Ralph Starkey, West Virginia Tackle

January 31st, 2010  |  Published in Player Deaths  |  2 Comments

Ralph Starkey, who appeared on this 1954 Bowman football card, passed away on January 24. Starkey played college football for West Virginia University and was drafted by the New York Giants in 1954. Pro-football-reference.com doesn’t have a page for him, so I assume he didn’t see playing time for the Giants.

At West Virginia, Starkey played in the 1954 Sugar Bowl, which the Mountaineers lost to Georgia Tech. Joe Marconi, Bruce Bosley, and Sam Huff, who all became Pro Bowl players in the NFL, were also members of the 1953 West Virginia team. Ironically, they didn’t appear on their first cards until years after Starkey.

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  1. heath starkey says:

    April 28th, 2010 at 6:33 AM (#)

    my grandpa was the best he will always be in my dreams and i hope you put him in yors to!

    Heath Starkey (11 years old)

  2. nearmint says:

    April 29th, 2010 at 9:06 AM (#)

    Hi Heath, I’m glad you stopped and left a note. It’s always nice to hear from the players’ families.