basketball, Guy scored 39 points in a Thomson basketball game the day after the 1968 state championship football game, with no practice.
In baseball, Guy pitched a 15-inning scoreless game for Thomson in the state playoff semifinals in 1969.
Ray Guy Death
Raiders legend Ray Guy, considered one of the greatest punters in NFL history, died on Thursday at the age of 72 after a lengthy illness, his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi announced.
Guy played 14 seasons in the NFL, all with the Raiders, who made him a first-round pick in the 1973 draft.
“Ray Guy was a football player who punted,” the late John Madden said in 2014 before he presented Guy for induction into the Hall of Fame.
Guy was known for his hang time on punts and was named to seven Pro Bowls, was a six-time first-team All-Pro and was a part of three Super Bowl teams with the Raiders. He was also named to the 1970s All-Decade team and the NFL’s 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time teams.
His kicks went so high that one that hit the Superdome scoreboard 90 feet above the field in a Pro Bowl helped put “hang time” into the football vernacular.
His ability to pin the opponent deep with either high kicks or well-positioned ones was a key part of the success for the great Raiders teams of the 1970s and 80s.
“It was something that was given to me. I don’t know how,” he said. “I’m really blessed in that category. It’s something I really appreciate and I advanced it and I made it into something great.”
What did die from
Ray Guy died on November 3, 2022, after battling a lengthy illness. He was 73 years old.
A member of both the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame, Guy became the first punter inducted into Canton, Ohio, when he was enshrined in 2014.
“Fittingly, much was written when Ray Guy was enshrined in Canton about how his election as the first true punter created a “full roster” of players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Too often overlooked, however, was the man behind his powerful right leg,” Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said in a statement.
“Ray was a warm, humble Southern gentleman who represented the game, the Raiders organization and the Hall of Fame with dignity and class at all times.
“A truly gifted athlete, he could have been a star in Major League Baseball or pro basketball. Fans of the NFL thank Ray for choosing to focus on football.”
Guy was the 23rd overall pick in the 1973 NFL Draft. An immediate star, Guy was named to his first of six consecutive Pro Bowls during his rookie season. He was an All-Pro each season from 1976-78 before earning his seventh Pro Bowl nod in 1980.
Ray Guy Hall of Fame
With his induction to the Hall of Fame on August 2, 2014, he became only the second pure kicker (after Jan Stenerud) and the first pure punter to be so honored.
Ray Guy became the first punter ever selected in the first round of a National Football League draft when the Oakland Raiders tapped him as the 23rd player chosen in 1973. The 6-3, 195-pounder from Southern Mississippi spent his entire 14-season, 207-game career with the Raiders.
His career punting average was an excellent 42.4 yards and he averaged more than 40 yards 13 of his 14 seasons. The only time he fell below the 40-yard average mark came during the strike shortened (9 games) 1982 season, when he averaged 39.1 yards.
Only three of his 1,049 punts were blocked and he ranked second all-time at the time of his retirement by punting 619 straight times without a block in a period from the 1979 season until the end of his career in 1986.
Guy led the NFL in punting in 1974, 1975, and 1977 and finished second three times and third once. A veteran of 22 post-season games, he added 111 punts for a 42.4 average to his career totals. He played in seven Pro Bowls and was named All-Pro six times and All-AFC seven times.
His top seasonal average – 45.3 yards on 69 punts – was recorded in his rookie season. His longest punt in the NFL was a 74-yarder against Denver in 1977. In the 1980 AFC Championship Game, he boomed a 71-yarder against San Diego.
Besides being a long-distance punter, Guy specialized in putting opponents in poor field position with his pinpoint punts.