Ralph Ortega

Ralph Ortega

Ralph Ortega 2006
No. 55, 54
Position:	Linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1953-07-06) July 6, 1953 (age 63)
Place of birth:	Havana, Cuba
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:	Coral Gables (FL)
College:	Florida
NFL Draft:	1975 / Round: 2 / Pick: 29
Career history
Atlanta Falcons (1975–1978) Miami Dolphins (1979–1980)
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-SEC (1973, 1974) First-team All-American (1974) University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 81 Games started: 10 Interceptions: 5 Fumbles recovered: 7 Touchdowns: 1 Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Ralph Ortega (born July 6, 1953) is an American former college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons during the 1970s and early 1980s. Ortega played college football for the University of Florida, and received All-American honors. A second-round pick in the 1975 NFL Draft, he played professionally for the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins of the NFL.

Ortega was born in Havana, Cuba in 1953, but moved to Miami, Florida with his family when he was a child. Ortega played high school football for legendary coach Nick Kotys at Coral Gables High School in Coral Gables, Florida, and was a shot-put specialist on the track and field team. Two of his Coral Gables Cavaliers football teammates, defensive back Neal Colzie and fullback-linebacker Glenn Cameron, were first-round 1975 NFL Draft picks of the Oakland Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals, respectively.

In 2007, thirty-six years after he graduated from high school, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) recognized Ortega as one of the "100 Greatest Players of the First 100 Years" of Florida high school football.

Ortega accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played linebacker for head coach Doug Dickey's Florida Gators football team from 1971 to 1974. Memorably, in 1973, he helped the Gators beat the Auburn Tigers for the first time at Jordan-Hare Stadium in fourteen visits. Ortega's big play was a crushing tackle that caused a fumble by Auburn tailback Chris Linderman inside the Gators' five yard-line shortly before halftime. The Gators won 12–8, with Auburn's only points coming near the end of the game. The Gators' coach, Doug Dickey, was carried from the field by his players after the game. At the time, it was called "one of the greatest moments in Florida Gators football history."