Ray Graves

Early life and education

Graves was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on December 31, 1918. He was the son of a Methodist minister, and he realized that his best (and perhaps only) opportunity to attend college would be to earn an athletic scholarship. Tennessee Wesleyan College, a small Methodist-affiliated college located in Athens, Tennessee, recognized his athletic talent and offered him a full scholarship. Coach Robert Neyland of the University of Tennessee recognized his standout play and arranged for Graves to transfer to Tennessee. After he graduated from Tennessee in 1942, he attempted to volunteer for the U.S. Navy following the United States' entry into World War II, but he was rejected when he failed his physical because he was deaf in one ear. He would have been accepted only in a grave emergency.

Graves married Opal Richardson on November 3, 1942, and they had three daughters together.

College

Graves played college football for one year at Tennessee Wesleyan College, then two years at the University of Tennessee, where he was the team captain during his senior year in 1941. He replaced Norbert Ackerman as the starting center in 1941. During his time as a Volunteer, he played in the Sugar Bowl following his junior season, and he earned third-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) honors following his senior season. The All-SEC Bob Gude played across from Graves at rival Vanderbilt.

Professional

The Philadelphia Eagles selected Graves in the ninth round (seventy-third pick overall) in the 1942 NFL Draft, and he played for the Eagles for three seasons, including the temporary 1943 merger of the Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers known as the "Steagles." The Steagles were formed when the National Football League had to limit rosters and cut back to eight teams because of manpower shortages during World War II. In three NFL seasons, Graves played in 28 games, starting in 15 of them.

Coaching career

Graves was retained as a volunteer coach at the University of Tennessee in 1943, but Tennessee did not field a football team that season due to World War II. Graves was hired as an assistant coach for the Volunteers in 1944, and resigned as the offensive line coach following the 1945 season to play for the Eagles again. Following his playing career, Graves was the defensive coach at Georgia Tech under head coach Bobby Dodd. Under Dodd, Graves and offensive coach Frank Broyles, the Yellow Jackets won Southeastern Conference championships in 1951 and 1952, the 1951 Orange Bowl, the 1952 Sugar Bowl and the 1952 national championship. Graves is widely credited with creating what was then known as the "monster defense"—the modern alignment of the free safety and strong safety in the defensive backfield.

In 1960 Graves was hired as head football coach of the University of Florida, replacing fellow Tennessee alumnus Bob Woodruff. He served as the Gators' head coach for ten years from 1960 to 1969. Graves led Florida to five bowl appearances and he coached several outstanding players, including quarterback and Heisman Trophy recipient Steve Spurrier (1964–1966), running back and future NFL first-round draft pick Larry Smith (1966–1968) and defensive end and NFL Hall of Fame inductee Jack Youngblood (1968–1970).

Among the many highlights of the Graves era was the 1963 Gators' 10–6 upset victory over coach Bear Bryant's 1963 Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. In one of the more interesting footnotes to his football legacy, Graves allowed Dr. Robert Cade, a professor in the University of Florida College of Medicine, to conduct dehydration analysis and rehydration experiments using team members which led to the formulation of Gatorade in 1965. After seeing the formula's potential in an intrasquad scrimmage, Graves asked Cade to make enough for the entire team for the next game against Louisiana State; the LSU Tigers wilted in the 102-degree game-day heat, and the Gators came from behind to win in the second half. He told his friend, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Hank Stram, of the drink's effectiveness, a move that eventually led to Gatorade becoming the official sports drink of the NFL.

Graves' saved the best for last. His 1969 Gators posted a 9–1–1 record, upset the Tennessee Volunteers, 14–13, in the Gator Bowl, and were ranked fourteenth in the final AP Poll. After achieving an all-time win-loss record at Florida of 70–31–4 (.686) and four final top-twenty poll rankings (1960, 1965, 1966, 1969), Graves stepped down to make room for former Gators quarterback Doug Dickey to return to his alma mater as the new head coach of the 1970 Gators. Graves remained the winningest coach in Gators football history until his former quarterback, Steve Spurrier, surpassed him in 1996.

Graves' Gators are remembered for their remarkable academic success as much as their athletic success. Ninety-three percent of his players graduated, and more than half of the graduates ultimately earned law or medical degrees. Graves' Silver Sixties Gators remain a close-knit group, and they held an annual reunion with their coach every year from 1970 to 2014.

After resigning as Florida's head football coach, Graves remained the university's athletic director until 1979, a position he had also held since becoming the football coach in 1960. His remaining tenure as athletic director was notable for the University of Florida embracing the challenges and opportunities in women's college sports presented by Title IX. Under Graves' guidance, Florida's women's sports program began its climb to become one of the top ten women's programs in Division I sports. After he retired as athletic director in 1979, he worked for another year as a special assistant for fund raising in the office of the university president.

Graves was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 1972, the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1990, and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1990. When Steve Spurrier returned to Gainesville as the Gators' head coach in 1990, he created the team's new most valuable player award, the Ray Graves Trophy, with the annual recipients selected by the players. The Athletic Office at the University of Florida's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium was named in honor of Graves during the 2005 season.

Steagles 60th anniversary

On August 17, 2003, the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of the Steagles in pregame and halftime ceremonies for the 2003 season opener at Heinz Field. The Steelers recreated the era in their "Turn Back the Clock" ceremonies, including broadcasting in black and white on the Jumbotron and airing World War II footage during the national anthem. All live entertainment was done to reflect the 1940s.

Graves was on hand as six of the nine surviving members of that Steagles team were honored by the Steelers during halftime. During the festivities, the Steelers gave each of the six members a replica Steagles jersey. The jersey worn by Graves was returned to the team after the festivities. It was sold by the Steelers a month later to Bill Ponko, a private collector of sports memorabilia, to benefit a local charity.

Later life

After resigning as the University of Florida's athletic director in 1980, Graves became vice president of Steinbrenner Enterprises in Tampa, Florida. He also served as a consultant to the Jacksonville Bulls of the United States Football League (USFL). Graves retired in 1989, and he continued to live in Tampa with his wife Opal. He died in nearby Clearwater on April 10, 2015. He was 96 years old.