W. Ralph "Pest" Welch (January 13, 1907 – September 15, 1974) was an
American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the
University of Washington 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 ...
at
Purdue University 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
Ray L. Eckmann (February 9, 1900 – February 14, 1978http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/files/2011/05/Ray-Eckmann-P-I-obit-2-15-78-600-dpi.pdf ) was a former American football player, athletics administrator, businessman, and politician.
Earl ...
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.
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
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