Dave Grayson obit

Dave Grayson, San Diego prep and AFL star, dies at 78

 

He was not on the list.

Dave Grayson, a football star at San Diego and Lincoln High who went on to a 10-year pro football career as a cornerback, has died.

Grayson was 78. No cause of death was listed in the weekend announcement by the Oakland Raiders, for whom Grayson played his final six seasons.

Grayson joined the Raiders in 1965 after playing his first four seasons with the American Football League franchise that began as the Dallas Texans before moving to Kansas City Chiefs. He intercepted 48 passes in his pro career, returning five for touchdowns. In 1968, Grayson led the AFL with 10 interceptions.

The AFL lasted 10 seasons and Grayson — the league’s all-time interceptions leader — was selected to the league’s All-Time Team as a cornerback.

“He was one hell of a defensive back,” said Pete Gumina, who played with Grayson at San Diego High and the University of Oregon. “The best defensive back I’ve ever seen.

“He always had this little smile on his face, and that little smile was like, ‘I know what I can do, and I can do it better than anybody else can.’ He never told anybody how good he was, but everyone knew how good he was.”

Grayson began his prep career at San Diego High as a running back and defensive back. Len Burnett, who played with Grayson at Lincoln, San Diego City College and Oregon, remembers his old teammate best for his running back skills.

“He wasn’t very big, but he played big,” said Burnett, who played one season as a defensive back with the Pittsburgh Steelers. “He was always muscled, almost chiseled, even though we didn’t lift weights in those days. He was born that way, and he hit the hole hard.”



In 1955, as a sophomore at San Diego High, Grayson played on a Cavers team coached by Duane Maley that went 11-0-1, outscored opponents 382-65 and won a mythical national championship. The National Sports News Service bestowed the national title on the Cavers.

Grayson transferred to Lincoln for his final two seasons.

“He wasn’t particularly vocal. He kind of kept his own counsel,” said Rick Smith, former media relations director for the Chargers and Rams and a San Diego high school sports historian. Smith attended Lincoln High with Grayson.

“I just remember him as a real professional, in the way he prepared for the game, the way he dealt with the media (in the AFL). He was a top-drawer guy.”

At San Diego City College, Grayson was on the 4 x 200 relay team that set a national junior college record.

“He was a very fast little fellow,” said longtime San Diego Union Chargers beat writer Jerry Magee, who also saw Grayson play in high school. “I think his speed is what distinguished him.”

Burnett, who now lives in Orlando, Fla., said Grayson married while he was in college.

“He seemed to be a little bit more mature than we were,” said Burnett. “If there were four or five people standing talking, he would be a little bit apart, kind of talking as if he were a little older than we were.

“He was a leader. Very perceptive with great instincts. One thing he liked to do is go to a new place, like a hotel or bar and strike up a conversation with a stranger, just making conversation. He was real good one-on-one.”

In 2010, Grayson was selected to the Breitbard Hall of Fame at the San Diego Hall of Champions. He is also a member of the state of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. His son, David Lee Grayson, played at Lincoln High and spent five seasons in the NFL as a linebacker, including one year with the Chargers.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Aug. 25 at Bayview Baptist Church in Encanto.