Ray Beck
Encyclopedia
Ray Merril Beck was an American football
player in the National Football League
for the New York Giants
in 1952 and from 1955 to 1957.
Beck was born in Bowdon, Georgia
and graduated from Cedartown High School. He played four years at Georgia Tech and had his best season his senior year in 1951, when the Yellow Jackets
finished 11-0-1 including a 17-14 victory over Baylor
in the Orange Bowl. He was named All-America
by the Football Writers Association and the American Football Coaches Association, as well as Most Valuable Lineman in the Southeastern Conference. He missed the 1953-54 seasons due to military service during the Korean War
. He later was president of a trucking company in the Atlanta area and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1997.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
for the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 1952 and from 1955 to 1957.
Beck was born in Bowdon, Georgia
Bowdon, Georgia
Bowdon is a city in Carroll County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 1,959. Bowdon is known as "The Friendly City."It is also the city of license for radio station WBZY.- Geography :...
and graduated from Cedartown High School. He played four years at Georgia Tech and had his best season his senior year in 1951, when the Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wreck, Engineers, Blacksmiths, and Golden Tornado. There are 8 men's and 7 women's teams that...
finished 11-0-1 including a 17-14 victory over Baylor
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
in the Orange Bowl. He was named All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
by the Football Writers Association and the American Football Coaches Association, as well as Most Valuable Lineman in the Southeastern Conference. He missed the 1953-54 seasons due to military service during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. He later was president of a trucking company in the Atlanta area and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1997.