NOTE:
The following is extracted from the 1983 USFL Media
Guide. Supplemental information follows.
The Oakland Invaders present head coach and general
manager John Ralston a unique challenge. Ralston
returns to the coaching wars while at the same time
continues to be one of the top administrators in pro
football.
Ralston left an administrative position with the San
Francisco 49ers to direct the fortunes of the
Invaders. But it was as a coach that Ralston made
his biggest impact, first in the Bay Area and later in
the professional ranks.
The 55-year old Ralston, a graduate of the University of
California, played linebacker on two Cal Rose Bowl teams
before earning his physical education degree in
1951. He embarked on a high school coaching career
then spent three seasons as an assistant at Cal before
being named head coach at Utah State in 1959. In
four years, he compiled a 31-11-1 record, two Skyline
Conference championships and coached future NFL greats
such as Merlin Olsen, named last year to the Pro
Football Hall of Fame. |
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JOHN
RALSTON
First full-time employee
of the USFL,
head coach of the
Oakland Invaders, and
President of the Portland
Breakers |
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Ralston moved to Stanford in 1963 and helped revive a
sagging program. Over nine seasons, Ralston guided
the team back to national respectability while building
a mark of 55-36-3. In his last two seasons,
1970-71, Ralston's teams won two Pacific 8 titles and
back-to-back Rose Bowl victories over Ohio State and
Michigan. Stanford quarterback Jim Plunkett won
the 1970 Heisman Trophy under Ralston.
In 1972, Ralston departed the Bay Area once again, this
time for the Rocky Mountains and the Denver
Broncos. The following year, he was United Press
International's choice as AFC Coach of the Year after
Denver achieved its first-ever winning season at
7-5-2. In five seasons with the Broncos, Ralston
took the team to winning seasons three times, the
franchise's only three winning seasons up to that
time.
Ralston spent a year outside of football before
returning in 1978 to assist Dick Vermeil with the
Philadelphia Eagles. He then moved back to the Bay
Area, spending two seasons with the 49ers in an
administrative role.
Ralston helped lend immediate credibility to the USFL as
he was the league's first fulltime employee hired during
1981.
While he's not directly involved with football, Ralston
often is found in a motivational speaking
capacity. A thorough lecturer and speaker, Ralston
has done so professionally for over a decade.
Ralston is one of three USFL head coaches serving on the
league's competition committee.
Ralston and his wife Patty are the parents of three
children and live in Menlo Park, CA.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:
Ralston would be involved in the USFL throughout its
history, first as a league employee and advisor to David
Dixon, then as head coach and general manager of the
Invaders, and finally as President of the Portland
Breakers in 1985. Not yet through with coaching,
Ralston went to Europe, where he served as head coach of
the Dutch Lions national team, earning a bronze medal at
the European Championships in 1991. In 1993 he
returned to America and the Bay Area, coaching San Jose
State from 1993 to 1996 before retiring. Now
approaching 80 years old, Ralston today appears to be
alive and well and living in California's Bay Area. |
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