Ralph DeLoach, Popular All-Pac-8 Defensive Star for Cal, Dies at Age 65

`He was always looking to improve things' -- Former Cal coach Mike White.

Ralph DeLoach, a first-team All-Pac-8 defensive lineman for Cal in 1977, died last Thursday, his family has confirmed.

DeLoach was 65.

“As we all know Ralph was very passionate about his views on social justice and his pursuit of happiness,” his siblings wrote on his Facebook page. “He will be truly loved, forever missed, but never forgotten.”

Former Cal teammate Burl Toler Jr., a team captain and standout linebacker with the Bears, talks in the video atop this story about DeLoach.

"Very energetic, great athlete, definitely a people person," said Toler, the 2018 recipient of the Glenn Seaborg Award given to an ex-Cal football player for his lifetime of achievements. "He loved to engage and he did it in a fun, collegial, helpful way.

"He was contagious," Toler said, "because everybody liked being around Ralph."

Former Cal coach Mike White, who worked with DeLoach during his sophomore and junior seasons of 1976 and ’77, remembered DeLoach as “a great guy, a leader.”

“He was always looking to improve things. I’m not talking about just himself,” White said. “Several of the people I’ve talked to in the last couple days reminded me anytime we had a Cal get-together he would show up. He was so thoughtful.”

Ralph DeLoach / Facebook

White said DeLoach loved taking pictures and once presented him with a collection of photos in a bound album.

Dallas Hickman, who played at Cal just before DeLoach arrived and went on to a six-year NFL career, got to know his fellow defensive end in the years after both were done with football.

“Never met a nicer person,” Hickman said. “Very selfless. A Golden Bear through and through. Great football player. More importantly, a good man.”

Former Cal wide receiver Wesley Walker was DeLoach’s player host on his campus recruiting visit and remembers him as “a very nice, intelligent, bigger-than-life teddybear of a guy.”

Walker, who played 13 seasons with the New York Jets, regrets not staying in closer contact with DeLoach over the years. But he noted that both when he was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame and received a honor from the Jets that DeLoach made a point of posting a proud message on social media.

“I just remember Ralph gave me this compliment on his Facebook page and it touched my heart,” Walker said. “I wish we had more conversations. I consider him a friend and I’m heartbroken.”

At 6-foot-5, 254 pounds, the Sacramento native was a key player on the 1977 Bears team that went 8-3, featuring the likes of Charlie Young, Paul Jones, George Freitas, Jesse Thompson and Jim Breech. DeLoach had six sacks and 12 tackles for loss on a team that finished fourth in the conference in the final season before expansion to the Pac-10.

“He was a big man — that’s why no one got in his way,” White said. “He had the size and the attitude.”

A year later, playing for the late Roger Theder, DeLoach was a co-team captain. “Guys followed him,” White said. “He was such an unselfish person.”

DeLoach was selected in the fourth round of the 1979 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys, but his playing career in the pros was limited to a single game at defensive end with the New York Jets in 1981.

He later worked as a senior deputy probation officer for Sacramento County. “It was another way for him to reach people,” White said. “He fit in with any group.”

Siblings Brian, Ronald, Teresa Lynette, Randall and Kevin shared their gratitude for an outpouring of support by friends on social media.

“During Ralph’s pursuit of happiness, it was overwhelming, but a pleasure, to read and hear how he had touched so many lives,” they wrote on Facebook. “These times have been difficult for us; losing Ralph's twin sister in September and laying our mother to rest in March.”

One friend wrote, “Dear Family. Ralph was a star. His good nature and positive attitude was tremendous. He will be sadly missed. I adored him.”

Another offered, “Ralph touched so many people in a positive way. Heavenly father please put your loving arms around the DeLoach family and give them strength during this difficult times.”

Another wrote, “So full of life, Ralph lived his life to the fullest.”

Services are pending.

Cover photo of Ralph DeLoach courtesy of Cal Athletics

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo