Ralph Sazio
Date of birth | July 22, 1922 |
---|---|
Place of birth | Avellino, Italy |
Date of death | September 25, 2008 | (aged 86)
Place of death | Burlington, Ontario, Canada |
Career information | |
Position(s) | Offensive tackle |
US college | College of William and Mary |
High school | Columbia High School |
NFL draft | 1947 / Round: 28 / Pick: 258 (By the Pittsburgh Steelers) |
Career history | |
As administrator | |
1968–1975, 1980 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats (GM) |
1972–1977 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats (President) |
1978–1980 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats (VP) |
1981–1990 | Toronto Argonauts (President) |
As coach | |
1950–1962 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats (Asst.) |
1963–1967 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
As player | |
1948 | Brooklyn Dodgers (AAFC) |
1950–1953 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
Career highlights and awards | |
Awards | Annis Stukus Trophy (1964) |
Career stats | |
| |
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
[edit]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
[edit]- 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
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ "CFL legend Ralph Sazio dies". CBCSports.ca. September 26, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- 1922 births
- 2008 deaths
- American football offensive linemen
- Canadian football offensive linemen
- Brooklyn Dodgers (AAFC) players
- Columbia High School (New Jersey) alumni
- Hamilton Tiger-Cats players
- Hamilton Tiger-Cats coaches
- Hamilton Tiger-Cats team presidents
- Hamilton Tiger-Cats general managers
- Toronto Argonauts general managers
- Toronto Argonauts team presidents
- William & Mary Tribe football players
- Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees
- People from Maplewood, New Jersey
- Italian players of American football
- Italian players of Canadian football
- Italian emigrants to Canada