Ralph Ellsworth
| Ralph Ellsworth | |
|---|---|
| College | Texas, Navy |
| Conference | Southwest Conference |
| Sport | Football, Track and field |
| Position | TB |
| Jersey # | 18 |
| Class | 1948 |
| Major | Petroleum Engineering |
| Career | 1943–1947 |
| Born | 28 January 1924 Ohio |
| Died | 18 January 1998 Lakeway, Texas |
| High school | Alamo Heights High School |
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Ralph Irving Ellsworth, Jr. (January 28, 1924 – January 18, 1998) was a college football player and track athlete. He was an All-Conference back for the Texas Longhorns in 1943 and helped Texas to their first repeat conference championship and its first-ever bowl game in 1944. He transferred to the Naval Academy in 1944, but returned to Texas for the 1945 and 1946 seasons. He was drafted by the New York Giants, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns, but never played professional football. He was also a standout on the track who won a National Championship at Navy in 1945 and at Texas won conference championships in two individual events, three relays, and as part of two teams.
Ellsworth was born in Ohio in 1924 and orphaned at an early age. He accepted the invitation to live with Mr. and Mrs. Earnest Gross and their son, and he became a part of their family.
At San Antonio's Alamo Heights High School he was a Texas state football all-star and track athlete. He won the 1942 Texas state championship in the 440-yard dash and was part of the state championship mile relay team the same year.
In 1943, his first season of college football, Ellsworth was an unlikely football star who started out as wingback before moving to the critical tailback position. In Texas' single-wing formation, the tailback was the main talent, field general and person who usually received the snap. He came to Austin in 1942 as part of the Naval ROTC Training program and skipped his freshman season to focus on track. In 1943 the Marines at Texas were all moved to Southwestern University including several key Longhorn players such as Ken Matthews. This left Texas shorthanded creating an opportunity for Ellsworth to come out for the team. A series of injuries allowed him to move from the bench to the offensive leader. First, back Joe Bill Baumgardner broke his ankle in fall training and Ellsworth was promoted to starting Wingback to fill the hole. He played that position for the first three games of the season. When starting tailback Ralph Hall was injured against Arkansas, Coach Dana X. Bible, then dealing with injuries to other backs such as Billy Main and Bob Rados, pulled Ellsworth up to lead the offense.
That season, he led the team in rushing and on defense was the co-leader in interceptions. In a game against Rice he rushed for 199 yards, setting a school record that would stand for 23 years, and threw for another 86. Texas posted a 7–1 regular season record that year, with five wins by 20 points or more and a victory over #16 Texas A&M. Only a loss to #11 Southwestern, stocked with former Texas players, kept them from going undefeated. They won the Southwest Conference, finished the season ranked #14 and were invited to their first-ever bowl game, the 1944 Cotton Bowl. There they faced off against Randolph Field in a game that finished with a 7–7 tie. After falling behind by a touchdown, Ellsworth threw the game-tying 35-yard touchdown pass to prevent the loss.
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