Ray Flaherty
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| Position: | End | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | September 1, 1903 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Lamont, Washington | ||||||||
| Date of death: | July 19, 1994 (aged 90) | ||||||||
| Place of death: | Coeur d'Alene, Idaho | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Gonzaga (WA) | ||||||||
| College: | Gonzaga | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| As coach: | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Coaching stats at PFR | |||||||||
| Coaching record: | 87–37–5 |
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| Receiving yards: | 626 |
| Receiving TDs: | 20 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Raymond Paul Flaherty (September 1, 1903 – July 19, 1994) was an American football player and coach in the National Football League, and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was part of three NFL Championship teams, one as a player and two as a head coach.
Born on a farm near Lamont in eastern Washington, Flaherty grew up in Spokane and was a multi-sport athlete at Gonzaga High School (now Gonzaga Prep) and Gonzaga University, where he played with under head coach Gus Dorais. As a freshman, Flaherty attended Washington State College in Pullman, then transferred to Gonzaga before his sophomore year.
Flaherty began his professional football career in 1926 with the Los Angeles Wildcats of the American Football League, a team of western players based in Illinois. It played all its games on the road in its only season, which ended with a post-season barnstorming tour through the South against league rival New York Yankees. Flaherty then played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, first with the Yankees (1927–1928) with Red Grange, until the franchise folded near the end of the 1928 season. He joined the New York Giants, playing their final game in 1928 through the 1935 season, except for 1930, when he returned to Spokane as the head coach at his alma mater, Gonzaga. He also coached the Bulldog basketball team for a season (1930–1931). At the end of the 1935 season, Flahery's jersey number 1 was 'taken out of circulation', thus making Flaherty the first professional athlete to have his number retired.
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