Ralph Kohl
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Shaker Heights, Ohio, U.S. | August 21, 1923
Died | June 11, 1997 Saugatuck, Michigan, U.S. | (aged 73)
Playing career | |
1942 | Kentucky |
1947–1948 | Michigan |
Position(s) | Franklin (IN) |
1957–1964 | Eastern Illinois |
Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
1965–1972 | BLESTO NFL (scout) |
1973–1993 | Minnesota Vikings (head scout) |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 28–56–2 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
Ralph Anson Kohl (August 21, 1923 – June 11, 1997) was an
Early years
Kohl was born in
University of Michigan
After being released from the military, Kohl enrolled at the University of Michigan and played at the right tackle position for head coach Fritz Crisler on the undefeated 1947 Michigan Wolverines football team that has been selected b the ESPN Big Ten College Football Encyclopedia as the best team in the history of Michigan football.[4] He also played right tackle for Bennie Oosterbaan's undefeated 1948 Michigan Wolverines football team.[5] Kohl played on Crisler's offensive squad in 1947, and he was switched to a defensive tackle in 1948.[6] His "alert recovery of a fumble" in the third quarter of the 1948 Ohio State game was credited with helping Michigan "cling to a precarious seven to three lead."[1] The 1949 Michiganensian (the University of Michigan yearbook) said, "Ralph Kohl, gigantic tackle, was the power man in the offensive line. Transferring from the defensive spot which he held down in 1947, the big Cleveland boy was a vital cog in the front line of the Michigan attack."[7]
During Kohl's two years playing for the Wolverines, the team won 19 games and lost none, outscoring opponents by a combined score of 646 to 97 and won an undisputed national championship in 1948 and a contested national championship in 1947. Kohl was selected to participate in two of the post-season college all-star games, both the
Football coach
In May 1949, after graduating from Michigan, Kohl signed with the
Football scout
After the 1964 season, Kohl resigned his position as the head coach at Eastern Illinois to accept a job as a scout for BLESTO, an
Kohl developed a reputation as one of the best scouts in the NFL and said that the key to success was forming one's own opinions based on the facts and not buying into the conventional wisdom about players. He noted, "It's a matter of a guy being stereotyped. Scouts are old coaches, and coaches are parrots. They say the same thing, and even if it's a lie, if it's told often enough, people believe it."[17] He was also dubious about the modern scouts' reliance on "all the measuring" of height, weight, speed, strength and agility. In Kohl's view, it was about something more basic, "The bottom line is, can the guy play football?"[17]
Family and later years
Kohl and his wife, Dorothy Kohl, had a daughter, Jackie, who was born in approximately 1954.[6] He moved with his wife and daughter to Holland, Michigan in 1969.[6] They later moved to nearby Saugatuck, Michigan, and for 23 years from the 1970s until 1996, Kohl and his wife spent the winters at their second home in Pompano Beach, Florida.[20]
Kohl died in June 1997 at Holland County Hospital in Saugatuck, Michigan.[3][20][21] Kohl and his wife had been married for 45 years at the time of his death.[20]
Head coaching record
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Franklin Grizzlies (Hoosier Conference ) (1955–1956)
| |||||||||
1955 | Franklin | 6–3 | 4–2 | T–2nd | |||||
1956 | Franklin | 5–4 | 3–3 | 4th | |||||
Franklin: | 11–7 | 7–5 | |||||||
Eastern Illinois Panthers (Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1957–1964) | |||||||||
1957 | Eastern Illinois | 0–8 | 0–6 | 7th | |||||
1958 | Eastern Illinois | 2–6 | 1–5 | 7th | |||||
1959 | Eastern Illinois | 3–5–1 | 1–4–1 | 5th | |||||
1960 | Eastern Illinois | 2–7 | 1–5 | T–6th | |||||
1961 | Eastern Illinois | 4–3–1 | 3–2–1 | T–4th | |||||
1962 | Eastern Illinois | 1–7 | 0–4 | 5th | |||||
1963 | Eastern Illinois | 2–7 | 1–3 | 4th | |||||
1964 | Eastern Illinois | 3–6 | 1–3 | T–4th | |||||
Eastern Illinois: | 17–49–2 | 8–32–2 | |||||||
Total: | 28–56–2 |
References
- ^ a b c d "Michigan Tackle Signs With Colts: Ralph Kohl Becomes 13th Rookie To Sign With Baltimore Eleven". The Daily Mail, Hagerstown, Maryland. 1949-05-11.
- ^ "KENTUCKY GIVES GEORGIA A SCARE, BUT LOSES, 7 TO 6: Sinkwich Makes a Costly Fumble; Then He Scores". Chicago Daily Tribune. 1942-09-20. ("Kentucky used two freshman ... Coach Ab Kirwan calling up Ralph Kohl a yearling tackle from Cleveland, O. ...")
- ^ a b "RALPH KOHL, FOOTBALL COACH AND PRO SCOUT". Miami Herald. 1997-06-14.
- ISBN 978-1-933060-49-1.
- ^ "1948 Football Team". Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
- ^ a b c d e f Leo Maronosi (1969-12-04). "Nose Tips". Holland Evening Sentinel.(interview with Kohl)
- ^ 1948 Michiganensian
- ^ "Summerhays Injures Shoulder, Teams Slate Christmas Practice". The Deseret News (AP story). 1948-12-23.
- ^ "University of Michigan Football All-Star Game Participants". University of Michigan.
- ^ Edward Prell (1949-07-12). "Derricotte, Kohl to Join All-Stars". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. A1.
- ^ "Kohl Signed by Colts". The New York Times. 1949-05-12.
- ^ a b "To Coach Franklin". Logansport Pharos-Tribune. 1955-04-18.("Ralph Kohl, line coach at Michigan State Normal College, has been signed as head football coach at Franklin College, it was announced today by Dean J. Geoffrey Moore.")
- ^ "Ravens Facing Rugged HCC Test Here Saturday". Anderson Daily Bulletin. 1955-11-04.
- ^ "Kohl Transfers To Eastern Illinois". Anderson Herald. 1957-06-22.
- ^ Eastern Illinois Coaching Records Archived 2007-11-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "EIU GRID COACH: Clyde Biggers Named to Replace Ralph Kohl". Southern Illinoisan. 1965-04-30.
- ^ a b c d e f Robert Sansevere (1988-04-21). "Vikings scout Kohl finds little changed: Hard work pays off". Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minn. p. 01.C.
- ^ Robert Sansevere (1988-07-25). "Vikings find pearl deep in NFL draft". Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minn. p. 01.C.
- ^ Roger Jackson (1984-09-17). "His Career Is Booming: Quarterback Randall Cunningham is unknown—except to pro scouts". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ a b c Bob French (1997-06-15). "Obituaries: Ralph Anson Kohl, Retired NFL Scout". Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale. p. 7B.
- ^ "Ralph Kohl, former scout for Vikings, dies at age of 73". Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minn. 1997-06-13. p. 05.C.