Donald Eugene Ratliff (born July 17, 1950) is an American former

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

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

who played four seasons, for the Florida Blazers,

Detroit Wheels The Detroit Wheels were an American football team, a charter member of the defunct World Football League. Founding Soon after Gary Davidson announced the WFL's formation in October 1973, he was approached by a man named Bud Hucul about putting ...

, and

Philadelphia Bell The Philadelphia Bell was a franchise in the World Football League, which operated in 1974 and a portion of a season in 1975. The Bell played their home games in 1974 at JFK Stadium in South Philadelphia. The team logo was a representation of ...

of the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

(WFL), the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), and 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 ...

of 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). He later was a businessman.

Early life and education

Ratliff was born on July 17, 1950, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. He went to

John Handley High School John Handley High School (usually referred to as JHHS) is an endowed public high school located in the city of Winchester, Virginia. It is a part of Winchester Public Schools. It was founded by a grant from Judge John Handley, hence the schoo ...

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the northwesternmost Administrative divisions of Virginia#Independent cities, independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Frederick County, Virginia, Frederi ...

before attending the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

. At Maryland, he played wide receiver for their football team, the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...

. His statistics were recorded for the 1970 and 1972 seasons. In 1970, Ratliff played in 11 games while making 26 catches for 242 yards, a 9.3 yard average. He finished ninth in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC) for receptions. In Ratliff's senior year, 1972, he had 36 receptions for 515 yards, including 6 touchdowns. He ranked among the ACC's leaders in 1972: fourth in receptions, fourth in receiving yards, sixth in yards per reception (14.3), second in receiving touchdowns, fifth in touchdowns, and fifth in points. He graduated after the season.

Professional career

1974

Ratliff's first season of professional football came in 1974 in the

(WFL). He played for three different teams during the season, they were the: Florida Blazers,

, and

. With the Blazers, he played in 7 games, starting 3, and wore number 85. With the Wheels, he played in 7 games, and wore number 83. And with the Bell he played in 3 games, wearing number 86.

1975

Ratliff played for two teams the next year, the

of the

(WFL) and the

of the

(NFL). He played in 11 games for the Bell before the season was canceled. After the season was canceled he went to the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL and played in 6 games with them. He also started 2 games. His number with the Eagles was 77.

1976–1977

The next two years Ratliff spent with the

of the

(CFL), but only made one appearance. It was his last season of professional football.

Later life

After his professional career, Ratliff was a businessman. He was president of Stackig Advertising in Washington DC and spent eleven years with Earle Palmer Brown Advertising. He also served on the Washington Ad Club Board of Directors where he was awarded the Crystal Prism Award. In 1991, he moved to

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

to become president of Gouchenour Advertising. In 1994, Ratliff founded Synergy Sports Marketing, a program in Florida. In 1996, he was elected as the president of the Orlando Advertising Federation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratliff, Don 1950 births Living people American football defensive ends American football wide receivers BC Lions players Maryland Terrapins football players Florida Blazers players Detroit Wheels players Philadelphia Bell players Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Baltimore People from Winchester, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia