Former Alabama wide receiver Ray Perkins was named to the Southeastern Conference’s 2019 Football Legends Class on Thursday, the league office announced.
Perkins lettered from 1964-66 as a wide receiver on three Southeastern Conference championship teams and two national championship squads at Alabama. As a senior, he caught 33 passes for 490 yards and seven touchdowns, earning All-America honors as he capped his final season with 178 yards receiving in the Crimson Tide’s 34-7 Sugar Bowl win over Nebraska.
He went on to be drafted by the Baltimore Colts and played in the NFL for five years, including appearances in Super Bowls III and V. After his playing career, Perkins established himself as a head coach, beginning with the New York Giants from 1979-82. Perkins succeeded Paul “Bear” Bryant as Alabama’s head coach, compiling a 32-15-1 record and three bowl victories from 1983-86. He followed that with a stint as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1987-90 and as head coach at Arkansas State in 1992. He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
The class will be honored at the 2019 SEC Football “Weekend of Champions” Dec. 6-7 in Atlanta, Ga., highlighted by the annual SEC Legends Dinner on Friday, from Dec. 6 at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta. The group will also be recognized prior to the SEC Football Championship Game, which will be held at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 7.
