|
William Ray Guy (born December 22, 1949) is a retired American football punter for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League (NFL).〔(Ray Guy ). nfl.com〕 Guy was a unanimous All-American selection in 1972 as a senior at the University of Southern Mississippi, and was the first pure punter ever to be drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft, when the Oakland Raiders selected him with the 23rd overall pick in 1973.〔() gulflive.com〕 A six-time NFL All-Pro, Guy is widely considered to be the greatest punter of all time and has been a seven-time finalist as a modern era candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On August 21, 2013, he was selected by the Seniors Committee as a finalist for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2014.〔(Pro Football Hall of Fame.com )〕 He was inducted to the Hall of Fame on August 2, 2014, becoming only the second pure kicker (after Jan Stenerud) and the first pure punter so honored. ==Playing success== Guy was the first punter ever to be selected in the first round in the NFL Draft, in 1973. In his 13-year 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. Guy's punts often left opposing offenses pinned in their own end of the field. The statistic for hang time was instituted in the NFL during his career, reportedly because of him. 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.'" In Super Bowl XVIII, Guy punted seven times for 299 yards (42.7 average), with 244 net yards (34.8 average) and planted five of his seven punts inside the 20. Due in part to his effective punting, Oakland easily won the game, 38-9. He was also a 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; for much of his career he was the Raiders' emergency quarterback, replacing kicker-quarterback George Blanda in this position. During the early part of Guy's career, he would occasionally do kickoffs for the Raiders because the aging Blanda no longer had great range. 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. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ray Guy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|