Ray Guy, Southern Miss legend and Hall of Fame punter, dies at 72

Growing up around sports in Mississippi means being raised on the legend of Ray Guy, and Southern Miss football coach Will Hall was no exception.

Hall’s favorite tale involves Guy’s exploits with a ping-pong paddle. The Southern Miss icon and Pro Football Hall of Famer had never used one before, the legend says. He stayed up all night learning the game and then won a tournament at Southern Miss the next morning.

“You could play him in ping-pong, bowling, you name it,” Jeff Bower — a longtime Southern Miss football coach and Guy’s former teammate — said in 2014. “Just a natural. He’s the best athlete I’ve ever been around.”

Guy, who excelled on the gridiron and on the baseball diamond at Southern Miss, died Thursday at 72. He had been battling what a university statement described as a “lengthy illness.”

Guy is best known nationally for his exploits as a punter. He became the first punter taken in the first round of the NFL Draft in 1973, when he was selected by the Oakland Raiders.

Splitting his career between Oakland and Los Angeles, Guy was a seven-time Pro Bowler and six-time All-Pro. Reaching three Super Bowls, he averaged over 40 yards per punt in 13 of his 14 professional seasons and once hit a 74-yarder in a game against the Broncos in 1977.

Guy is credited with helping to bring the term “hang time” into the mainstream consciousness, and specialized in placing the opposition in difficult positions with pinpoint punts. In the final three years of his career, Guy pinned opposing teams inside their own 20-yard line 77 times.

Legendary Raiders coach John Madden once called Guy “the best punter I’ve ever known.”

At Southern Miss from 1970-72, Guy was much more than a punter. Also an outstanding defensive back, he’s second on the Golden Eagles’ all-time interceptions leaderboard with 18. His eight picks in 1972 still endure as the most in a single season in school history.

The native of Thomson, Georgia, also served as a placekicker and excelled as a pitcher on the baseball team. Drafted three times by Major League Baseball organizations before ultimately choosing football, Guy threw a no-hitter against William Carey in 1972.

The annual award for the best collegiate punter bears Guy's name, as does the street in front of the Duff Athletic Center on Southern Miss' campus.

"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," Pro Football Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said in a statement. "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 returned to work for Southern Miss prior to 2010 to help the university, founded in 1910, prepare the celebrations for its centennial anniversary. When that was finished, he hung around to help Southern Miss revitalize its M-Club — the letterman’s association.

“He was one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met,” said Jerry DeFatta, who worked closely with Guy as the executive director of USM’s alumni association. “He was just one of those people who always had the ability to see the best in the situation or give you advice that really made things a little clearer for you.”

Guy’s work with the alumni association kept him around Hattiesburg when the long-overdue call from Canton came.

After years of waiting, Guy was finally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014. DeFatta remembers walking over to Reed Green Coliseum for a basketball game when his phone rang. He picked up and heard a familiar voice.

“We made it,” Guy told DeFatta.

“We didn’t make it, you made it man,” DeFatta said.

“No man, it took all of us,” Guy replied.

Guy’s funeral arrangements were still pending as of Thursday afternoon, according to a Southern Miss statement.

David Eckert covers Southern Miss for The Hattiesburg American. Contact him at deckert@gannett.com or on Twitter @davideckert98.

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Ray Guy dies at 72: Southern Miss, Raiders legend had lengthy illness