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12 Facts About Ray McLean

1.

Raymond Tuttle "Scooter" McLean was an American football player and coach at both the collegiate and professional levels.

2.

Ray McLean was selected by the Chicago Bears in the 21st round of the 1940 NFL draft and played eight years with the team, and found time during the offseason to play semipro baseball.

3.

Common for the era, Ray McLean played on both sides of the ball, catching 103 passes for over 2,200 yards and 21 touchdowns, while gaining 412 yards via the running game.

4.

On March 3,1948, Ray McLean signed a contract to serve as head coach of Lewis College in Lockport, Illinois, southwest of Chicago.

5.

In 1950, the school moved to the much stronger Midlands Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, but Ray McLean left after that campaign to become an assistant with the Packers in 1951.

6.

Ray McLean was the only assistant retained in 1954 by new head coach Lisle Blackbourn and returned to his role as the backfield coach.

7.

On January 6, Blackbourn was fired and the 42-year-old Ray McLean was immediately elevated to the top position for 1958, but with only a one-year contract.

8.

Ray McLean's contract expired on December 31 and he resigned days after the conclusion of the season, which opened the way for the hiring of Lombardi in January 1959.

9.

Ray McLean immediately found work as an assistant with the Detroit Lions, under former Bears teammate George Wilson, and served in that role for the next five years.

10.

Wilson, his road roommate in Chicago, had offered the job a year earlier before Ray McLean became the head coach.

11.

Midway through the 1963 season, Ray McLean entered an Ann Arbor hospital and was diagnosed with cancer; he died several months later at age 48, leaving a wife and four children.

12.

Ray McLean was buried in Michigan at Oakland Hills Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Novi.