One of the basic philosophies employed by Bob Reade during his ultra-successful career at Augustana was to not give up any cheap touchdowns on defense. In order to do that, strong and aggressive play in the secondary was a must. During the three years that he patrolled the middle of the field from his free safety position Mike Gray made sure that no opponent had any success throwing the ball deep. He played the position like he owned it and when the ball was in the air, there was a good chance he was going to come up with it.
A tremendous athlete with great speed, he also enjoyed a very successful baseball career for the Vikings. Gray came to Augustana in the fall of 1983 after a standout athletic career at Benet Academy in Lisle, Illinois and he did not go out for football as a freshman. Instead he concentrated on baseball where he played in a grand total of three games. It would have been hard to imagine the greatness that was soon to come the likeable redhead’s way.
In the fall of 1984 he reported for football practice for a team that was the defending NCAA Division III national champion. At 6’1” and listed at 165 pounds (probably an overstatement), Gray was never going to scare anybody with his physical presence. He didn’t even earn a starting position for the season’s opener but an injury to the original starting free safety thrust him into the lineup and he never left. It didn’t take long to figure out that he had an instinctive knack for the football.
The third game of the 1984 season was against Wheaton at home and Gray recorded his first career interception that day when he picked off Crusader quarterback Keith Bishop in the second quarter. He would get another one in the fourth quarter and before his days in a Viking uniform had ended he would become the most prolific interceptor in school history. He set a school record in the 1984 NCAA playoffs when he picked off three passes in a 23-6 win over Union in the semifinals. His third, and final, pick of the day was returned 38 yards for a touchdown and sealed the win. He would eventually have two more games in his career where he recorded three interceptions.
Gray finished his sophomore season with a team leading seven interceptions and it was a harbinger of things to come. In his junior year he had four interceptions and that set up a huge senior season. In the fall of 1986 when opponents faced the Augustana defense there was no room for error. Running the ball was nearly impossible and when forced to the air, Gray and his playmates in the secondary (cornerbacks Kevin Cmiel and Troy Westerman and strong safety Dave Torri) had a field day. Together that quartet combined for 33 of the team’s 42 interceptions for the season. By comparison, the Augustana receivers only caught 33 passes over the same 13 game schedule. Gray was the ringleader with a school record 15, which he returned for 269 yards.
He finished his career in style with three interceptions in a 31-3 Stagg Bowl victory over Salisbury State that gave the Vikings an unprecedented fourth straight national title. He owns the school record for interceptions in a single game, single season and career. He was a first team all-conference selection in 1986 at free safety and was named to the Associated Press All-America team.
His legacy would be his ability to perform at his highest level in big games. He played in 11 playoff games during his career and he had 14 interceptions against some of the best teams in the nation. As a senior he intercepted eight passes in four playoff contests. He had two against Hope, two against Mount Union, one against Concordia and three in the title game win over Salisbury State. Earlier that year he had a huge interception in a crucial 12-2 victory over Millikin in the mud in Decatur.
When the football season was completed he switched over to baseball where he was the starting centerfielder for the Vikings for three years. He was a first team all-conference performer in 1985 and earned honorable mention recognition in 1986. At the time of his graduation he was in the top five in four single season categories and five career lists. He had the school record for single season triples with five and career triples with 11. He still holds the career mark for triples. He was third in single season at-bats (106), second in runs scored (29) and third in home runs (7). On the career list he was second in runs scored (77), third in home runs (14), third in RBI (64) and fifth in hits (101).
He graduated from Augustana in May of 1987 with degrees in business and German. He is currently an account executive with the Ackiom Corporation where he is responsible for all relationship, financial and resource strategies with clients, focused in the financial services market. He has been with Ackiom for 11 years and prior to that he was with Donnelly Marketing from 1987 through 1995.
He is married to the former Jill Obmascik and the couple resides in Wheaton, Illinois with daughter Hannan (10) and sons Jackson (7) and Casey (6).
