Ralph Vincent Guglielmi was an American footballquarterback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles. He played high school football in Columbus, Ohio at Grandview Heights High School, college football at the University of Notre Dame and was drafted in the first round of the 1955 NFL Draft. Guglielmi was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001. Source: National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame After graduating from Grandview Heights High School in Ohio, Guglielmi headed to Notre Dame. He quickly made his presence known, becoming the Fighting Irish’s starting quarterback the third game of his freshman year in 1951. He would go on to hold the fabled role all four years of his impressive college career, capped by unanimous All-America honors and a fourth place finish in the Heisman voting at the end of the 1954 season. During his career he ran for 13 touchdowns, and he passed for 18. He completed 209 passes for 3,117 yards. A two-way player, he also starred at defensive back, snaring 10 interceptions. On special teams, he returned two kickoffs for 15 yards. The Fighting Irish went 26-3-2, finishing among the top four teams each year of his tenure, and in 1953 the team went 9-0-1 with a backfield that included future Hall of Famer and the season’s Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Lattner. Guglielmi played in the 1955 College All-Star Game and was voted Most Valuable Player on the college team. Coach Frank Leahy, a 1970 Hall of Fame inductee, called him "Notre Dame's greatest passer." After Notre Dame, he played one year with the Washington Redskins, then enlisted in the US Air Force, serving from 1956 to 1958. He returned to pro football, playing with the Redskins, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and Philadelphia Eagles before retiring in 1963. After his NFL career, he became a successful insurance agent as well as long-time business owner of restaurants and car dealerships. He also developed a successful computer forms company, Computer Business Supplies. He was survived by his wife of 42 years, Linda Doeringer Guglielmi, his son, Ralph David Guglielmi and wife, Laurie Maves, his daughter, Lisa Marie Hofmann and husband, Mark Hofmann and five grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at a later date in Wallace, North Carolina, to celebrate his life. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Rocky Mountain Leukemia And Lymphoma Society Chapter in his son's name, Ralph David Guglielmi, a two-time cancer survivor. The address is PO Box 4072 Pittsfield, MA 01202.
