John W. Ray (June 4, 1926 – November 14, 2007) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach. He served as the head football coach at

John Carroll University John Carroll University is a private Jesuit university in University Heights, Ohio. It is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts institution accompanied by the John M. and Mary Jo Boler College of Business. John Carroll has an enrollment of 3, ...

from 1959 to 1963 and at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

from 1969 to 1972, compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

record of 39–39. Ray was a native of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and grew up in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...

. He played football at Notre Dame and at

Olivet College Olivet College is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Olivet, Michigan. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It was founded in 1844 by missionaries from Oberlin College, and it followed Oberlin in becom ...

. After graduating Ray was the head football coach at

Sturgis High School Sturgis High School is located in Sturgis, Michigan and is part of the Sturgis Public Schools school district. Demographics The demographic breakdown of the 955 students enrolled in the 2018–19 school year was: * Male - 50.1% * Female - 49 ...

and Three Rivers High School, both in Michigan, and then was an assistant coach at the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic universi ...

and head coach at

from 1959 to 1963. From 1964 to 1968 Ray served as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator at Notre Dame under

Ara Parseghian Ara Raoul Parseghian (; hy, Արա Ռաուլ Պարսեղյան; May 21, 1923 – August 2, 2017) was an American football player and coach who guided the University of Notre Dame to national championships in 1966 and 1973. He is noted for bri ...

. He oversaw a 4-4-3 defense that gave up a measly 3.8 points a game in 1966, leading Notre Dame to an undefeated national championship that season. Ray became the head coach at the University of Kentucky in late 1968, replacing Charlie Bradshaw. In his second game, Kentucky upset quarterback

Archie Manning Elisha Archibald Manning III (born May 19, 1949) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New Orleans Saints. He played for the Saints from 1971 to 1982 and al ...

's highly regarded Ole Miss team, which was ranked No. 8 in the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

, by a score of 10–9. Ray also coached the Wildcats to a 16–3 win over No. 13

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

in 1970. The Wildcats also lost close games to ranked teams, such as No. 9

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

(31–26 in 1969), at #5 Ole Miss (20–17, 1970), at No. 15

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

(14–7, 1970) and No. 12 LSU (17–13, 1971). However, Ray's teams played very solid defense but consistently lacked the players to play well on both sides of the ball. Over his four years as head coach, Kentucky won only 10 games while losing 33. In 1969 Kentucky finished 2–8; in 1970, 2–9; in 1971 and 1972 the Wildcats' final record was 3–8 each season. Ray's contract was not renewed after the 1972 season and he was replaced by

Fran Curci Fran Curci (born June 11, 1938) is a former American football player and coach. He was an All-American quarterback at the University of Miami in 1959. He served as head coach at the University of Tampa from 1968 to 1970, the University of Miami ...

. During Ray's tenure, Kentucky's recruitment of African-American players increased, notably with star running back

Sonny Collins Alfred Eugene "Sonny" Collins (born January 17, 1953) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 1976 NFL draft. He played coll ...

. Ray brought more African-American players to Kentucky than any previous coach, and did so at a time when African-American players were rare in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

. Also during Ray's tenure plans were made and construction undertaken for Commonwealth Stadium, the current home of the Wildcats. While at Kentucky Ray coached future

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

players such as Dave Roller and

Joe Federspiel Joseph Michael Federspiel (born May 6, 1950) is a former American football middle linebacker who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Federspiel played college football at the University of Kentucky. Federspiel played in t ...

. After leaving Kentucky Ray was an assistant coach in the NFL including as defensive coordinator for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. Ray died at his home in

Granger, Indiana Granger is a census-designated place (CDP) in Clay and Harris townships, St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 30,465 at the 2010 census. Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation and the South Bend Community School Co ...

at age 81 on November 14, 2007.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Olivet Athletic Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, John 1926 births 2007 deaths American football centers Detroit Titans football coaches John Carroll Blue Streaks football coaches Kentucky Wildcats football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Olivet Comets football players High school football coaches in Michigan Players of American football from Detroit Players of American football from South Bend, Indiana People from Granger, Indiana