William Ryan deGraffenried Sr. (April 15, 1925 – February 10, 1966) was an American attorney and politician from Alabama.
On his first attempt, he was defeated in the Democratic primary runoff by George Wallace, who was later elected Governor.
In 1966, DeGraffenried ran again as a moderate, supporting racial integration.
He sought to succeed the Dixiecrat-style Wallace, who was prohibited by the constitution from running for a second consecutive term.
One day after qualifying for the gubernatorial race, DeGraffenried died in a plane crash while campaigning in northeast Alabama near Fort Payne.