Ralph Joseph Sazio (July 22, 1922 – September 25, 2008) was a Canadian football player, coach, and executive. He is a member of 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, ...

(1998) as a builder. Sazio was born in Avellino, Italy and played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

Maplewood, New Jersey Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's popula ...

. He played college football at the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest instit ...

and played for the AAFC's

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

in 1948.

Career

Ralph Sazio was a mainstay 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 ...

's Hamilton Tiger-Cats as a player, assistant coach, head coach, general manager and team president. His major contribution was as the Tiger-cats' head coach from 1963 to 1967, winning three

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 ...

championships during that span. He retired from coaching in 1967 as the most successful Tiger-Cat head coach to date in terms of championships (3) and winning percentage. He later served as

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 ...

team president from 1981 to 1990. He was elected to the

in 1998 in the builder category. He died in 2008.

Coaching record

* Overall: 60–24–1 (.712) * Regular Season: 49–20–1 (.707) * Playoffs: 11–4 (.733) * 1 Grey Cup defeat (1964) * 3 Grey Cups (1963, 1965, 1967)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sazio, Ralph 1922 births 2008 deaths American football offensive linemen Canadian football offensive linemen Brooklyn Dodgers (AAFC) players Columbia High School (New Jersey) alumni Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Hamilton Tiger-Cats coaches Hamilton Tiger-Cats team presidents Hamilton Tiger-Cats general managers Toronto Argonauts general managers Toronto Argonauts team presidents William & Mary Tribe football players Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Maplewood, New Jersey Italian players of American football Italian players of Canadian football Italian emigrants to Canada