Ray Guy William Ray Guy ( born December 22 , 1949 ) is a retired American football punter for the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders . Coming from the University of Southern Mississippi , he was the only pure punter ever to be drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft when the Oakland Raiders selected him in 1973 . He is considered one of the best punters of all time , and was the first pure punter nominated for the professional football Hall of Fame . However , as of 2013 , he is still not voted into the Hall of Fame . Playing success . Ray Guy was the first and only punter ever to be selected in the first round in the NFL Draft as of 1973 . Ray Guy retired in 1986 . During his career , Guy : Ray Guy was selected to seven AFC Pro Bowl teams , and in 1994 , he was named the punter on the National Football League ' s 75th Anniversary Team . His trademark was kicking punts that stayed in the air for so long that by the time the punt returner was able to field it , the Raiders ' coverage unit had the field covered so well that a return was not possible . The statistic for hang time was instituted in the NFL during his career , reportedly because of him . He was also an outstanding placekicker at Southern Mississippi , once kicking a then - record 61 - yard field goal in a snowstorm during a game in Utah . In 1972 he kicked a 93 - yard punt in a game against the University of Mississippi . After his senior season at Southern Miss , Guy was named Most Valuable Player of the 1973 Chicago College All - Star Game , in which an all - star team of college seniors played the current Super Bowl champion . He was also a starting safety at Southern Miss ; during his senior season , he intercepted a USM record eight passes , and was named an All - American defensive back . Guy also played quarterback in his early years and was officially the Oakland Raiders ' last - string emergency quarterback , ironically replacing kicker - quarterback George Blanda in this position . During the time that Blanda was still with the Raiders , early in Guy ' s career , Guy would occasionally do kickoffs for the Raiders because the aging Blanda no longer had great range . Guy has been inducted into both the Mississippi and Georgia Sports Halls of Fame , the National High School Sports Hall of Fame , and the College Football Hall of Fame , and many feel he is worthy of induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . In 1994 , he was the first pure punter to be nominated for enshrinement . On April 21 , 2008 , Guy was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame . Joe Horrigan , the historian of the Pro Football Hall of Fame once said : " He ' s the first punter you could look at and say : ' He won games . ' " Guy ' s punts often doomed opposing offenses to poor field position . At the 1976 Pro Bowl , Guy became the first punter to hit the Louisiana Superdome video screen . Officials raised the screen from 90 feet to 200 feet . The NFC team pulled the ball and had it tested for helium ; it was filled with regular air . The Ray Guy Award . In 2000 , the Greater Augusta Sports Council instituted the Ray Guy Award , to be awarded to the nation ' s best collegiate punter . Since many collegiate punters nominated for the Ray Guy Award are either former students or work at his kicking camps , Guy himself does not participate in the voting process to avoid accusations of favoritism . Pro kicking camps . In 2005 , Ray Guy helped organize and participated in two - day kicking camps , held throughout the United States , for high - school punters , placekickers , and longsnappers . In 2007 , the camp was once again held on the campus of Colorado College . He has help from son Ryan Guy . Personal . Guy is married to Beverly Guy . He has two children , Ryan and Amber . His son Ryan works at Harlem Middle School as a coach . On August 14 , 2011 , Guy filed for bankruptcy and was forced to put up his Super Bowl ring s for auction . The auction of the rings brought in $ 96 , 216 , slightly higher than the upper estimate of 90K .