Kenneth Don Gray (March 10, 1936 – November 25, 2017) was an American football guard who played 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago / St. Louis Cardinals and the Houston Oilers. He played college football for three seasons with the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets.
Professional career
The Green Bay Packers selected him in the sixth round of the 1958 NFL Draft (62nd pick overall) and he was the final player cut by Packer coach Scooter McLean in training camp prior to the regular NFL season that year.[1] Other NFL teams contacted Gray to try out and he settled on the Chicago Cardinals because he would be driving through Illinois from Green Bay to Texas. His first NFL contract, in 1958, paid him $6,000.[2] He earned All-Pro notice seven consecutive seasons (1963–1969) and six Pro Bowls.
Coaching career
After retiring as a player, he served for three years (1973–1975) as head coach at his high school alma mater, Llano High School and offensive line coach for the Denver Broncos and reached Super Bowl XII, where they lost against the Dallas Cowboys.[3][4][5]
Honors
In 2016, he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame along with former University of Texas head football coach Fred Akers, former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Larry Allen and former Major League Baseball pitcher Andy Pettitte.[4] He earned a spot on the St. Louis Cardinals All-Time Team. In 2018, the Professional Football Researchers Association named Gray to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018. [6]
Personal life
Ken met his longtime wife, Shirley, in high school and married soon after.[7]
Death
Gray died in Llano, Texas, where he lived on November 25, 2017, at the age of 81.[8]
References
- ^ "The Green Bay Packers 1958 Draft Class: Jerry Kramer vs. Ken Gray". April 22, 2017.
- ^ "NFL's Ken Gray selected to Texas Sports Hall".
- ^ "Kenneth Gray (1986)". hpusports.com. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
- ^ a b "Ken Gray". tshof.com. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
- ^ hoffco-inc.com
- ^ "PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018". Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ "NFL's Ken Gray selected to Texas Sports Hall".
- ^ Llano football legend, former NFL player Ken Gray dies at 81