Early Life and Education
Graves was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on December 31, 1918. He was the son of a Methodist minister, and he realized that his best (and perhaps only) opportunity to attend college would be to earn an athletic scholarship. Tennessee Wesleyan College, a small Methodist-affiliated college located in Athens, Tennessee, recognized his athletic talent and offered him a full scholarship. Coach Robert Neyland of the University of Tennessee recognized his stand-out play and arranged for Graves to transfer to Tennessee. After he graduated from Tennessee in 1942, he attempted to volunteer for the U.S. Navy following the United States' entry into World War II, but he was rejected when he failed his physical because he was deaf in one ear. He would have been accepted only in a grave emergency.
Read more about this topic: Ray Graves
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