About Inductee

Ray Greene was born to coach football and to help mold the lives of young people. In his long professional career, Greene has excelled at both. Born August 12, 1938 in Akron, Ohio, Greene graduated in 1956 from Akron South High School where he was an all-city and honorable mention all-state football player. Awarded a scholarship by the University of Akron, he was named the Zips outstanding sophomore player in 1960 and outstanding defensive player in 1962, and was picked on the All-Ohio Conference team in both 1961 and 1962. In 1985, Greene was voted into the Summit County Hall of Fame in an award given by the Akron Touchdown Club and the University of Akron. He holds a B.A. degree in English and Telecommunications from Akron and an M.A. in Administration and Supervision from the University of Miami. Greens says his parents, his high school coach (Gordon Larson) and the directors of the Akron Community Center, Vernon Odom and George Miller, were primarily responsible for his success in life. Odom and Miller were the first college-educated men who took a personal interest in me, he says. Theyre part of the reason I became a productive citizen. In his first coaching job, Greene helped Dick Fortner rebuild the program at Kenmore High School in Akron. After winning just two games the year before, Kenmore went to the state championship game in Greenes first year. He eventually joined Johnny Majors staff at Iowa State, then spent two years in the World Football League before going to Michigan State. He was head coach at North Carolina Central and at Alabama A&M (twice) and also coached at Alabama State and Jackson State. Alabama A&M was a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference when Greene accepted the head coaching job in 1979. The school had won just two SIAC titles prior to Greenes arrival. He won three in this first three years. Replaced by Ed Wyche in 1983, Greene was rehired at A&M three years later and won another conference championship a year later. In eight years under Greene, A&M won four SIAC titles. I always thought A&M was a gold mine, and still do, he says. Greene is currently the Youth Services Director for the city of Huntsville. Ray and his wife, Patricia, have two children, Stephanie and Ray II.