Hall of Fame punter Ray Guy was so good at his craft that one opponent once accused of him and the Oakland Raiders of filling footballs with helium to improve the hang time on his kicks. It turned out to be an unfounded claim, but it spoke to the dominance that the NFL’s all-time greatest punter consistently displayed during his career. 

Guy died on Thursday at the age of 72 following a long illness.

The news was initially announced by Southern Mississippi, Guy’s college alma mater. He was an eight-time All-Pro and inducted into both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame in 2014. 

His career was defined by his ability to get incredible hang time on his punts, allowing the Raiders coverage unit to get downfield and limit returns. His kicks introduced the idea of hang time into the NFL. He was so good at it that following a game in 1977 the Houston Oilers made the helium accusation. 

Said return man Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, “I have never seen anybody hang kicks like Guy did. I told (special teams coach) Andy Bourgeois that the ball was hanging up there too long.”

According to a UPI news report at the time, the Oilers even sent one of the Raiders footballs to Rice University to have it tested for helium. Coach Bum Phillips admitted at the time there was probably nothing to the claim, but he still wanted it tested to be sure. No helium was detected. 

Guy had a fascinating NFL career that began with him being the first punter ever selected in the first round of the draft when the Oakland Raiders picked him with the No. 23 overall selection in the 1973 draft. 

Guy embodied everything that was wild about the 1970s Al Davis Raiders. It showed Davis’ willingness to march to the beat of his own drum by selecting a punter in the first round, and Guy was so good at his job that other teams concocted outrageous theories about why he was so remarkable. 

Just imagine the reaction today if a team selected a punter in the first round of the draft. If a team picks one anytime before the fourth round it is considered a shocking pick, and the Raiders used a top-25 pick on Guy. That’s the way Davis did things, and for more than a decade it worked for him. Guy helped the Raiders win three Super Bowls during his career and led the league in punting average three different times.