Ray Wedgeworth was an American college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

, baseball

College baseball

College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...

 and basketball

College basketball

College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

 head coach. He served in all three capacities at Jacksonville State University

Jacksonville State University

Jacksonville State University is a regional public coeducational university located in Jacksonville, Alabama, USA. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in four academic units leading to Bachelor's, Master's, and Education Specialist degrees, in addition to continuing and...

.

He attended Birmingham Southern College in the early 1930s, where he played football as a center

Center (American football)

Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...

. Wedgeworth was hired as an assistant to Jacksonville State head football coach Don Salls for the 1947 season. The prior year, Salls' team had gone 3–5–1. In 1947, the Gamecocks posted a perfect 9–0 record.

For two seasons, from 1951 to 1953, he served as the head basketball coach at Jacksonville State. His teams amassed a 32–14 record. In 1953, Wedgeworth became head football coach for one season and amassed a 3–5–1 record. At Jacksonville State, he also served as the head baseball coach from 1964 until 1970, when he relinquished the post after he was diagnosed with cancer. The Jacksonville State baseball team compiled a 52–50 record during his tenure.

At the 1954 Blue–Gray Game, Wedgeworth recommended Florence State Teachers' College

University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is a coeducational university located in Florence, Alabama, and the state's oldest four-year public university....

 flanker Harlon Hill

Harlon Hill

Harlon Junius Hill was a standout player at Lauderdale County High School and later as an offensive end at Florence State Teachers College, now known as the University of North Alabama, being named an NAIA All-American in his senior year...

 to Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 scout Clark Shaughnessy

Clark Shaughnessy

Clark Daniel Shaughnessy was an American football coach and innovator. He is sometimes called the "father of the T formation", although that system had previously been used as early as the 1880s. Shaughnessy did, however, modernize the obsolescent T formation to make it once again relevant in the...

. The Bears selected Hill in the 1954 NFL Draft

1954 NFL Draft

The 1954 National Football League Draft was held on January 28, 1954.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:-Round eleven:...

, and that season, he was named the NEA NFL MVP.

External links

• Ray Wedgeworth's obituary