Baby Ray
{{Short description|American football player (1914–1986)}}
{{for|the band|Baby Ray (band)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Baby Ray
| image = File:Buford Garfield "Baby" Ray, Green Bay Packers.jpg
| caption = Ray playing for Vanderbilt
| number = 44
| position = Offensive tackle
| birth_date = {{birth date|1914|9|30}}
| birth_place = Una, Tennessee, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1986|1|21|1914|9|30}}
| death_place = Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 6
| weight_lb = 249
| high_school = Nashville (TN) Central
| college = Vanderbilt
| undraftedyear = 1938
| pastteams =
- Green Bay Packers ({{NFL Year|1938|1948}})
| highlights =
- 2× NFL champion (1939, 1944)
- 4× All-Pro (1939, 1941, 1943, 1944)
- NFL 1940s All-Decade Team
- Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame
- Second-team All-SEC (1937)
| statlabel1 = Games played
| statvalue1 = 116
| statlabel2 = Games started
| statvalue2 = 66
| statlabel3 = Fumble recoveries
| statvalue3 = 6
| pfr = R/RayxBa20
}}
Buford Garfield "Baby" Ray (September 30, 1914 – January 21, 1986) was an American football player who played 11 seasons in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers from 1938 to 1948.
Early life
Ray was born in Una, Tennessee, an unincorporated town east of Nashville. He attended Central High School in Nashville.
College career
Ray played for Vanderbilt University for three seasons, 1935–1937. He was a stand-out at both offensive and defensive tackle, due in part to his tremendous size. Ray stood 6' 6" and weighed over 280 pounds, much larger than nearly all college football players of the day.{{cite web | url=http://www.profootballhof.com/history/2010/1/10/nfls-all-decade-team-of-the-1940s/ | title=NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1940s | publisher=Pro Football Hall of Fame | access-date=2012-12-23}} In his final season with the Commodores, Ray was named a co-captain.{{Cite web | url = https://www.packers.com/history/hof/buford-baby-ray | title = Buford "Baby" Ray | last = Christl | first = Cliff | author-link = Cliff Christl | website = Packers.com | access-date = September 20, 2023 | archive-date = October 3, 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231003152147/https://www.packers.com/history/hof/buford-baby-ray | url-status = live }}
Ray also competed in the shot put while at Vanderbilt.{{cite news | title=Vanderbilt Uncovers Future Shot-Putting Champ -- Maybe | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SIssAAAAIBAJ&pg=3866,3991053&dq=buford-baby-ray&hl=en | newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal | date=1936-04-12 | access-date=2012-12-27}}
Professional career
Ray was not selected in the 1938 NFL draft, and became the subject of a free agent bidding war between George Halas of the Chicago Bears and Curly Lambeau of the Packers.{{cite book | last1=Gulbrandsen |first1=Don | title=Green Bay Packers: The Complete Illustrated History | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QBElA9ipSM8C | access-date=2012-12-23 | year=2007 | publisher=MBI Publishing | location=Minneapolis, MN | isbn=978-0-7603-3505-5 | page=47}} Ray signed with Green Bay, playing the entirety of his 11-year NFL career with the Packers.
Early in his career, Ray shed upwards of 25 pounds from his college playing weight, helping to improve his mobility. Throughout his pro career, Ray typically played at 250-255 pounds.{{cite news | title=The Sports Parade | last1=McGlynn | first1=Stoney | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=r0xQAAAAIBAJ&pg=4930,2390132&dq=buford-baby-ray&hl=en | newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel | date=1939-08-15 | access-date=2012-12-27}}
Ray appeared in the 1940 NFL All-Star Game. He was named to the United Press International All-Pro team four times, once to the First-team (1941) and three times to the Second-team (1939, 1943 and 1944).{{Cite web |title=Baby Ray Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/R/RayxBa20.htm |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference LLC |language=en}}
Ray was a member of the Packers' 1939 and 1944 NFL championship teams.
Retirement
After retiring as a player, Ray returned to Vanderbilt as an assistant coach under head coach Bill Edwards.{{cite news | title=Packers' Baby Ray dies at 71 | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19860122&id=PHxQAAAAIBAJ&pg=2573,6685157 | newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel | date=1986-01-22 | access-date=2012-12-23}} He later became the university's first full-time football recruiter{{cite web | url=http://tshf.net/halloffame/ray-buford-baby/ | title=Ray, Buford "Baby" | publisher=Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame | access-date=2012-12-23}} and also served as the head of the physical education department. Following his tenure at Vanderbilt, he rejoined the Packers organization as a scout.
In 1969, Ray was named to the National Football League 1940s All-Decade Team by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1973 and into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.
Ray died of a heart attack in Nashville on January 21, 1986, at the age of 71 following a hunting trip.{{cite news | title='Baby' Ray dies | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6Z4_AAAAIBAJ&pg=5121,2154057&dq=buford-baby-ray&hl=en | newspaper=The Vindicator | date=1986-01-22 | access-date=2012-12-27}}
Personal life
References
{{reflist}}
{{1939 Green Bay Packers}}
{{1944 Green Bay Packers}}
{{Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame}}
{{NFL1940s}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Baby}}
Category:American football tackles
Category:Green Bay Packers players
Category:Vanderbilt Commodores football players
Category:Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches
Category:Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee