Vito Ragazzo

Vito Ragazzo
Biographical details
Born	March 17, 1927; Aflex, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	February 13, 2017 (aged 89); Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.
Playing career
1947–1950	William & Mary
1953–1954	Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Position(s)	End, defensive back
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1950s	William Byrd HS (VA)
1956–1960	VMI (line)
1961–1965	North Carolina (assistant)
1966–1970	VMI
1971–1973	East Carolina (OC)
1977–1978	Wake Forest (assistant)
1979–1985	Shippensburg
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1986–1988	New England Patriots (scout)
Head coaching record
Overall	51–72–1 (college)
Tournaments	1–1 (NCAA D-II playoffs)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
	PSAC (1981); PSAC West Division (1981)
Awards
	Virginia College Coach of the Year in Portsmouth (1967); Pennsylvania College Coach of the Year (1981); College Coach of the Year by AFCA and Eastman Kodak (1982); First-team All-SoCon (1949);

Vito Eupollio Ragazzo (March 17, 1927 – February 13, 2017) was an American gridiron football player, coach, and scout. He played college football at the College of William & Mary and professionally with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union, a forerunner of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Ragazzo served as the head football coach at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) from 1966 to 1970 and at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1985, compiling a career college football coaching record of 51–72–1.

Early life and playing career

Ragazzo was born on March 17, 1927, in Aflex, Kentucky. He attended Williamson High School in Williamson, West Virginia, where he played football as an end and was a teammate of Dick Hensley. He was inducted into the Williamson High School Athletic Hall of Fame as a member of the inaugural class in 1998. Ragazzo played college football at the College of William & Mary. In his college career with the William & Mary Indians, he caught 15 touchdown passes, which stood as an National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) record from 1949 until Howard Twilley of Tulsa broke it in 1965.^[2]


Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs	NCAA Division II^#
VMI Keydets (Southern Conference) (1966–1970)
1966	VMI	2–8	1–3	8th
1967	VMI	6–4	2–3	T–5th
1968	VMI	1–9	1–3	T–5th
1969	VMI	0–10	0–4	T–6th
1970	VMI	1–10	1–4	7th
VMI:		10–41	5–17
Shippensburg Red Raiders (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) (1979–1985)
1979	Shippensburg	4–6	2–4	T–4th (West)
1980	Shippensburg	5–4–1	3–2–1	T–2nd (West)
1981	Shippensburg	12–1	6–0	1st (West)	L NCAA Division II Semifinal	8
1982	Shippensburg	7–3	4–2	T–2nd (West)
1983	Shippensburg	4–6	1–5	6th (West)
1984	Shippensburg	4–6	1–5	T–6th (West)
1985	Shippensburg	5–5	3–3	T–3rd (West)
Shippensburg:		41–31–1	20–21–1
Total:		51–72–1
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth

^ "Vito Ragazzo CFL Stats and Bio". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
^ "Ragazzo Named VMI Head Coach". The Chapel Hill News. Chapel Hill, North Carolina. February 20, 1966. p. 4. Retrieved February 1, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .

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