Courtesy of the Pro Fotball Hall of Fame
CANTON, OHIO – Ray Guy, the first fulltime punter to earn election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, will appear at the Hall on Thursday, December 18 to participate in the museum's "Heart of a Hall of Famer" series.
The program developed as part of the Hall of Fame's Youth/Education initiatives features Gold Jackets (living Hall of Famers) who share insight about the values learned the from the game that they applied throughout life. "Heart of a Hall of Famer" is offered, free of charge, to any school in the country. Designed for students ranging from fourth grade to high school seniors, classrooms connect to these interactive broadcasts through PC/MAC/IOS/Android devices or traditional video conferencing systems.
Guy, who was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past August, will return to Canton to participate live in the program. Two separate one-hour, 15-minute sessions are being offered at 6:45 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. PT. Aside from the 500 students from northeast Ohio who will be on site for the program, nearly 1,000 more will join by videoconference from California, New York, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
In addition, both sessions will be webcast live from the Hall's Event Center and can be viewed here. Students and teachers unable to connect can participate via the live webcast and can submit questions to Guy via Twitter using the hashtag #HeartofHOFer. The video will be archived shortly after the completion of the program.
Students will learn how Guy has applied the five values of the Pro Football Hall of Fame – commitment, integrity, courage, respect, and excellence – to his career and life after football.
Guy was selected in the first round of the 1973 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. Over the next 14 seasons, all with the Raiders, he revolutionized the punting position. He posted a staggering 42.4 yards per punt career average. Guy averaged 40 yards per punt in all but one season during his career. In the 11 seasons in which the stat was recorded, he placed 209 punts "insidethe 20" including 77 of those pinpoint punts occurring in his final three seasons. A six-time All-Pro, he was voted to seven Pro Bowls and named to the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1970s andthe NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Today, Guy serves as the Director of the M-Club and Community Relations at the University of Southern Mississippi.
The "Heart of a Hall of Famer" program began in 2010 and since its inception has featured morethan 60 Gold Jackets who have engaged with nearly 40,000 students nationwide.More information and archived video of past Heart of a Hall of Famer programs can be found here.
