Ray Nettles was an old fashoined linebacker in the very best sense of the word. You didn't expect Nettles to cover fleet footed receivers, so he didn't have a lot of interceptions (7 career), but you could count on Nettles to step into the gaps and stop the run cold. Like many players of this era and before, you can't really judge Nettles by his stats as no tackle or quarterback sack stats were kept during those years. You can, however, look at Nettles accomplishments. Nettles won 4 division all-sars, three in the West with BC (1972, 1973 and 1974) - which were his first three seasons in the league ane one in the East with Toronto in 1977. Nettles also won a pair CFL All-Stars in 1972 and 1973. Nettles was also named the Outstanding Lineman in the League in 1973. In 2005, Nettles was elected the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Nettles played his college football at Tennessee where he was a conference all-star and was drafted in the sixth round of the 1972 NFL college draft by the Miami Dolphins. Nettles ended up in BC instead of Miami and played 5 seasons for the Lions from 1972-76. It is with BC that Nettles is most often remembered, but spent another 4 seasons in the CFL, one each with Toronto (1977), Hamilton (1978), Ottawa (1979) and Calgary (1980) before retiring.
Ray Nettles passed away on September 29, 2009.
Ray Nettles in Action for Argonauts (YouTube Video
Ray Nettles in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
Ray Nettles Seeks Redemption While Fighting a Fatal Illness
Former Jacksonville Football Star Ray Nettles Dies
| Year | Team | GP | Int | Yds | Avg | TDInt | Long | FR | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | BC | 16 | 3 | 23 | 7.7 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 10 | |
| 1973 | BC | 16 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1974 | BC | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1975 | BC | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1976 | BC | 15 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1977 | TOR | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1978 | HAM | 16 | 1 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 11 | 3.7 | 0 | 11 | |
| 1979 | OTT | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||
| 1980 | CAL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
No tackler or quarterback sack stats were kept during these years
