American football player and coach (1907–1974)
W. Ralph "Pest" Welch (January 13, 1907 – September 15, 1974) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Washington from 1942 to 1947, compiling a record of 27–20–3. Welch led his 1943 Washington squad to the Rose Bowl , where they lost to USC , 29–0.[1] He played college football at Purdue University as a halfback under head coach James Phelan , whom he followed to Washington as an assistant in 1930 .
When Washington athletic director Ray Eckmann removed Phelan after the 1941 season ,[2] [3] [4] he selected Welch to replace him. Popular with the players, Welch wielded a reputation as a great scout of talent. Eckmann retained Welch on a year-to-year basis with an initial $9,000 per season salary, matching Phelan's final salary.[5]
Welch died on September 15, 1974, at University Hospital in Seattle, Washington .[6]
Head coaching record
References
^ "W. Ralph "Pest" Welch Records by Year" . College Football Data Warehouse . Archived from the original on February 15, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2007 .
^ "Jimmy Phelan and two aides get gate at Washington U." Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington). Associated Press. December 13, 1941. p. 9.
^ "Washington coaching staff is out" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 14, 1941. p. 1, sports.
^ "Phelan fired after dozen years at job" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. December 14, 1941. p. 18.
^ David Eskenazi. "Wayback Machine: James Merlin Phelan | Sportspress Northwest" . Sportspressnw.com. Retrieved November 2, 2016 .
^ "Huskies' Welch dies" . The Arizona Republic . Phoenix, Arizona . United Press International . September 17, 1974. p. 15. Retrieved January 28, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
# denotes interim head coach