James R. Ludlow "Lud" Wray (February 7, 1894 – July 24, 1967) was a professional

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

player, coach, and co-founder, with college teammate

Bert Bell De Benneville "Bert" Bell (February 25, 1895 – October 11, 1959) was the National Football League (NFL) commissioner from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he introduced competitive parity into the NFL to improve the league's comme ...

, of the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

. He was the first coach of the Boston Braves (now the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

) and of the Eagles. He also served as head coach at his alma mater, the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

Playing career

Wray attended Chestnut Hill Academy in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, where he lettered in baseball and football. He played his college football at the University of Pennsylvania, was the Quakers' center from 1914 to 1916. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Wray served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through ...

. He returned for his senior season in 1919. In additional to football, Wray also played catcher on the Penn baseball team. Professionally, Wray played for the Buffalo Niagaras, Buffalo Prospects, and Buffalo All-Americans from 1918 until 1921. In 1920 and 1921, Buffalo was a member of the National Football League (then called the American Professional Football Association).

Coaching career

Penn

From 1923 to 1929, Wray served as an assistant football coach at Penn. In 1930 he succeeded Lou Young as head coach. He was fired on December 12, 1930, due to friction with players, alumni, and the public.

Boston Braves

In 1932, Wray was named head coach of the Boston Braves, a

expansion team. The Braves went 4–4–2 in their inaugural season. He left the team after one season and was replaced by Lone Star Dietz.

Philadelphia Eagles

In 1933, Wray's former teammate and fellow assistant at Penn, Bert Bell convinced him to become coach of the expansion Philadelphia Eagles. By 1936, the club was suffering significant financial losses and was offered for sale at a public auction. Bell was the only bidder and became the team's sole owner. On April 28, Wray refused a 66% reduction in salary and left the team.

Later career

In 1938, Wray became an assistant at

Manhattan College Manhattan College is a private, Catholic, liberal arts university in the Bronx, New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Christian Brothers) as an academy for day students, it was ...

. He remained with the school until his resignation in November 1940. In 1941, Wray served as an assistant to Ank Scanlan at

St. Joseph's Preparatory School St. Joseph's Preparatory School, known as "St. Joseph's Prep" or simply "The Prep", is an urban, private, Catholic, college preparatory school run by the Jesuits in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1851. Curriculm Th ...

in Philadelphia. When Scanlan became head coach at

Holy Cross Holy Cross or Saint Cross may refer to: * the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus * Christian cross, a frequently used religious symbol of Christianity * True Cross, supposed remnants of the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified * Feast ...

, Wray followed him. In 1943, Scanlan's war commitments limited him to only being able to coach on game day and Wray led the team the rest of the week. Wray and Scanlan had a falling out and Wray was replaced by

Ox DaGrosa John "Ox" DaGrosa (February 17, 1902 – April 23, 1953) was an American coach and administrator who served as head football coach at the College of the Holy Cross and was a member of the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission. Early life and career Da ...

for 1944. Wray served as an assistant coach under Jim Leonard for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1945.

Personal life and death

On December 26, 1933, Wray married Juanita Sauveur. After Juanita's death in 1950, Wray married the former Frances Cressman. He died on July 25, 1967, in Philadelphia. At the time of his death, Wray resided in Oreland, Pennsylvania. He was survived by his second wife.

Head coaching record

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wray, Lud 1894 births 1967 deaths American football centers Buffalo All-Americans players Holy Cross Crusaders football coaches Manhattan Jaspers football coaches Penn Quakers football coaches Penn Quakers football players Philadelphia Eagles coaches Philadelphia Eagles owners Union Club of Phoenixville players Union Quakers of Philadelphia players Boston Braves (NFL) head coaches High school football coaches in Pennsylvania Chestnut Hill Academy alumni United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I Sportspeople from Philadelphia Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Players of American football from Philadelphia Philadelphia Eagles head coaches