Ralph Sazio

Canadian football player, coach, and executive (1922–2008)
Ralph Sazio
Date of birth(1922-07-22)July 22, 1922
Place of birthAvellino, Italy
Date of deathSeptember 25, 2008(2008-09-25) (aged 86)
Place of deathBurlington, Ontario, Canada
Career information
Position(s)Offensive tackle
US collegeCollege of William and Mary
High schoolColumbia High School
NFL draft1947 / Round: 28 / Pick: 258
(By the Pittsburgh Steelers)
Career history
As administrator
1968–1975, 1980Hamilton Tiger-Cats (GM)
1972–1977Hamilton Tiger-Cats (President)
1978–1980Hamilton Tiger-Cats (VP)
1981–1990Toronto Argonauts (President)
As coach
1950–1962Hamilton Tiger-Cats (Asst.)
19631967Hamilton Tiger-Cats
As player
1948Brooklyn Dodgers (AAFC)
19501953Hamilton Tiger-Cats
AwardsAnnis Stukus Trophy (1964)
Career stats
  • Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com
  • Canadian Football Hall of Fame, 1998

Ralph Joseph Sazio (July 22, 1922 – September 25, 2008) was a Canadian football player, coach, and executive. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (1998) as a builder.

Sazio was born in Avellino, Italy and played high school football at Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey.[1] He played college football at the College of William and Mary and played for the AAFC's Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948.

Career

Ralph Sazio was a mainstay of the Canadian Football League's Hamilton Tiger-Cats as a player, assistant coach, head coach, general manager and team president.

His major contribution was as the Tiger-cats' head coach from 1963 to 1967, winning three Grey Cup championships during that span. He retired from coaching in 1967 as the most successful Tiger-Cat head coach to date in terms of championships (3) and winning percentage.

He later served as Toronto Argonauts team president from 1981 to 1990.

He was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1998 in the builder category. He died in 2008.[2]

Coaching record

  • Overall: 60–24–1 (.712)
  • Regular Season: 49–20–1 (.707)
  • Playoffs: 11–4 (.733)
  • 1 Grey Cup defeat (1964)
  • 3 Grey Cups (1963, 1965, 1967)

References

  1. ^ Richardson, William D. "COLLEAGUES HONOR STANFORD MENTOR; Shaughnessy Named 'Coach of the Year' in Poll Taken by the World-Telegram", The New York Times, December 20, 1940.
  2. ^ "CFL legend Ralph Sazio dies". CBCSports.ca. September 26, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
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