Ralph Irvine Sasse (July 19, 1889 – October 16, 1954) was an American

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 ...

player and coach, athletics administrator, and

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer. He served as the head football coach at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

from 1930 to 1932 and at Mississippi State College, now

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

, from 1935 to 1937, compiling a career

record of 45–15–4.

Biography

Born near

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

, in 1889, Sasse attended the United States Military Academy, graduating in 1916. After graduating from West Point, Sasse was assigned to the cavalry, and while serving the United States in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he rose to the rank of Major and commanded the 301st Tank Battalion. After World War I, he returned to his alma mater in 1924 as a mathematics instructor and was appointed head coach in 1929. Later, in 1935, Sasse joined the Mississippi State College staff as a science instructor and head football coach of the State College Maroons. After leading Mississippi State College to a 20–10–2 record in three years and an appearance in the

1937 Orange Bowl The 1937 Orange Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the Mississippi State Maroons and Duquesne Dukes. Background A 5th-place finish in the Southeastern Conference was an upturn from 9th for the Maroons, in their first offi ...

, Sasse stunned the students and players by resigning from his head coach's duties, following a doctor's orders after a sudden nervous breakdown. Upon leaving the coaching ranks, Sasse become the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

at Pennsylvania Military College, Chester in 1941. Sasse died October 16, 1954, in

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Rehoboth Beach ( ) is a city on the Atlantic Ocean along the List of beaches in Delaware, Delaware Beaches in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. As of 2020, its population was 1,108. Along with the neighboring coastal town of Lewes, ...

. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

. He was inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame in 1981.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Arlington National Cemetery
1889 births 1954 deaths Army Black Knights football coaches Army Black Knights football players Mississippi State Bulldogs athletic directors Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches Mississippi State University faculty Widener Pride athletic directors United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army officers United States Military Academy faculty Players of American football from Wilmington, Delaware Burials at Arlington National Cemetery {{1930s-collegefootball-coach-stub