Ray Guy
 Ray Guy

Ray Guy (born December 22, 1949 in Swainsboro, Georgia,) was an American football punter with the National Football League's Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders from 1973-1986. He is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest punters in football history.

Mostly a self-taught punter, Ray Guy attended Thomson High School where he also played quarterback, free safety, and placekicker, and lead Thomson to two consecutive state championships.

After a stellar collegiate career at the University of Southern Mississippi (where he led the NCAA in punting in 1972,) the Oakland Raiders, traditionally seen as the renegades of the National Football League for signing veteran players considered to be busts, too small, too slow, past their prime, or troublemakers on other teams, made an unprecedented decision in the 1973 draft by selecting Ray Guy with their first round draft pick. He was the 23rd player taken overall. To date, Ray Guy remains the only punter drafted in the first round.

It proved to be an astute decision. During his 14-year professional career (all spent with the Raiders,) Ray Guy averaged 42.4 yards per punt and was extremely adept at pinning the opposing team behind the 20-yard line. While not physically imposing at 6'-3" and 200 pounds, Ray Guy's leg strength was legendary. The phrase "hang time" is believed to have been created due to Guy's booming kicks. Former Raiders head coach and current broadcaster John Madden swears he witnessed Guy punt the ball 120 yards in practice — from one endzone out the back of the opposite endzone. On those occasions when the Raiders played in domed facilities, Guy's punts sometimes struck the roofs of the stadiums. Arguably, Guy's most famous (or infamous) punt came in a domed stadium during the 1976 NFL Pro Bowl game played at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, when one of his punts struck the gondola containing a camera and television screens attached to the roof of the stadium.

In addition to the strength of his kicking leg, Madden also credits Ray Guy with throws of over 80 yards, exceeding any of the Raiders' regular quarterbacks. In fact, for several seasons, Guy was the Raiders' third-string quarterback.

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 in the 20, 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.

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. After his senior season at Southern Miss, Guy was named Most Valuable Player of the annual College All-Star game, in which an all-star team of college seniors played the current Super Bowl champion. The game has since been discontinued.

Ray Guy has been inducted into both the Mississippi and Georgia Sports Halls of Fame, and many pundits and fans feel he is worthy of induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 1994, he was the first pure punter to nominated for enshrinement.