Ralph Joseph Sazio (July 22, 1922 – September 25, 2008) was a football player, assistant coach, head coach general manager and team president for the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

. He also served as president of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

. He is a member of the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...

(1998) as a builder. Sazio was born in

Avellino, Italy Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento ...

and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

Maplewood, New Jersey Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's populatio ...

. He played college football at the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...

and played for the AAFC's

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

in 1948.

Career

Ralph Sazio was a mainstay of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

'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 The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

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

team president from 1981 to 1990. He was elected to the

in 1998 in the builder category. He died in 2008.

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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sazio, Ralph 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