Coach Graves has passed...

GatorJB

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Gatorwitt;n207129 said:
Don't you think we can put the criteria aside in this case? The man brought Steve Spurrier and Jack Youngblood to the Gators. Two men already in the ROH. I think that fits the criteria.

+ 1

They should make an exception for him.
 

Gatorphan

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RIP. He was my favorite coach at UF. Ring of Honor worthy for sure.

My dad was a Hillsborough County Sheriff during the Graves years. He was asked to come up on Saturdays to help direct traffic and secure the field during the games. He remembers drinking the first Gatorade on the sidelines. He said it mixed well with his Vodka from the flask he carried.
 

WobbleGator

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Gatorphan;n207151 said:
Ring of Honor worthy for sure.

Not according to the present criteria.

Criteria to Merit Consideration
  • Heisman Trophy Winners
  • Former UF All-Americans Inducted into NFL Hall of Fame for Accomplishments as Players
  • Former UF All-Americans Who Are NFL Career Category Leaders
  • Collegiate Career Category Leaders
  • Coaches with UF National Championships
  • Coaches with at least 3 UF SEC Championships
  • Players with 2 or more consensus All-American honors (AP, Walter Camp, Sporting News, AFCA, FWAA, UPI) who have also been named National Offensive/Defensive Players of Year (AP, Walter Camp, Sporting News, ABC, AFCA, FWAA, UPI)
 

Gatorphan

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WobbleGator;n207155 said:
Not according to the present criteria.

Criteria to Merit Consideration
  • Heisman Trophy Winners
  • Former UF All-Americans Inducted into NFL Hall of Fame for Accomplishments as Players
  • Former UF All-Americans Who Are NFL Career Category Leaders
  • Collegiate Career Category Leaders
  • Coaches with UF National Championships
  • Coaches with at least 3 UF SEC Championships
  • Players with 2 or more consensus All-American honors (AP, Walter Camp, Sporting News, AFCA, FWAA, UPI) who have also been named National Offensive/Defensive Players of Year (AP, Walter Camp, Sporting News, ABC, AFCA, FWAA, UPI)
Duh...He's my one exception. I don't think they'll ever allow him in, but wish they would. The excitement during his years was similar to the 90's. There would be no Spurrier at UF without Graves. Period.
 

NavetG8r

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In case anyone is interested.


[video=youtube;MKNqawPR1-g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKNqawPR1-g[/video]
 

78

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The temptation will be to judge him for wins and championships, but Graves was much more than that. He was a kind soul, a class act and a genuine father figure who helped distinguish Florida football as much for what his players did off the field as on. Academic achievement was as synonymous with the Silver Sixties Graves years as the success UF achieved on the gridiron, which was considerable. When he wasn't helping mold top talent the likes of which included Spurrier, Smith and Youngblood, Graves was, with Dr. Robert Cade, helping laying the groundwork for the advent of a salty, light green colored dehydration killer that would become known the world over as Gatorade.

He was a special guy was Graves, but you'd hardly know it by the unassuming way he carried himself around Florida Field upon retirement. He treated everyone the same, with a warm smile, a hearty handshake and lively conversation. The body couldn't last forever, but the legacy he left behind surely will.

RIP, Coach.
 

stephenPE

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What 78 said. He laid the ground work for the excitement that finally came to Gainesville in gator football. He went for two to beat Ga Tech and even Penn St.
Huge wins for UF in a meager history, He beat Bear in Tuscaloosa when it had never been done ever. A bonfire in the middle of 13th and Univ ave followed
I felt one after the FIRST sec title was appropriate but the men in blue thought otherwise. He brought SOS here (can you name any other moment in Fla FB history with more signicance? Even after Steve and that magic time he brought us Reeves Alvarez and the super sophs. So much happened them. In ten years he wond 70% of the games and that was huge at the time. He was my first gator coach I can remember. I hope they honor him big time. Ring of honor is definately something he deserved no matter the criteria. Without Ray that ROH may have had no SOS and so many titles..............
The Alvarez comments are fantastic.........in that video
 

Okeechobee Joe

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[youtube]VnBCEnlHegQ[/youtube]

Growing up in Florida I listened to a lot of Florida Gator football games on Saturdays on the radio with Otis Boggs announcing. On Sundays we watched the Ray Graves Show where coach Graves and Jacksonville's Dick Stratton discussed the film highlights of Saturday's games.

The passing of Ray Graves brings back a lot of memories for me. My dad attended the University of Tennessee. When he moved on down to Florida he began to follow the Gators. Ray Graves, an old UT lineman was the Gators head coach. I see that Graves will be buried in the little town of Tazewell, Tennessee where he grew up. Dad pulled for Gators through thick and thin, but of course, when Florida did play Tennessee, the few times the two schools played back then, then his loyalty was still with the Vols. Coach Graves was Gator Ray and the Bull Gator.
 

Swamp Queen

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NavetG8r;n207294 said:
In case anyone is interested.


[video=youtube;MKNqawPR1-g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKNqawPR1-g[/video]

Good stuff. Thanks for posting.
 

FatCatG8r

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Jabberdave;n207001 said:
He doesn't meet the criteria.

Then we need to write in a new Criteria you young whipper snapper. Call it the Ray Graves Criteria. Call it The Man Who Made Florida Football Criteria. I don't give a flyin' F what you call it as long as it puts this man at the head of the line in the Ring of Honor. No one deserves it more.

Ox. If you don't sticky this you are officially fired in my book.

My first game at Florida Field was in 1963. I was 11 years old. A little guy named Larry Libatore, maybe 5'6" in cleats, was the QB. Spurrier was a freshman and therefore relegated to the JV squad that played four games a year in those days. Freshmen were ineligible for varsity play.

A great Gator has died and I'm guessing there will be a tribute at the O&B scrimmage today and there won't be a dry eye in the stadium.

He was a man with integrity and heart who was loved by his players and fans. It was a travesty that we hired that dick Dickey to replace him.

I salute you Coach.
 

TallyGator

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I got to meet Coach Graves when I attended the Ray Graves Sports Camp back in 1966. Because I won an award, my Dad got to meet and shake his hand as well...one of the very few things Dad ever thanked me for. I agree in general with the ROH criteria because it should be special. But Ray Graves was special and definitely created the foundation for the future of Florida football. He gets my vote in the category of Special Inductees.
 

Swamp Donkey

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WobbleGator;n207155 said:
Not according to the present criteria.

Criteria to Merit Consideration
  • Heisman Trophy Winners
  • Former UF All-Americans Inducted into NFL Hall of Fame for Accomplishments as Players
  • Former UF All-Americans Who Are NFL Career Category Leaders
  • Collegiate Career Category Leaders
  • Coaches with UF National Championships
  • Coaches with at least 3 UF SEC Championships
  • Players with 2 or more consensus All-American honors (AP, Walter Camp, Sporting News, AFCA, FWAA, UPI) who have also been named National Offensive/Defensive Players of Year (AP, Walter Camp, Sporting News, ABC, AFCA, FWAA, UPI)
The criteria can be changed at will.

Some who can check a box for consideration will never make it. Some who cannot check off one of the boxes will.
 

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