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Class of 1993
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Vito Ragazzo
Vito Ragazzo had an amazing year in 1949, catching touchdown passes in 11 straight games for The College of William and Mary. But when you look at his career as a whole, this record setting player and coach in truly a Hall of Famer.
Ragazzo came to William and Mary from West Virginia High School in Williamson, West Virginia. At the Williamsburg college, he was named co-captain of the football team, played in the Senior Bowl game and in the East-West Shrine game, and was selected to the All South (Southern/Southeastern Conference) first team. During his college career, he played in the Dixie Bowl, Delta Bowl, Oyster Bowl and the Tobacco Bowl. He is a member of the William and Mary Hall of Fame and a member of the school's All Time football team. Ragazzo highlights include being ranked 3rd in the nation for pass receiving with 44 catches for 793 yards and ranked 2nd in the nation in scoring with 90 points. Ragazzo held the NCAA record 4 different times for 15 touchdowns in a season.
After college Ragazzo played professionally for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League where he intercepted 17 passes as a safety and scored the winning touchdown in the 1953 Grey Cup game.
Ragazzo began his coaching career at Hillfield School for Boys in Canada before moving to William Byrd High School in Vinton, Virginia. From 1956 to 1960 he was the offensive and defensive line coach for Virginia Military Institute where the Keydets were undefeated in 1957. From 1965 to 1970 he was Head Coach for VMI. Ragazzo then joined East Carolina as the offensive coordinator (1970-1973) helping the Pirates to a Southern Conference Championship. He served as an assistant coach at Wake Forest from 1977 to 1979, and then moved on to Shippensburg State University. From 1986 to 1988 Ragazzo was a Pro Scout for the New England Patriots. He was also the Director of Student Life in the Athletic Department at Virginia Tech (1988-1994).
Ragazzo's teams won The Lambert Cup and were named ECAC Team of the Year. His personal accolades include Virginia College Coach of the Year in Portsmouth (1967), Pennsylvania College Coach of the Year (1981), and the College Coach of the Year by Chevrolet and ABC TV (1981). He was named College Coach of the Year by AFCA and Eastman Kodak (1982) and was among the first class of inductees at Williamson West Virginia High School Hall of Fame in 1998.
(To Sports Inductees List) |
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