Jimmy Ralph (born October 16, 1992) is a former professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

wide receiver. He began his professional career with 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 ...

in 2017 where he won his first Grey Cup as a member of the

105th Grey Cup The 105th Grey Cup was played on November 26, 2017, between the Calgary Stampeders and the Toronto Argonauts at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. In a re-match of the 100th Grey Cup, the Argonauts won the game 27–24, winning their 17th cham ...

championship team.

Amateur career

Ralph played for the

Calgary Colts The Calgary Colts are a Canadian Junior Football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Colts play in the six-team Prairie Football Conference, which itself is part of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) and competes annually for the national ...

of the Canadian Junior Football League in 2012 before enrolling at

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

to play for the

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

. He

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

for the 2013 season and, following a coaching overhaul the following year, elected to transfer to the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

to play for the Golden Bears for the 2014 season. He was a member of the Golden Bears from 2014 to 2016, but sat out the 2016 season due to injury.

Professional career

Toronto Argonauts

After not being selected in the

2017 CFL Draft The 2017 CFL Draft took place on Sunday May 7, 2017 at 7:00 PM ET on TSN and RDS. 71 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian universities, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The draft was broadcast live on T ...

, Ralph was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

on May 17, 2017. After an impressive showing in the pre-season, Ralph made the team's roster. He dressed in his first game with the Argonauts on June 25, 2017 and had his first career reception in his first career start on July 13, 2017 against the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...

on a nine-yard pass from

Ricky Ray Ricky Ray (born October 22, 1979) is an American former professional Canadian football quarterback. Ray spent the majority of his professional career with the Edmonton Eskimos and Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He also ...

. He recorded 26 receptions for 278 yards in 16 regular season games in 2017. He played in the

game and earned his first Grey Cup championship as a member of the Argonauts' winning team. In his second season with the Argonauts, Ralph began the season as the starting slot receiver due to an injury to teammate Anthony Coombs. After failing to provide much of an impact through the first few games, and the team struggling with the loss of starting quarterback Ricky Ray, the Argonauts coaching staff moved Ralph from the starting lineup into a reserve role, and eventually onto the practice roster. Ralph ended the 2018 season with eight receptions for 70 yards. In

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, he earned a spot in the starting lineup following training camp for the first game of the season. He scored his first career CFL touchdown on August 25, 2019 on a six-yard pass from

McLeod Bethel-Thompson McLeod John Baltazar Bethel-Thompson (born July 3, 1988) is an American professional football quarterback for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at UCLA and Sacramento State. He is the gran ...

in Moncton for the

Touchdown Atlantic Touchdown Atlantic (French: ''Touché Atlantique'') is a series of neutral site Canadian Football League games played in the maritime provinces of Canada. In 2003, the league had struck a committee to examine the feasibility of adding a tenth t ...

game. He finished the 2019 with a career-high 38 receptions for 355 yards and one touchdown in 18 regular season games. As a pending free agent in 2020, he was released during the free agency negotiation window on February 7, 2020.

Edmonton Eskimos / Football Team / Elks

As a free agent, Ralph signed with the Edmonton Eskimos on February 13, 2020, but did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the ...

. He re-signed with the since re-named

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

on a contract extension through 2021 on December 26, 2020. He retired from football on June 30, 2021.

Personal life

Ralph was born in

Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, to parents Jim and Shelly Ralph. He has three older brothers who also played football at a high level, at the same position of wide receiver. The eldest brother, Dustin, played college football for the

Wyoming Cowboys The Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls are the athletic teams that represent the University of Wyoming, located in Laramie. Wyoming is a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW) and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 17 NCAA-sanctioned sports ...

and

Alberta Golden Bears The Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas are the sports teams that represent the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Alberta athletics teams have won a total of 93 national championships, including 79 U Sports sanctioned sports, making ...

and was Jimmy's head coach in high school. Brock also played for Wyoming before playing professionally for nine years in 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 ...

for three teams, winning two Grey Cup championships.

Brett Brett derives from a Middle English surname meaning "Briton" or "Breton", referring to the Celtic people of Britain and Brittany, France. Brette can be a feminine name. People with the surname * Adrian Brett (born 1945) English flutist and writer ...

played collegiately for Alberta and played for five seasons with the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

where he was a member of the

96th Grey Cup The 96th Grey Cup was held in Montreal, Quebec at Olympic Stadium on November 23, 2008. The East Division champion Montreal Alouettes hosted the West Division champion Calgary Stampeders. The Stampeders won the game 22–14, with quarterback Henry ...

championship team.

References

External links

Edmonton Elks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ralph, Jimmy 1992 births Living people Canadian football wide receivers Canadian Junior Football League players Alberta Golden Bears football players People from Raymond, Alberta Toronto Argonauts players Weber State Wildcats football players Players of Canadian football from Alberta American football wide receivers Edmonton Elks players