Ray Merril Beck (March 17, 1931 – January 10, 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 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 ...

for the

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

in 1952 and from 1955 to 1957. Beck was born in

Bowdon, Georgia Bowdon is a city in Carroll County, Georgia, Carroll County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 2,161. History The community was incorporated on January 1, ...

and graduated from Cedartown High School. He played four years at Georgia Tech and had his best season his senior year in 1951, when the

Yellow Jackets Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genera ''Vespula'' and ''Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of these ...

finished 11–0–1 including a 17–14 victory over Baylor in the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

. He was named

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

by the Football Writers Association and the American Football Coaches Association, as well as Most Valuable Lineman in the Southeastern Conference. He missed the 1953–54 seasons due to military service during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. He later was president of a trucking company in the Atlanta area and was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 1997.

References

1931 births 2007 deaths People from Bowdon, Georgia Players of American football from Carroll County, Georgia American football offensive guards Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees New York Giants players {{offensive-lineman-1930s-stub