Hall of Fame punter Ray Guy soaks up the love from Oakland fans

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Ray Guy proudly wore his gold Pro Football Hall of Fame jacket to the Raiders-Chiefs game on Thursday night.

At halftime, he got his ring.

“Now the outfit is complete,” he said.

Guy and 12 other Raiders who are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame stood under umbrellas in a rainy halftime ceremony on the field where he changed the league’s opinion about the importance of a punter.

Guy, 64, was inducted 28 years after he last played. He spent his entire career with the Raiders, nine in Oakland and five in Los Angeles.

When Guy finally got the call, last February, it took him a while to believe it.

“And it still took a few months to really soak in,” he said.

He was touched by the support and turnout of many former NFL punters in Canton. Guy said they were banding together to be more involved in charitable events and make the presence of punters more significant.

“It’s hard to put into words what it means to be back here in the Coliseum to get the ring,” he said. “But the main thing is all the fans and all my former teammates. We had the opportunity to be around today and sit around and reminisce with the Raider family. That’s one more memory I’ll have for the rest of my life.”

Among Hall of Famers who were with the Raiders and were on hand to witness the ring ceremony: John Madden, Willie Brown, Ted Hendricks, Fred Biletnikoff, Marcus Allen, Rod Woodson, Mike Haynes, James Lofton, Jim Otto, Howie Long, Art Shell and Ron Mix.

Hall of Fame punter Ray Guy acknowledges the crowd during a halftime ceremony Thursday. Hall of Fame punter Ray Guy acknowledges the crowd during a halftime ceremony Thursday. Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Hall of Fame punter Ray Guy soaks up the love from Oakland fans 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Guy said he believes plenty of other Raiders, including Cliff Branch, Tom Flores and Jim Plunkett, also belong in the Hall of Fame.

“We’re going to push really hard,” Guy said. “Now that I’m part of Hall of Fame, I’ll have a little bit more voice. Hopefully we’ll get a lot more Raiders, because we have a lot more who are deserving.”

Why have so many Raiders had to wait?

“It’s kind of a mystery,” Guy said. “I guess there’s this mystique. I can’t figure it out. We need to open their eyes a little more. It’s a different era when you’re talking about those guys. It’s not just about statistics.”

Guy probably speaks for all those Raiders greats when he says how difficult it is to see the once-great team struggle.

“It’s very hard to watch them fall on such hard times,” Guy said.

But he was optimistic.

“I think today’s going to be the day,” he said. “I think they’re going to break the ice.”

As usual, Ray Guy was deadly accurate.

Ann Killion is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: akillion@sfchronicle.com