David F. Ritchie (September 3, 1938 – March 9, 2024) was an American

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

coach in

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

, the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL), the

Italian Football League Italian Football League (IFL; the name is in English) is the top level American football league in Italy first established in 1978. The first recognized league champion was crowned in 1980. The annual final playoff game to determine the league c ...

(IFL), and the Swiss National League. He is best known for his time as 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 (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

head coach from

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. He was a three-time

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () 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 between the winners ...

champion, having won in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and was named the CFL's

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. He won 108 regular season games as a head coach in the CFL which is the seventh highest win total by a head coach in the league's history.

Early life and college career

Ritchie was born on September 3, 1938, in

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. At the 2020 census, New Bedford had a population of 101,079, making it the state's ninth-l ...

. His father, also named Dave Ritchie, was one of the best running backs in the history of

New Bedford High School New Bedford High School (NBHS) is a public high school in New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. It is located at 230 Hathaway Boulevard in the West End and was established in 1827 (though the current building was built in 1972). It also serve ...

and the younger Ritchie hoped to follow in his footsteps. He was NBHS's starting quarterback for two seasons, but his family moved to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

during his senior year. Ritchie was an All-Ohio fullback at

Withrow High School Withrow High School (originally East Side High School) is a public high school located on the east side of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Cincinnati Public Schools. History The school opened in 1919 and was listed on the Nat ...

and played

as a fullback,

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

, and punter for the

Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the college sports, athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. The teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and the Football Bowl Subdivision as members of the Big 12 Conference. The Bearcats were pr ...

from 1958 to 1960.

Coaching career

College coaching

Ritchie began his coaching career in 1962 as an assistant coach with

Greenbrier Military School The Greenbrier Military School was a boys-only, private, military, boarding high school and Junior College, located in Lewisburg, West Virginia. The school was founded in 1812 and closed in 1972, when the campus was converted into the West Virgi ...

. He became Greenbrier's head coach in 1966 and remained there until 1969, when he became linebackers coach at his alma mater, Cincinnati. He then joined the

Brown Bears The Brown Bears are the sports teams that represent Brown University, an American university located in Providence, Rhode Island. The Bears are part of the Ivy League conference. Brown's mascot is Bruno. Both the men's and women's teams share th ...

as an assistant coach and head recruiter. Thereafter, Ritchie was the head coach for the

Fairmont State Fighting Falcons The Fairmont State Fighting Falcons are the athletic teams that represent Fairmont State University, located in Fairmont, West Virginia, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Falcons compete as members of the Mountain East Conference ...

, from 1978 to 1982, where he compiled a 35–13–3 record.

Montreal Concordes, Alouettes

Ritchie first entered the

as the defensive backfield coach for the

Montreal Concordes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, alongside

linebackers coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, associate and assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordina ...

Wally Buono Pasquale "Wally" Buono (born February 7, 1950) is a Canadian ex-football coach currently working as the vice president of football operations, alternate governor and the former head coach of the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), a ...

Interlude

Ritchie re-joined the Cincinnati Bearcats as defensive coordinator in 1987. He then moved to Europe and was the defensive coordinator for the

Milano Seamen The Seamen Milano are an American football team based in Milan, Italy that competed in the European League of Football. They compete in the Italian Football League. History 80s The Seamen Milano were founded by Sergio Galeotti, a shareholder of ...

in the

in 1989 where the team finished with a 13–1 record before losing in the Italian championship game. He returned to the United States that spring as defensive coordinator at

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Ritchie returned to the CFL as the

defensive line coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, associate and assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive a ...

and special teams assistant coach with the

, a year in which the Blue Bombers won the

78th Grey Cup The 78th Grey Cup was the 1990 Canadian Football League championship game played between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Edmonton Eskimos at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Blue Bombers defeated the Eskimos, 50–11. Game s ...

. He was an assistant coach in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, the same year when the Blue Bombers lost the East Final to the

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

Ottawa Rough Riders

Ritchie was hired by the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

to become the team's

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

for the 1992 season. The team led the CFL in 18 of 25 defensive categories that year and finished with a non-losing record for the first time since 1983.

BC Lions

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, Ritchie was named the head coach of the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

as he took over a team that had a 3–15 record in the year prior. The Lions immediately improved and finished with a 10–8 record that year, losing the West Semi-Final to the

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

. In the 1994 season, after beginning the year 8–1–1, the Lions finished in third place with an 11–6–1 record. The Lions defeated the

Edmonton Eskimos 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 Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

and then the Calgary Stampeders in the playoffs to qualify for the

82nd Grey Cup The 82nd Grey Cup was the 1994 Canadian Football League championship game played between the Baltimore Football Club and the BC Lions at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was the first championship in professional football hist ...

against the

Baltimore Football Club The Baltimore Stallions (known officially as the "Baltimore Football Club" and previously as the "Baltimore CFL Colts" in its inaugural season) were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, which played ...

. In the first ever

game to feature an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

team, Ritchie led his team to a 26–23 victory as the Lions won a Grey Cup in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

for the first time in club history and were also the first West Division team to win the Grey Cup at home. In

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, the Lions ended their season with a 10–8 record, but were defeated by the Edmonton Eskimos in the North Semi-Final.

Montreal Alouettes (second stint)

Ritchie joined the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

after the Alouetts moved from Baltimore, and as he was also on the coaching staff in 1987 when the Alouettes were last in the league. He was promoted to head coach in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and led the team to a 13–5 record, but lost the East Final to the defending

champion

. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, the Alouettes finished with a 12–5–1 record, but lost the East Final on a last second field goal to 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 (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

Winnipeg Blue Bombers (second stint)

Ritchie was hired away from the Alouettes in 1999 because of a more lucrative offer from the

to become their head coach. The team had a 3–15 record the year before and Ritchie led the Blue Bombers to a 6–12 record in

. After an East Final appearance in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

with a 7–10–1 record, the Blue Bombers demonstrated dominance in

with a 14–4 record, tied for the most wins in franchise history. However, the heavily favoured Blue Bombers were upset by the 8–10

in the

89th Grey Cup The 89th Grey Cup (Canadian Football League championship) was held in 2001 CFL season, 2001 in Montreal. The Calgary Stampeders claimed their fifth championship in team history with a 27–19 win over the Canadian Football League East Division, ...

game by a score of 27–19. Following the game, Ritchie was critical of

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

Troy Westwood Troy Westwood (born March 21, 1967) is a former professional Canadian football place kicker and punter who played 18 years for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted 48th overall in the 6th round of the ...

, who missed three of four field goal attempts in the game. Ritchie continued to coach the Blue Bombers with a 12–6 record in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and an 11–7 record in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, but the team was defeated in the playoffs in both years with no Grey Cup appearances. On August 8, 2004, with the Blue Bombers losing three in a row with a 2–5 record to begin their season, Ritchie was relieved of head coaching duties. He finished his Blue Bomber tenure with the third-most wins in club history.

BC Lions (second stint)

Ritchie was hired by longtime associate,

, on February 25, 2005, to become the

on the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. In

, he won his third Grey Cup championship as the Lions won the

94th Grey Cup The 94th Grey Cup game took place on November 19, 2006, at Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba before 44,786 fans. Ticket prices ranged from $141 and $275. The game decided the championship of the 2006 Canadian Football League season. The ...

over the

. After three seasons with the Lions, Ritchie retired following the end of the

2007 CFL season The 2007 CFL season was the 54th season of modern-day Canadian football, the 50th season of the Canadian Football League, and many special events were held to commemorate the event. Regular-season play began on June 28 at the Rogers Centre in ...

. He was considered for the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

head coach position, which he would have accepted, but the position went to Ken Miller.

Zurich Renegades

Ritchie returned to the field in 2011 as head coach of the Zurich Renegades in the top level league in Switzerland, helping the team reach the semi-finals in 2012. Overall, he spent two seasons with the team.

Hall of Fame

Ritchie was named to the Fairmont State Hall of Fame in 2010, following five years as a head coach there with two conference titles and one Coal Bowl victory in 1979. He is a member of the Blue Bomber Hall of Fame as the fourth-winningest head coach in team history with a record of 52–44–1 and winning a

as an assistant coach in 1990. On June 21, 2022, it was announced that Ritchie would be enshrined in 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 achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

in the Class of 2022 as a builder.

Personal life and death

Ritchie with his wife, Sharon, lived in

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. They had three children, Phyllis, Susan, and Dave, and eight grandchildren. Ritchie died at his home in Rumford on March 9, 2024, at the age of 85.

Head coaching record

College

Sources:

CFL

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie, Dave 1938 births 2024 deaths American expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland American expatriate sportspeople in Italy American expatriate players of American football BC Lions coaches BC Lions general managers Brown Bears football coaches Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches Cincinnati Bearcats football players Fairmont State Fighting Falcons football coaches High school football coaches in West Virginia Marshall Thundering Herd football coaches Montreal Alouettes coaches Ottawa Rough Riders coaches People from East Providence, Rhode Island Sportspeople from Providence County, Rhode Island Sportspeople from New Bedford, Massachusetts Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers general managers Italian Football League coaches Nationalliga A (American football) coaches