Ruben North McCray (June 13, 1904 – November 20, 1972) was the head football, men's basketball, and baseball coach at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

. He also served as their

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

. Later in life he became a community leader in

Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina Lake Waccamaw is a town in Columbus County, North Carolina, United States. The 2010 census population was 1,480. Originally home to Native Americans, Europeans later colonized Lake Waccamaw in the 18th century. The Europeans built naval stores and ...

, winning the state's top Civilian award for "outstanding service." McCray came to William & Mary in 1939 when Carl Voyles became head football coach. McCray's primary football responsibility was recruiting and working with the freshmen. He became head football coach in 1944, serving through the 1950 season and compiling a 45–22 record. He is second all-time in school history for career coaching wins behind

Jimmye Laycock Jimmye McFarland Laycock (born February 6, 1948) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the College of William & Mary from 1980 through 2018, retiring with the third-longest continuous head coaching tenure in ...

. He also served as head coach for the William & Mary's men's basketball team from 1943 to 1945.William & Mary men's basketball history - Media Guide 2007-08
. Accessed March 24, 2008. He compiled an overall record of 17–21 (4–7 in the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

). McCray's best football teams at William & Mary were in 1947 (9–2) with a trip to the

Dixie Bowl The Dixie Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game held New Year's Day at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.Foldesy, Jody. "Bowls burgeon as big business", ''The Washington Times''. December 21, 1997. Page A1. The game was only held tw ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

against

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, and in 1948 (7–2–2) and another bowl trip to Memphis, Tennessee in the

Delta Bowl The Delta Bowl was a college football game played at Crump Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee.Foldesy, Jody. "Bowls burgeon as big business", ''The Washington Times''. December 21, 1997. Page A1. It was the precursor to the now long-standing Liberty ...

against Oklahoma A&M. The Indians lost to Arkansas 21–19, but defeated Oklahoma A&M 20–0. Prior to coming to William & Mary he coached eight years at

Tennessee Wesleyan College Tennessee Wesleyan University (TWU) is a private Methodist university in Athens, Tennessee. It was founded in 1857 and is affiliated with the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. It maintains a branch campus in Knoxville, where i ...

, where his teams won six championships and once had a streak of 23 straight victories. His 1938 team won the national junior college football championship. He resigned from his dual athletic post at William & Mary in 1951 and went into the automobile business as president and general manager of the West Point Motor Co. in West Point, Virginia. He was appointed to fill an unexpired term on the West Point town council from 1956 to 1958. In 1958, he became director of Boys' Home of North Carolina in Lake Waccamaw and served until his death in 1972. The home served homeless and neglected youths from ages 10–19. The home became a model for such facilities around the country. In May 1972, six months before his death, McCray received the highest recognition of his life. The statewide North Carolina Civitans gave him its "Outstanding Citizen of the Year" Award, recognizing McCray's "outstanding service to youth, his years of coaching and developing character of young men, and his civic and religious activities." Additionally in 1992, twenty years after he died, Lake Waccamaw named its new public library in his memory.

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

Rube McCray's obituary
1904 births 1972 deaths American men's basketball players Baseball players from Tennessee Basketball coaches from Tennessee Basketball players from Tennessee College of William & Mary faculty College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers baseball players Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers football players Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers men's basketball players People from Greeneville, Tennessee Players of American football from Tennessee Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs football coaches Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs men's basketball coaches William & Mary Tribe athletic directors William & Mary Tribe baseball coaches William & Mary Tribe football coaches William & Mary Tribe men's basketball coaches {{1900s-US-basketball-bio-stub

Head coaching record

Football

See also

References

External links