W. Ralph "Pest" Welch (January 13, 1907 – September 15, 1974) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach. He served as the head coach at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

from 1942 to 1947, compiling a record of 27–20–3. Welch led his 1943 Washington squad to the Rose Bowl, where they lost to

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

, 29–0. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

as a halfback under head coach James Phelan, whom he followed to Washington as an assistant in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

. When Washington athletic director Ray Eckmann removed Phelan after the 1941 season, he selected Welch to replace him. Popular with the players, Welch wielded a reputation as a great scout of talent. Eckmann retained Welch on a year-to-year basis with an initial $9,000 per season salary, matching Phelan's final salary. Welch died on September 15, 1974, at University Hospital in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

Head coaching record

References

1907 births 1974 deaths American football halfbacks Purdue Boilermakers football players Washington Huskies football coaches All-American college football players People from Sherman, Texas Players of American football from Texas {{1940s-collegefootball-coach-stub