Ralph H. Young
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 27, 1889 Crown Point, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | January 23, 1962 (aged 72) East Lansing, Michigan, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1910 | Chicago |
| 1913–1914 | Washington & Jefferson |
| Track and field | |
| ?–1915 | Washington & Jefferson |
| Position(s) | Fullback (football) Hammer throw (track and field) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1915 | DePauw |
| 1916–1917 | Kalamazoo |
| 1919–1922 | Kalamazoo |
| 1923–1927 | Michigan Agricultural/State |
| Basketball | |
| 1915–1916 | DePauw |
| 1916–1923 | Kalamazoo |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1923–1954 | Michigan Agricultural/State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 56–41–3 (football) 100–45 (basketball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 3 MIAA (1916, 1919, 1921) | |
Ralph Hayward Young (December 17, 1889 – January 23, 1962) was an American college football and college basketball coach, athletics administrator, and state legislator. He was the head football coach at DePauw University in 1915, Kalamazoo College from 1916 to 1917 and 1919 to 1922, and Michigan Agricultural College / Michigan State College—now known as Michigan State University—from 1923 to 1927. During his career as a head football coach, he compiled record of 56–41–3, including an 18–22–1 mark at Michigan Agricultural/State. Young was also the head basketball coach at DePauw during the 1915–16 season and Kalamazoo from 1916 to 1923, tallying a career college basketball coaching mark of 100–45. In addition, he served as Michigan State's athletic director from 1923 until 1954.
Young played football at the University of Chicago in 1910. After transferring to Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, he played on the Washington & Jefferson Red and Black football team in 1913 and 1914. He was also elect captain of Washington and & Jefferson's track and field team, and competed in the hammer throw.
Young served three terms in the Michigan Legislature, representing the East Lansing district. He died on January 23, 1962, at his home in East Lansing, Michigan.
In 1962, he was elected to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. He was elected to the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame in 1979 and the Kalamazoo College Hall of Fame in 1986.