Ray Guy is a Definite Football Hall of Famer

Maybe it's me, but I just don't understand how a player who was possibly the best ever at his given position, not to mention, an amazingly respectable citizen who has never made any off-the-field waves in his career, doesn't end up being honored in the Hall of Fame for the excellence he displayed for nearly two decdes.

I must also add that, if ever there were a player who deserved to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, it is the incomparable Ray Guy. Unfortunately, the folks who vote on the Hall of Fame candidates obviously don't share the same sentiment and have never really held punters in high regard, although their value is more indisputable today than ever.

Having said that, here is everything you've ever wanted to know about one of NFL's greatest punters of all-time, Ray Guy.

Guy was born on December 22, 1949 in Swainsboro, Georgia. In addition to teaching himself to both, punt and place-kick for Thomson High School, Guy was also an outstanding thlete who played quarterback and free safety on Thomson teams that won two consecutive state championships.

After a spectacular collegiate career at the University of Southern Mississippi where he led the NCAA in punting in 1972, the Oakland Raiders made the unprecedented decision to select Guy with their first round (23rd overall) draft pick in the 1973 draft, making Guy the first and only punter in NFL history to be drafted in the first round.

During his 14-year professional career with the Raiders, from 1973-1986, Guy averaged 42.4 yards per punt and excelled at pinning the opposing team inside the 20-yard line.

While Guy was certainly not a physically imposing player, standing 6'-3" and 200 pounds, his leg strength was dowmright legendary. The now popular phrase, "hang time" is believed to have been created due to Guy's booming kicks.

Former Raiders head coach, John Madden, swears tp this very day that he once witnessed Guy punt the ball 120 yards in practice - from one end zone out the back of the opposite end zone. When the Raiders occassionally played in domed facilities, Guy's punts often struck the roofs of the stadiums. Guy's most famous punt came 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 amazing strength of his kicking leg, Madden also credits Ray Guy with throws of over 80 yards, exceeding those of any of the Raiders' regular quarterbacks. In fact, Guy was the Raiders' third-string quarterback for several seasons.

Guy was also a key member of three Super Bowl-winning Raiders teams: (Super Bowls XI, XV, and XVIII. Arguably, his best performance was in Super Bowl XVIII against the Washington Redskins. When the Raiders offense faltered just outside the range of placekicker Chris Bahr, Guy, known for his power, showed a great deal of finesse by booting a 27-yard punt that pinned the Washington Redskins on their own 12-yard line late in the first half. On the very next play, the Raiders' Jack Squirek intercepted Washington quarterback Joe Theismann and returned it for a touchdown that gave them a 21-3 halftime lead. The Raiders would eventually win 38-9, but what went forgotten in the overpowering performance that day waas Guy's own spectacular performance.

7 punts for 299 total yards, including 244 net yards and 5 punts inside the Skins' 20-yard line.

For 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. Guy also had 210 punts inside the 20-yard line,not counting his first three seasons, when the NFL did not keep track of this statistic.

Guy led the NFL in punting three times and had a streak of 619 consecutive punts before ever having one blocked.

He also holds the career record of 111 career punts in postseason games and had five punts of over 60 yards during the 1981 season alone. Guy was selected to seven Pro Bowl teams, and in 1994, he was named the punter on the National Football League's 75th Anniversary Team.

Guy has been inducted into both the Mississippi and Georgia Sports Halls of Fame, and many feel, like myself, that he is undeniably worthy of induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In 1994, he was the first pure punter to be nominated for enshrinement, which prompted, Joe Horrigan, the historian of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, to once comment, "He's the first punter you could look at and say: 'He won games.'"

In 2000, the Greater Augusta Sports Council instituted the Ray Guy Award, to be awarded to the nation's best collegiate punter. The statue itself was created by an Augusta, Georgia orthopaedic surgeon named John Savage, Jr., who sculpted a representation of Ray Guy in clay, and hand-carried it to a Florida foundry where it was cast into bronze.

In 2005, Guy helped organize and participated in two-day kicking camps, held throughout the United States, for high-school punters and placekickers. 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.

Here are some of the most memorable words ever uttered about the incomparable Ray Guy.

"I was never much for hang time until we got Ray. But then we started clocking how long his punt hung in the air. Sometimes he kept it up there as long as six seconds!"-- John Madden former Raider Coach

"Normally Chicago Bulls basketball superstar Michael Jordan is synonymous with hang time. But before Jordan, it was (Ray) Guy." -- Quwan Spears, Sacramento Bee

"The best punter I've ever known." -- John Madden former Raider coach, Professional Sportscaster

"He's only the greatest kicker who ever lived." -- Curley Hallman Southern Mississippi Head Coach

"Ray Guy was the only draft choice our coaches and scouts agreed on unanimously" -- John Madden former Raiders Coach, Professional Sportscaster

"Few people can say they were the best ever at what they did. Ray Guy retired with that satisfaction." -- Chuck Abadie, The Hattiesburg American

"That thing had 'Ray Guy' hang time." -- ESPN Sportscaster, Chris Berman

"Our offensive coaches wanted Ray Guy, our defensive coaches wanted Ray

Guy, and the head coach really wanted Ray Guy." -- John Madden, former Raiders Coach, Professional Sportscaster

"A helluva athlete, the best ever to play his position in the history of the game." -- Al Davis, Oakland Raiders Owner

"Those who earn their living in pro football say he's the finest punter in the history of the world." -- The Sporting News

Think back over the history of any sport. Very often there has been one guy who stood out above the superstars - just as (Ray) Guy stands out in punting. It just happens." -- Tex Schramm, Former Dallas Cowboys President.

Once again, maybe it's me, but I just don't understand how the NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame can not honor the immense contributions of the amazing Ray Guy. You would think that the above quotes from some of the most notable figures in football history would weigh heavily on the minds of those who vote on the Hall of Fame candidates each year. However, that is apparently not the case, which for Guy and those who support his induction - is a complete travesty - and one that needs to be corrected immediately.