- Ray McDonald (running back)
NFL player
Name=Ray McDonald
DateOfBirth=birth date|1944|05|7
Birthplace=McKinney, TX , U.S.
DateOfDeath=death date and age|1993|05|4|1944|05|7
College=Idaho
number=32
Height_ft=6
Height_in=4
Weight_lbs=248
Position=Running back
DraftedYear=1967
DraftedRound=1
DraftedPick=13
Awards=
Honors=
Records=
Retired #s=
ProBowls=
years=1967-1968
teams=Washington Redskins
DatabaseFootball=MCDONRAY01
PFR=McDoRa00
NFL=MCD533925Ray Douglas McDonald (
May 7 ,1944 –May 4 ,1993 ) was a professionalAmerican football player, arunning back in theNational Football League for theWashington Redskins for two seasons, from 1967-68.McDonald was born in McKinney, a segregated suburb of Dallas. After 17 years in McKinney, he followed his high school coach to
Caldwell, Idaho in 1961, where he attended Caldwell High School for two years, graduating in 1963. At 6'2" and 220 pounds, he was a high school All-American and was compared to NFL greatJim Brown .McDonald then attended the
University of Idaho in Moscow. As a speedy fullback for the Vandals, he was known as "Thunder Ray" and led the nation in rushing in 1966 with 1329 yards. At an imposing 6'4", 248 pounds, he was the dominant player in theBig Sky Conference , and was the leading rusher for Idaho in all three years of eligibility (1964-66), averaging 133 yards rushing per game for his collegiate career. (Freshman were ineligible for NCAA varsity participation until the 1970s.)McDonald was timed in the
100-yard dash at 9.9 seconds and was a first-teamAll-American . He threw thediscus and was a national-classhurdler on the Vandal track team.Ray McDonald was selected in the first round of the
1967 NFL Draft by theWashington Redskins , the 13th overall pick, a personal choice by ownerEdward Bennett Williams . He signed a three-year guaranteed contract for $100,000.In 1968, he was arrested by
Washington, D.C. police for having sex with a man in public.citation |title=Passing: When People Can't Be Who They Are |first=Brooke |last=Kroeger |year=2004 |isbn=1586482874 |page=238 ] Injuries also played a part in cutting short his career and by 1969 he was out of pro football.Ray McDonald eventually became a junior high music teacher. After an extended battle, he died of complications due to
AIDS citation |title=Lives of three U of I stars unfolded very differently |first=Dan |last=Popkey |url=http://www.idahostatesman.com/eyepiece/story/250654.html |date=December 30 ,2007 |accessdate=2007-12-31 ] atParkland Hospital in Dallas, onMay 4 ,1993 , three days before his 49th birthday, with a body weight less than half of his NFL playing weight. The cause of death was originally reported as complications fromsickle cell anemia .Fact|date=January 2008External Links
* [https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17100&ATCLID=1583610 University of Idaho - Vandal Athletics Hall of Fame] - Ray McDonald
References
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