House Concurrent Resolution 61

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PAYING TRIBUTE TO CELEBRATED UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI GOLDEN EAGLES PUNTER RAY GUY UPON HIS ELECTION TO THE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2014.

WHEREAS, a six-time NFL All-Pro, Ray Guy is widely considered to be one of the greatest punters of all time and has been a seven-time finalist as a modern era candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and on August 21, 2013, he was selected by the Seniors Committee as a finalist for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2014, and finally was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on February 1, 2014, with enshrinement in August 2014, becoming only the second kicker and the first pure punter so honored; and

WHEREAS, Ray Guy became the first punter ever selected in the first round of the National Football League draft when the Oakland Raiders tapped him as the 23rd player chosen in 1973, and the 6'3", 195-pounder from the University of Southern Mississippi spent his entire 14-year season, 207-game career with the Raiders; and

WHEREAS, his career punting average was an excellent 42.4 yards and he averaged more than 40 yards during 13 of his 14 seasons, with the only time he fell below the 40-yard average mark came during the strike-shortened 1982 season, when he averaged 39.1 yards; and

WHEREAS, only three of his 1,049 punts were blocked and he ranked second all-time at the time of his retirement by punting 619 straight times without a block in a period from the 1979 season until the end of his career in 1986; and

WHEREAS, Ray Guy led the NFL in punting in 1974, 1975 and 1977 and finished second three times and third once, and as a veteran of 22 postseason games, he added 111 punts for a 42.4 average to his career totals, playing in seven Pro Bowls and named All-Pro six times and All-AFC seven times; and

WHEREAS, his top seasonal average, 45.3 yards on 69 punts, was recorded in his rookie season, his longest punt in the NFL was a 74-yarder against Denver in 1977, and in the 1980 AFC Championship Game, he boomed a 71-yarder against San Diego; and

WHEREAS, besides being a long-distance punter, Guy specialized in putting opponents in poor field position with his pinpoint punts, and in the 11 seasons after such records were kept, he was credited with 209 "inside the 20" punts, with more than a third of them in his final three seasons; and

WHEREAS, Guy, who was born December 22, 1949, in Swainsboro, Georgia, was a collegiate All-American at the University of Southern Mississippi, who averaged 44.7 yards on 200 punts, doubling as a field goal kicker and once kicking a 61-yard field goal against Utah State; and

WHEREAS, he also played safety and had 18 interceptions in three years, was an outstanding baseball pitcher drafted by Major League Baseball while in high school, and his athletic versatility served the Raiders well by serving as the Raiders' emergency quarterback; and

WHEREAS, Ray Guy was one of the most celebrated Golden Eagles to step on the gridiron at the University of Southern Mississippi, and he set several school records during his collegiate career, including the longest punt, a 93-yarder against Ole Miss, as well as a 61-yard field goal in a snowstorm against Utah State University, and after his senior season at Southern Miss, Guy was named Most Valuable Player of the 1973 Chicago College All-Star Game, in which an All-Star team of college seniors played the current Super Bowl Champion, and he was also named an All-American defensive back as a starting safety in college; and

WHEREAS, Guy has been inducted into both the Mississippi and Georgia Sports Halls of Fame, the National High School Sports Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame, and on April 21, 2008, Guy was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame; and

WHEREAS, in 1994, Ray was named the punter on the National Football League's 75th Anniversary Team, and his trademark was kicking punts that stayed in the air for so long that by the time the punt returner was able to field it, the Raiders' coverage unit had the field covered so well that a return was not possible, his punts often leaving opposing offenses pinned in their own end of the field, and the statistic for hang time was instituted in the NFL during his career, reportedly because of him; and

WHEREAS, at the 1976 Pro Bowl, Guy became the first punter to hit the Louisiana Superdome video screen causing officials to raise the screen from 90 feet to 200 feet; and

WHEREAS, Ray Guy and his wife, Beverly, have two children, Ryan and Amber; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to recognize such legendary Mississippi athletes as Ray Guy who has brought honor to his alma mater and to the State of Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby pay tribute to celebrated University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles Punter Ray Guy upon his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2014 and extend congratulations and best wishes on this outstanding honor.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Ray Guy, President of the University of Southern Mississippi Rodney D. Bennett, the Pro Football Hall of Fame and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.