Ralph Alan DeLoach (January 13, 1957 – April 21, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a

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 formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He played one game for the New York Jets in 1981. He played college football for the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club team ...

, and was drafted by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

in the fourth round of the

1979 NFL Draft The 1979 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astor ...

Early years

DeLoach was born in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, on January 13, 1957. He attended Sacramento High School in his hometown. He accepted a football scholarship from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

;

Robert Rozier Robert Earnest Rozier Jr. (born July 28, 1955) is an American murderer and former defensive end. Born in Alaska but raised in California, Rozier was a high-school and collegiate athlete before briefly playing professional gridiron football. In ...

was his roommate from 1977 to 1978. He was also teammates with Rozier on the

, along with Paul Jones, George Freitas, and

Jim Breech James Thomas Breech (born April 11, 1956) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL), who played for Oakland Raiders in 1979 and Cincinnati Bengals from 1980- 1992. Before his NFL career, Breech played ...

. As a junior DeLoach earned First-team All-Pacific-8 and All-West coast honors. He was subsequently named co-captain in 1978. During his senior year, he tied for the team lead with six quarterback sacks and twelve tackles for losses. DeLoach was honored as the Bears' most valuable

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

in 1977–1979, having earlier been named its most improved lineman in 1976. He was given the award for outstanding senior from

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

in 1978.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

DeLoach was drafted by the

in the fourth round (109th overall selection) of the

. He was waived on August 21 without having played a game for the franchise.

New York Jets

The New York Jets first signed DeLoach as a

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 ...

on May 7, 1980. On September 1, he was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

with a sprained ankle. He was waived by the franchise on August 31, 1981. He re-signed 58 days later providing depth on the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

. DeLoach made his NFL debut with the Jets on November 8, 1981, at the age of 24, in a 41–14 win over the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

. It was the only NFL game he played in. Less than a week later, he was cut to make room to activate

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

Freeman McNeil.

Green Bay Packers

On April 16, 1982, DeLoach was signed as a

by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

. He was released before the start of the season.

Later life

After retiring from professional football, DeLoach worked as a

probation officer A probation and parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most proba ...

. He died on April 21, 2022, at the age of 65.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:DeLoach, Ralph 1957 births 2022 deaths Players of American football from Sacramento, California American football defensive ends African-American players of American football California Golden Bears football players New York Jets players Dallas Cowboys players Green Bay Packers players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople