Buford Garfield "Baby" Ray (September 30, 1914 – January 21, 1986) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player who played 11 seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

from 1938 to 1948.

Early life

Ray was born in Una,

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, an unincorporated town east of

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. He attended Central High School in Nashville.

College career

Ray played for

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

for three seasons, 1935–1937. He was a stand-out at both offensive and

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

, 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. In his final season with the Commodores, Ray was named a co-captain. Ray also competed in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

while at Vanderbilt.

Professional career

Ray was not selected in the 1938 NFL draft, and became the subject of a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

bidding war between

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (February 2, 1895 – October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear", was an American professional football end, coach, and executive. He was the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), ...

of the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

and

Curly Lambeau Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau ( ; April 9, 1898 – June 1, 1965) was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). Lambeau, along with his friend and fellow Green Bay, Wisconsin native, George Whitney ...

of the Packers. 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. Ray appeared in the 1940 NFL All-Star Game. He was named to the

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

team four times, once to the First-team (1941) and three times to the Second-team (1939, 1943 and 1944). Ray was a member of the Packers'

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

and 1944 NFL championship teams.

Retirement

After retiring as a player, Ray returned to Vanderbilt as an assistant coach under

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Bill Edwards. He later became the university's first full-time football recruiter 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 The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

. He was inducted into the

Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame is a team-specific hall of fame honoring players, coaches, executives and other contributors to the history and success of the Green Bay Packers, an American football team in the National Football League (NFL). ...

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.

Personal life

Ray had three children with his wife, Jane Burns Ray. They made their home in Nashville.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Baby 1914 births 1986 deaths American football tackles Green Bay Packers players Vanderbilt Commodores football players Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame