Mel Gray (return specialist)
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Melvin Junius Gray (born March 16, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a
kickoff returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...
in the
National Football League 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 ...
(NFL). He played with the
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
, Detroit Lions, Houston/Tennessee Oilers and
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
. He began his professional career for the Los Angeles Express of the
United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
(USFL), following his college football career as a
running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...
at Purdue. Gray attended Lafayette High School in
Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...
, where he was teammates with future NFL players Lawrence Taylor and
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. Gray is widely considered to be one of the greatest return specialists of all-time in the NFL. He holds the record for being the first, second, and third-oldest player to return a kickoff for a touchdown (33 years, 276 days; 33 years, 235 days; and 33 years, 221 days).


Early life and college career

Gray was a standout athlete at Lafayette High School in Williamsburg, Virginia. He was named to the All-Peninsula District Track Team for the 200 meter dash as a senior and tied his school record in the 100 meter dash as a sophomore. Upon graduation, Gray enrolled at
Coffeyville Community College Coffeyville Community College (CCC) is a community college located in Coffeyville, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1923. Coffeyville Community College is a member of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and the National Ju ...
. In his freshman season, he was part of a backfield that helped lead the team to an 11-0 record and a #2 ranking in the NJCAA poll. He shared the backfield with future Heisman trophy winner and NFL Pro Bowler
Mike Rozier Michael T. Rozier (born March 1, 1961) is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the United States Football League (USFL) for two seasons and the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons duri ...
. In his sophomore season, Gray became the feature back and rushed for 1,397 yards and scored 20 touchdowns. He was the leading scorer in Junior College football and third in rushing. He was nominated first-team all-
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and all-American. Gray then chose to attend Purdue over Pittsburgh who was also heavily recruiting him. He made an immediate impression on the staff and the previous season's top 2 tailbacks were moved to other positions to accommodate for Gray becoming the feature back. Gray rushed for nearly 1,000 yards in each of the two seasons with the Boilermakers and was named 2nd team all- Big Ten in 1983. He only returned two kicks during his time at Purdue.


Professional career

Gray was selected by the
Chicago Blitz The Chicago Blitz was a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid-1980s. They played at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Team history The Blitz were one of the twelve charter franchis ...
in the 7th round (133rd overall) of the 1984 USFL Draft and immediately moved from tailback to wide receiver. He was later traded to the Los Angeles Express. In 1984, Gray scored the game-winning touchdown in the divisional playoffs against the Michigan Panthers. Gray broke his arm on the touchdown. The game lasted 4 hours, 3 minutes, went to 3 overtimes and became the longest pro football game in football history. After the USFL folded in August 1986, Gray joined the
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
who drafted him in the
1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL players The 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL players was a one-time draft of United States Football League and Canadian Football League players, held in the spring of 1984. Reason for the draft In New York City on Tuesday, June 5, startin ...
. Gray is most recognized for his time with the Detroit Lions. The Lions were in contention for the NFC Central title each season during the early 1990s—teams that featured the running back
Barry Sanders Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL), from 1989 to 1998 for the Detroit Lions. Sanders led the league in rushing yards four times and ...
. However, Gray was an integral part of a dominant Lions' special teams group that proved to be instrumental to the team's success during that era. In six seasons with the Lions (1989–94), Gray played in 84 games and returned 216 kickoffs for 5,478 yards (25.4 avg) and registered five touchdowns, and he returned 132 punts for 1,427 yards (10.8 avg) and had two touchdowns. Gray is the franchise's all-time leader in career kickoff returns (216), career kickoff return yards (5,478), career kickoff returns for touchdowns (5), most kickoff returns for touchdowns in a season (3, 1994), highest kickoff return average in a season (28.36, 1994) and career punt return yards (1,427). His seven total returns for touchdowns (5 kickoff return and 2 punt returns) ranks third all-time in team history. Gray was a four-time Pro Bowl selection in Detroit (1991–93, 1995), and he was named All-Pro by numerous publications in each season from 1990–94. In 1994, he returned his longest kickoff for a touchdown as a Lion with a 102-yard return for a score against Chicago on October 24. That season, he also returned 98-yard and 91-yard kickoffs for touchdowns. Gray played the 1995 and 1996 seasons for the Houston Oilers. In Week 6 of 1996 against the Cincinnati Bengals, he returned 5 kickoffs for 177 yards and 3 punts for 86 yards; the 263 total return yards remains tied with Billy "White Shoes" Johnson for the franchise record as of
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
. When he left the game in 1997, after 12 seasons in pro football, Gray was atop several all-time NFL kick return lists. Gray was ranked fifth as one of greatest return specialists on
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's
NFL Top 10 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 ma ...
Return Aces.


Personal life

After retirement, Gray continued to work on finishing his degree as well as substitute taught for a short period. He is currently in real estate in the Houston area.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Mel 1961 births Living people American football return specialists American football running backs New Orleans Saints players Detroit Lions players Houston Oilers players Los Angeles Express players Philadelphia Eagles players National Conference Pro Bowl players Purdue Boilermakers football players Sportspeople from Williamsburg, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia