Ralph Vince
Vince prior to the 1922 Rose Bowl
|
|
| Position: | Guard, tackle |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth: | March 18, 1900 |
| Place of birth: | Vinci, Italy |
| Date of death: | October 29, 1996 (aged 96) |
| Place of death: | Shaker Heights, Ohio |
| Height: | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Weight: | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College: | Washington & Jefferson College |
| Career history | |
|
|
| Player stats at PFR | |
Ralph D. Vince (March 18, 1900 – October 29, 1996) was an American football player for the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Bulldogs, and the Cleveland Panthers. He later coached at Baldwin–Wallace College and John Carroll University. Outspoken and inventive as a coach, he was the inventor of the face mask. The original he created is on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He also was the first coach to put an armband of plays on his quarterbacks' wrists, now a common sight in the game. He attended Washington & Jefferson College and played in the 1922 Rose Bowl. He is distinguished as being the first Italian to play in the National Football League (NFL).
Ralph was an Italian immigrant who grew up working in the coal mines of southern Ohio. He watched his first football game as a senior at Martins Ferry High School. Realizing that a football scholarship was his ticket out of the coal mines and into college, he joined the varsity team. Ralph succeeded, and the next year, attended and played for Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania.
He played both offense and defense for the Presidents. In 1922, the team played the favored University of California to a scoreless tie in the Rose Bowl. On the 60th and 70th anniversaries of that game, Vince was an honored guest at the Rose Bowl.
After graduating from Washington & Jefferson in 1922, Ralph enrolled at Western Reserve University's Law School. In order to pay his way through law school, Ralph played in the early National Football League for the Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Bulldogs. He also coached football for St. Ignatius High School.
...
Wikipedia