Ray Bray

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Ray Bray
Positions:
DL , Guard 		Jersey numbers:
82, 63
born February 1, 1917 in Caspian , Michigan
died on December 26, 1993 in Mesa , Arizona
Career information
Active : 1939 - 1952
NFL Draft : 1939 / Round: 9 / Pick: 76
College : Western Michigan University
Teams
Career statistics
Games     121
as a starter     51
Fumbles conquered     9
Stats at pro-football-reference.com
Career highlights and awards
  • 4 × Pro Bowl election (1940, 1941, 1950, 1951)
  • 4 × All-Pro election (1946, 1948, 1949, 1950)
  • Upper Penninsula Sports Hall of Fame (1973)
  • WMU Athletic Hall of Fame (1975)
  • 3 × NFL champions (1940, 1941, 1946)

Raymond Robert Bray (* 1 February 1917 in Caspian , Michigan ; † 26. December 1993 in Mesa , Arizona ) Nickname : "Muscles" was a US American football poker players. He played in the National Football League (NFL) with the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers .

Player career

College career

Ray Bray joined Western Michigan University after attending high school in 1936 , where he played college football , but was also active as a track and field athlete . In his senior year he was voted All American . In all three years of study he was recognized both as an athlete and as a football player from his college . Bray successfully completed his sports degree in 1939.

Professional career

Raymond Bray was selected by the Chicago Bears in the ninth round in 1939, 76th in the NFL Draft . The coach of the Bears George Halas he was used in the defensive line but also in the offensive line . In the same year as Bray, the Bears hired quarterback Sid Luckman for whose protection Bray was jointly responsible. With the later members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Dan Fortmann , George Musso and Joe Stydahar , as well as Bulldog Turner , the team developed into a top team.

The second year as a professional did not go very well for Bray. During the season he sustained a knee injury, which prevented him from participating in the Bears' NFL championship game against the Washington Redskins . The Bears won this game 73-0. By the following year Bray recovered from his injury and the Bears were able to defend their title. They won the final against the New York Giants 37-9.

Like his coach Halas, Bray had to interrupt his career after the 1942 season. He served in the US Navy during World War II . He did not get into combat. Rather, he was used as a fitness trainer and played in Jacksonville , Florida , on a military team. In 1946, Bray continued his career with the Bears and won his third league title after a 24-14 victory in the NFL final over the New York Giants.

In the game round 1951, Ray Bray made nationwide attention with an illegal play. In an attack play by his team, he was initially on the sidelines. The Rams managed to intercept a Bears pass and were about to carry the ball into the Chicago team's end zone . Bray, who was not one of the eleven established players of the Bears, took advantage of an inattentiveness of the referees, ran onto the field and brought the opposing attacker down in time. No one noticed Bray's violation of the rules during the game. But it didn't help his team, they still lost the game. After the 1951 season, Bray was transferred to the Green Bay Packers . He ended his career there after one round of play.

After the career

After his career, Ray Bray worked as a car salesman for Cadillac . He was married and had three children.

Honors

Bray played in the Pro Bowl four times, was elected all-pro four times , and is a member of the Upper Penninsula Sports Hall of Fame and his college's Hall of Fame.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Annual statistics of the Chicago Bears 1940
  2. ↑ Statistics NFL final 1940
  3. ↑ Annual statistics of the Chicago Bears 1941
  4. ↑ Statistics NFL final 1941
  5. ↑ Annual statistics of the Chicago Bears 1946
  6. ^ Statistics NFL final 1946
personal data
SURNAME Bray, Ray
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bray, Raymond Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American football player
DATE OF BIRTH February 1, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH Caspian , Michigan
DATE OF DEATH December 26, 1993
Place of death Mesa , Arizona