Ken Gray (American football)
No. 64, 62 | |||||||||
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Position: | Guard | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | San Saba, Texas, U.S. | March 10, 1936||||||||
Died: | November 25, 2017 Llano, Texas, U.S. | (aged 81)||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 245 lb (111 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Llano | ||||||||
College: | Howard Payne (1955–1957) | ||||||||
NFL draft: | 1958 / round: 6 / pick: 62 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
As a coach: | |||||||||
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Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Kenneth Don Gray (March 10, 1936 – November 25, 2017) was an American football guard who played 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago / St. Louis Cardinals and the Houston Oilers. He played college football for three seasons with the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets.
Professional career
[edit]The Green Bay Packers selected him in the sixth round of the 1958 NFL draft (62nd pick overall) and he was the final player cut by Packer coach Scooter McLean in training camp prior to the regular NFL season that year.[1] Other NFL teams contacted Gray to try out and he settled on the Chicago Cardinals because he would be driving through Illinois from Green Bay to Texas. His first NFL contract, in 1958, paid him $6,000.[2] He earned All-Pro notice seven consecutive seasons (1963–1969) and six Pro Bowls.
Coaching career
[edit]After retiring as a player, he served for three years (1973–1975) as head coach at his high school alma mater, Llano High School and offensive line coach for the Denver Broncos and reached Super Bowl XII, where they lost against the Dallas Cowboys.[3][4][5]
Honors
[edit]In 2016, he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame along with former University of Texas head football coach Fred Akers, former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Larry Allen and former Major League Baseball pitcher Andy Pettitte.[4] He earned a spot on the St. Louis Cardinals All-Time Team. In 2018, the Professional Football Researchers Association named Gray to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018.[6]
Personal life
[edit]Ken met his longtime wife, Shirley, in high school and married soon after.[2]
Death
[edit]Gray died in Llano, Texas, where he lived on November 25, 2017, at the age of 81.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ "The Green Bay Packers 1958 Draft Class: Jerry Kramer vs. Ken Gray". April 22, 2017.
- ^ a b "NFL's Ken Gray selected to Texas Sports Hall". Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
- ^ "Kenneth Gray (1986)". hpusports.com. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
- ^ a b "Ken Gray". tshof.com. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
- ^ hoffco-inc.com
- ^ "PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018". Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ Llano football legend, former NFL player Ken Gray dies at 81
- 1936 births
- 2017 deaths
- People from San Saba, Texas
- People from Llano, Texas
- American Christians
- Christians from Texas
- Players of American football from San Saba County, Texas
- American football offensive guards
- Howard Payne Yellow Jackets football players
- Chicago Cardinals players
- St. Louis Cardinals (football) players
- Houston Oilers players
- Green Bay Packers players
- Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players
- Coaches of American football from Texas
- Denver Broncos coaches
- American football offensive lineman, 1930s birth stubs