GumboBC

Guy, punter and much, much more, had no peer

By Rick Cleveland
rcleveland@clarionledger.com

People ask me all the time: Who's the best athlete you ever covered?

They know I covered Payton, Rice, McNair, Favre, the Mannings and more.

My answer often surprises: Ray Guy, no doubt about it.


Rick Cleveland
"A punter?" they say.

Guy, the best punter ever, was so much more than that.

Yes, I saw him launch a 93-yard punt that traveled 115 yards. But I also saw him kick a 61-yard field goal in a snowstorm. I saw him, playing safety, hit an opponent so hard they had to stop the game to pick the guy's teeth out of the grass. (He still shares the Southern Miss career record for pass interceptions.)

I saw him throw a football 80 yards.

I saw him throw fastballs as fast as Nolan Ryan ever threw. I saw him pitch a no-hitter six weeks after knee surgery. I saw him, with a wood bat, hit the longest home run I've ever seen hit in college baseball. I saw him throw a softball 340 feet in an intramural track meet. Think about it.

I saw him drive the green on the 375-yard, par-4 first hole at the Hattiesburg Country Club when rain had soaked the course.

I saw him beat the Chinese guys at ping pong, too.

I saw him hit the Superdome gondola with a punt in the Pro Bowl. The gondola, which hung over the field, was supposed to be out of play, but Guy's kick hit it on the way up. He said he did it just for kicks.

Could do anything








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