Bobby Grayson
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Robert Harry Grayson (December 8, 1914 – September 22, 1981) 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. He was a two-time consensus
All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
player who led the
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
football team to three consecutive
Rose Bowl Game The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, traditionally played on January 1 (New Year's Day) at the Rose Bowl (stadium), Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on ...
s from 1933 to 1935. At Stanford, Grayson played for the varsity football team in the 1933, 1934 and 1935 seasons. He was recruited to Stanford by Coach Glenn "Pop" Warner and helped lead Stanford to a
Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a collegiate athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (includin ...
title in 1934 and co-championships in 1933 and 1935. He was a consensus All-American in both 1934 and 1935.


Early life

Born in
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, Grayson was a football, track and baseball star at Jefferson High School. He was state 100-yard dash champion in 1931 at 10.1 seconds, and again in 1932 in 9.9 seconds with a career best of 9.8 seconds. Grayson also won the 220-yard low hurdles state championship twice, in 1931 he won in 26.6 seconds, and again in 1931 in 25.5 seconds. In football, he was a four year letterman playing fullback and defense while leading Jefferson to the 1931 City title and allowed no scores by opponent

In 1932, he was recruited to play football at Stanford Cardinal football, Stanford by their legendary coach
Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...
.


College career

Grayson's 1932 freshman team also included Bob "Horse" Reynolds, Jim "Monk" Moscrip, and
Bob "Bones" Hamilton Robert Alexander "Bones" Hamilton (September 8, 1912 – April 1, 1996) was an American gridiron football player, best known for playing college football for Stanford University. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1972. Biogr ...
, and came to be known as the "
Vow Boys The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The program was previously in the Pac-12 Conference. The team is known as ...
". The 1932 Stanford varsity team was soundly defeated by the
USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...
(USC). After watching the defeat, the freshmen players got together and vowed that they would never lose to the Trojans. In November 1933, Stanford defeated USC, and Grayson scored the Indians only touchdown. ''Time'' magazine reported that "Stanford's speedy Fullback Bobby Grayson slashed and passed through the Trojan line, punched over a touchdown", resulting in a "resounding crash" for "the fattest Humpty Dumpty of 1933 football." The Stanford team proceeded to beat USC three straight years from 1933 to 1935 – making good on the vow. Stanford was the dominant team on the Pacific Coast, appearing in the New Year's Day Rose Bowl game in each of those three years. In three seasons, Grayson was part of a Stanford team that compiled a 25–4–2 record and became the first team to play in three consecutive Rose Bowls. In the 1934 Rose Bowl, Grayson rushed for 152 yards, a Rose Bowl record.
Ernie Nevers Ernest Alonzo Nevers (June 11, 1902 – May 3, 1976), nicknamed "Big Dog", was an American professional football and baseball player and football coach. Widely regarded as one of the best football players in the first half of the 20th century, ...
said Grayson was "the best back I've ever seen." Grayson set numerous Stanford records. He set the record for most interceptions in a single game with four (two of which he returned for touchdowns) in a 1934 game against the University of Washington. His career total of 1,547 rushing yards in 405 carries established a Stanford record that stood for 20 years. A historical account of Grayson's accomplishments published by the LA84 Foundation notes:
Bobby Grayson had the looks of a matinee idol; and he remains as one of the most publicized players in Pacific Coast football history. A member of the legendary 'Vow Boys' of Stanford, Grayson starred from 1933–1935 in an era that is regarded as the greatest in the school's gridiron history. A workhorse ball carrier from the fullback spot, Grayson combined speed and power in piling up the school's career reusing record that stood for nearly two decades. Grayson used sprinter-class speed in sweeping the ends, and his swivel-hipped moves eluded tacklers in the open field.; while he was as adept at battering up the middle and punishing opposing defensive lines.
Sportswriter
Grantland Rice Henry Grantland Rice (November 1, 1880 – July 13, 1954) was an American sportswriter and poet known as the "Dean of American Sports Writers". He coined the famous phrase that it was not important whether you “won or lost, but how you playe ...
wrote of Grayson:
Here is a big, fast back who can run an end, hit a line, kick, pass, block and handle any assignment given hi

/blockquote> Grayson was the 21st player drafted in the
1936 NFL draft The 1936 NFL draft was the first draft of National Football League (NFL). It took place on February 8, 1936, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The draft was instituted in an effort to end bidding wars among the league's t ...
— the inaugural NFL draft. He was drafted by the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
but did not play professional football.


Military service

Grayson served as commanding officer of the minesweeper in the Pacific during World War II.


Legacy

Grayson died of a heart ailment in 1981 at age 66 in
Bellevue, Washington Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside (King County, Washington), Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area, and the f ...
. He was survived by his wife, Sue Grayson, and a son, Dan Grayson. In 2003, the ''
Oakland Tribune The ''Oakland Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Oakland, California, and a predecessor of the '' East Bay Times''. It was published by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group. Founded in 1874, the ''Tribune'' ...
'' ranked Grayson as one of Stanford's top ten players of all time, ranking him at number five behind
Ernie Nevers Ernest Alonzo Nevers (June 11, 1902 – May 3, 1976), nicknamed "Big Dog", was an American professional football and baseball player and football coach. Widely regarded as one of the best football players in the first half of the 20th century, ...
,
Jim Plunkett James William Plunkett (born December 5, 1947) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He achieved his greatest success during his final eight seasons with the R ...
,
Frankie Albert Frank Cullen Albert (January 27, 1920 – September 4, 2002) was an American professional football player and coach. He played as a quarterback and punter with the San Francisco 49ers in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and later in ...
, and
John Elway John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American former professional football quarterback who spent his entire 16-year career with the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Following his playing career, he then spent 1 ...
.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grayson, Bobby 1914 births 1981 deaths All-American college football players Stanford Cardinal football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Players of American football from Portland, Oregon Saint Mary's Pre-Flight Air Devils football players Jefferson High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni