Ralph William Thacker (September 13, 1880 – April 12, 1962) was an American college football and college basketball coach and athletic administrator. He served as the head football coach at Central Michigan Normal School—now known as Central Michigan University—in 1907, Nebraska State Normal School—now known as Peru State College—from 1911 to 1912, the University of Wyoming from 1913 to 1914, Lake Forest College in 1915, and Macalester College from 1922 to 1924, compiling a career college football head coaching record of 17–33–6. Thacker was also the head basketball coach at Peru Normal from 1911 to 1913, Wyoming from 1913 to 1915, and Lake Forest for the 1915–16 season, and Macalester for the 1916–1917 season. He was the athletic director at Macalester from 1922 to 1926.[1][2]
 Thacker pictured in The Forester 1917, Lake Forest yearbook | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 13, 1880 Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | April 12, 1962 (aged 81) Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Olivet College (B.A., 1909) |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1903–1906 | Olivet |
| Position(s) | Fullback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1907 | Central Michigan |
| c. 1910 | Traverse City HS (MI) |
| 1911–1912 | Peru Normal |
| 1913–1914 | Wyoming |
| 1915 | Lake Forest |
| 1922–1924 | Macalester |
| Basketball | |
| 1911–1913 | Peru Normal |
| 1913–1915 | Wyoming |
| 1915–1916 | Lake Forest |
| 1916–1917 | Macalester |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1922–1926 | Macalester |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 17–33–6 (college football) |
Thacker coached at Traverse City High School in Traverse City, Michigan before he was hired in 1911 at Peru Normal as director of physical training and football coach.[3][4]
Thacker was born in Michigan. He died on April 12, 1962, in Lincoln, Nebraska, where he had resided for 25 years.[5][6]
Head coaching record
editCollege football
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Michigan Normalites (Independent) (1907) | |||||||||
| 1907 | Central Michigan | 2–4 | |||||||
| Central Michigan: | 2–4 | ||||||||
| Peru Normal (Independent) (1911–1912) | |||||||||
| 1911 | Peru Normal | 4–2 | |||||||
| 1912 | Peru Normal | 2–4–2 | |||||||
| Peru Normal: | 6–6–2 | ||||||||
| Wyoming Cowboys (Rocky Mountain Conference) (1913–1914) | |||||||||
| 1913 | Wyoming | 0–5 | 0–5 | 7th | |||||
| 1914 | Wyoming | 1–5 | 0–5 | 8th | |||||
| Wyoming: | 1–10 | 0–10 | |||||||
| Lake Forest Foresters (Little Five Conference) (1915) | |||||||||
| 1915 | Lake Forest | 2–4 | |||||||
| Lake Forest: | 2–4 | ||||||||
| Macalester Macs (Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1922–1924) | |||||||||
| 1922 | Macalester | 2–3–1 | 2–3–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1923 | Macalester | 3–3–1 | 2–3 | 5th | |||||
| 1924 | Macalester | 1–3–2 | 1–2–2 | T–5th | |||||
| Macalester: | 6–9–4 | 5–8–3 | |||||||
| Total: | 17–33–6 | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Thacker To Head Macalester Athletics". Minneapolis Daily Star. Minneapolis, Minnesota. August 14, 1922. p. 8. Retrieved March 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ Getchell, John S. (June 23, 1926). "Frank Mayer To Remain As Grid Mentor". Minneapolis Daily Star. Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. 11. Retrieved March 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Peru Normal Reopens September 11". Sunday World-Herald. Omaha, Nebraska. September 10, 1911. p. 9. Retrieved March 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Foot Ball Men At Peru Work Hard Under New Coach". The Omaha Sunday Bee. Omaha, Nebraska. September 10, 1911. p. 9. Retrieved March 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Ralph Thacker, Ex-Coach, Dies". The Lincoln Star. Lincoln, Nebraska. April 13, 1962. p. 3. Retrieved May 14, 2016 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Former Coach Dies". The Lincoln Star. Lincoln, Nebraska. April 14, 1962. p. 16. Retrieved March 12, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
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