GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Ray Graves arrived at Florida in 1960 to take over a fledgling football program and an athletic department that would undergo significant changes during his tenure.
In 10 seasons as the Gators' head coach from 1960-69, Graves won nearly 70 percent of his games, led Florida to its first appearances in the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl, and signed a quarterback named Steve Spurrier, who would become the school's first Heisman Trophy winner in 1966.
Graves passed away early Friday morning in Clearwater at the age of 96 from natural causes.
“A tremendous influence on my life,'' Spurrier said Friday. “After my mother and dad, Coach Graves had the biggest influence on my life. I am so thankful for him. I had a chance yesterday to tell him I love him and I sincerely thank him for the influence he had on me.”
Meanwhile, in nearly 20 years as UF's athletic director, Graves ushered in the Title IX era of the 1970s, helped develop plans that led to the building of the O'Connell Center, and played an important role in UF's prosperous connection to the invention of Gatorade.
Born on Dec. 31, 1918, Graves played at the University of Tennessee where he was captain in 1941. After a brief stint in professional football with the Philadelphia Eagles, Graves embarked on a coaching career in 1944 at his alma mater.
In a coincidental twist, he replaced future Gators head coach Bob Woodruff -- whom Graves would later replace as head coach at UF -- in 1947 to join Georgia Tech as an assistant coach. He spent 13 seasons there under legendary coach Bobby Dodd before late UF President Dr. J. Wayne Reitz hired the 41-year-old Graves as the 14th head football coach in school history in January 1960.
“We have found him to be a person of fine character and a man interested in furthering the objectives of the university as a whole,'' Reitz said.
Graves instantly made an impact on the sideline, leading the Gators to a 9-2 record in his first season and a Gator Bowl victory over Baylor. In one of the most memorable wins of his career, Graves defeated Dodd and his Georgia Tech team, 18-17, in only his third game as Florida's head coach.
Graves finished his career at Florida with a 70-31-4 record, including a 9-1-1 season in 1969 when he led the Gators to a memorable 14-13 victory over Tennessee in his final game as a head coach. Not only did Graves defeat his alma mater, he beat his successor at UF, then-Tennessee head coach Doug Dickey.
A milestone season for the Gators under Graves happened in 1966 when Spurrier won the Heisman Trophy and guided the Gators to a 9-2 record and a 27-12 victory over Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Two years later Graves recruited the first African-American players to UF: Willie Jackson and Leonard George.
When Spurrier returned to Florida to become head coach in 1990, he created the Ray Graves Award to honor the Gators' Most Valuable Player each season.
"We are truly saddened to hear of the passing of Ray Graves,'' Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley said. "You can't put into words what he has meant to the Gator Nation and the countless lives he has touched from his players, coaches, friends and family. Like many others, I was fortunate to have a personal relationship with him and will be forever grateful for our time together. God bless him and his family."
Graves is a member of the UF Athletics Hall of Fame and in 1990 was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
“This is simply wonderful,'' Graves said of his induction. “I never expected this.”
Spurrier and late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner attended Graves' induction ceremony in New York.
After stepping down as Florida's athletic director in January 1979 shortly after his 60th birthday, Graves served as a consultant for Steinbrenner Enterprises in Tampa and for the Jacksonville Bulls of the United States Football League.
He spent the rest of his retirement years in the Tampa Bay area.
Graves is survived by his wife, the former Opal Richardson of Tazewell, Tenn. The couple married on Nov. 3, 1942, and have three daughters together: Rebecca Ann, Katherine Gibbs and Elizabeth Green.
GatorZone.com will share information for Graves' memorial service when details are finalized.
