The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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AUGUST 2021 THE WOLVERINE 69 WHERE ARE THEY NOW? called, growing deeply emotional and noting his own father died in World War II. "I moved in with the Wikels." There was no free ride. Wikel made sure Gray got jobs — doing paper- work at the engineering building, working in a drug store, cleaning of- fices. Gray worked throughout his college years, finding a new home, a new brother and three new sisters. They couldn't cushion the blow in his disastrous junior year, when the Wolverines went 7-14-3 and finished last in their league. Departures and injuries — including Gray's knee in- jury — blew up the year. "I think we ended up playing with nine guys in our final game against North Dakota," Gray recalled. "That's all we had. That's the year they elected me the Most Valuable Player on the team, which was kind of a joke. That was a tough year for us." The following season proved just the opposite. The team opened with a new attitude and seemed to improve week by week. "We didn't have the best forwards in the country," Gray recalled. "We didn't have the best defensemen. We sure as hell didn't have the best goal- tender. We had a great coach. Because of that, we became a great team." Still, that great team barely advanced in the conference championship semi- finals and got thumped by Denver, 6-2, in the WCHA championship. The teams met a week later, in Den- ver, for the national title. Denver, and the media, considered the title game an afterthought. "They had already decided they were national champs," Gray noted. Instead, Michigan raced to a 3-0 lead, Gray turning aside 15 Denver shots in the first period alone. The home team pulled back within one, but the Wolverines surged away for a 6-3 victory and the title. "When they said one minute left in the game, and it was 6-3, I knew it was all over," Gray said. Gray faded to black in the post- game moments, the Most Outstand- ing Player seemingly overwhelmed. "I've never told anybody about this," he said. "I don't remember the game ending. I don't remember the dressing room — nothing. I don't re- member going off the ice. I really don't. "I can remember the puck going in the corner and putting it in my glove. That's it. I don't remember anything else. I don't remember showering, packing my bag. I guess I was in shock." He was also a national champion. Not bad for a goalie who hadn't worn a chest protector or shoulder pads since Juniors. Ross once opined that goalies lost flexibility via such padding. So Gray simply cast those protections aside for the rest of his career. Asked if that move ever produced serious consequences, Gray mo- tioned to his sternum and said: "Got one right here. They rushed me to the doctor, for X-rays and all that. "Last year, I was up visiting Rossy and we got talking about it. I said, 'You're the guy who convinced me to do this.' He said, 'Yeah, but I didn't think you'd take me seriously!' Well, thanks a lot, pal! Thanks a lot!" Gray's career in AAA hockey took him from Seattle to Fort Wayne, Ind., and eventually San Francisco. He tried law school, but instead played a couple more years across the Atlantic in Holland. A career as a marketing manage- ment consultant followed, and he still played a little weekend hockey in the West Coast Professional League. But another knee injury convinced him to give up the skates — literally. "I thought, this is so stupid," he said. "You're 40 years old. You don't need this crap. I was going across the Golden Gate bridge one day, early in the morn- ing, when traffic wasn't bad. I stopped my car, got out and threw my skates over the edge of the bridge. I said, 'That's it — I'll never skate again.'" He hasn't. But he'll always be thankful for skating to Ann Arbor, then hoisting a national champion- ship banner — and a degree. "One thing they cannot take away from you is your education," Gray said. "I got a good one. I'm proud to say I'm a Michigan Man." ❏ After earning his degree from Michigan in 1964, Gray worked as a marketing manage- ment consultant and started his own manu- facturing rep business. PHOTO COURTESY BOB GRAY The Bob Gray File Michigan Achievements: Played goalie for Michigan's national championship team in 1964, earning Most Outstanding Player honors in the NCAA Tournament … Inducted into the Michigan Dekers Hall of Fame in 1990 … Shared a trophy with fellow U-M goalie Dave Butts for fewest goals surrendered, in 1962 … Once moved to forward and scored a hat trick in a 21-0 rout over Ohio State. Professional Achievements: Played goalie for the Seattle Totems, Fort Wayne Komets and San Francisco Seals in AAA hockey, as well as two years in Holland … Worked as a marketing management consultant for Dow Chemical, General Dynamics and Owens Corning … Started his own manufacturing rep business. Education: Earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Michigan in the spring of 1964. Michigan Memory: "I've got two plaques on my wall — one is rejection [to the University of Michigan], one is acceptance. That's pretty tough to beat, from a memory standpoint. "I remember the first game I played, against the University of Toronto. Winning the national championship was great. I made the Michigan Hockey Hall of Fame the same year I was inducted into the Owen Sound Hall of Fame. "Having a degree from the University of Michigan is a special, special achieve- ment. But the two plaques on the wall make me appreciate everything I have." Family: Married to wife Gerry. He still has a sister in Halifax and considers the Wikels family to this day.