Vito Ragazzo Explained

Vito Ragazzo
Birth Date:17 March 1927
Birth Place:Aflex, Kentucky, U.S.
Death Place:Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.
Player Years1:1947–1950
Player Team1:William & Mary
Player Years2:1953–1954
Player Team2:Hamilton Tiger-Cats[1]
Player Positions:End, defensive back
Coach Years1:1950s
Coach Team1:William Byrd HS (VA)
Coach Years2:1956–1960
Coach Team2:VMI (line)
Coach Years3:1961–1965
Coach Team3:North Carolina (assistant)
Coach Years4:1966–1970
Coach Team4:VMI
Coach Years5:1971–1973
Coach Team5:East Carolina (OC)
Coach Years6:1977–1978
Coach Team6:Wake Forest (assistant)
Coach Years7:1979–1985
Coach Team7:Shippensburg
Admin Years1:1986–1988
Admin Team1:New England Patriots (scout)
Overall Record:51–72–1 (college)
Tournament Record:1–1 (NCAA D-II playoffs)
Championships:PSAC (1981)
PSAC West Division (1981)
Awards:
  • Virginia College Coach of the Year in Portsmouth (1967)
  • Pennsylvania College Coach of the Year (1981)
  • College Coach of the Year by AFCA and Eastman Kodak (1982)
  • First-team All-SoCon (1949)

Vito Eupollio Ragazzo (March 17, 1927 – February 13, 2017) was an American gridiron football player, coach, and scout. He played college football at the College of William & Mary and professionally with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union, a forerunner of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Ragazzo served as the head football coach at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) from 1966 to 1970 and at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1985, compiling a career college football coaching record of 51–72–1.

Early life and playing career

Ragazzo was born on March 17, 1927, in Aflex, Kentucky. He attended Williamson High School in Williamson, West Virginia, where he played football as an end and was a teammate of Dick Hensley. He was inducted into the Williamson High School Athletic Hall of Fame as a member of the inaugural class in 1998. Ragazzo played college football at the College of William & Mary. In his college career with the William & Mary Indians, he caught 15 touchdown passes, which stood as an National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) record from 1949 until Howard Twilley of Tulsa broke it in 1965.[2]

Head coaching record

College

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Vito Ragazzo CFL Stats and Bio. profootballarchives.com. July 16, 2023.
  2. News: . Ragazzo Named VMI Head Coach . . . February 20, 1966 . 4 . February 1, 2022 . .