Beloved longtime college, pro coach John Ralston dies
John Ralston, a longtime and beloved Bay Area college and professional sports figure, passed away peacefully in Sunnyvale on Saturday. He was 92.
Ralston’s influence spanned from when he was a Cal linebacker from 1947-50 under legendary coach Lynn “Pappy” Waldorf” into the 21st century as a special assistant to the athletics director at San Jose State.
The Oakland native was best known as a football coach with a positive approach to life that took Utah State, Stanford and the Denver Broncos to success.
Ralston began his coaching career as an assistant at San Lorenzo High in 1953, and spent two seasons at Mt. Diablo before returning to Cal, where he was on staff for the 1959 Rose Bowl.
He was head coach at Utah State (1959-62), Stanford (1963-71), the Denver Broncos (1972-76), the Oakland Invaders of the USFL (1983-84) and San Jose State (1993-96). His teams amassed a 140-126-7 record overall.
Ralston’s Stanford teams won consecutive Pac-8 championships and the Rose Bowl following the 1970 and 1971 regular seasons.
Ralston’s coaching tree included the late Bill Walsh, Dick Vermeil, Jim Mora, Sr., Mike White, the late Rod Rust, the late Jack Christiansen and college head coaches, including the late Roger Theder, the late Tony Knap, Ed Peasley and Rubin Carter.
Motorsports
TRUEX OPENS NASCAR PLAYOFFS WITH WIN >> Martin Truex Jr. raced his way into the second round of NASCAR Cup’s playoffs with a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the opening round of the postseason.
The win is Truex’s series-best fifth of the season and again cemented Joe Gibbs Racing as the team to beat in this 10-race playoff series. JGR has 14 wins this season through 27 races.
The top nine finishers were all playoff contenders as Truex was followed by Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Suzann Pettersen celebrates after holing a putt on the 18th green, giving Europe a victory in the Solheim Cup.
Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Kyle Larson and reigning series champion Joey Logano.
• Jack Beckman raced to his first Funny Car victory of the season, beating 70-year-old John Force in the Countdown-opening Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals to take the points lead. Richie Crampton won in Top Fuel, Jason Line in Pro Stock, and Jerry Savoie in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Golf
PETTERSEN WINS SOLHEIM CUP ON FINAL PUTT >> Suzann Pettersen made the final putt of the Solheim Cup at Gleneagles, Scotland, and as it turned out, the final putt of her career.
Pettersen holed a 7-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at Gleneagles as Europe won the last three matches to capture the Solheim Cup, 141/2-131/2, in the most tension-filled finish in event history. When it was over, the 38-yearold from Norway announced her retirement from professional golf.
“Yeah, this is it. I’m completely done,” she said. “It doesn’t get any better.”
Described by European captain Catrioa Matthew as “one of the trailblazers in women’s golf,” Pettersen closes her career with 15 LPGA wins, including two majors, and seven Ladies European Tour victories.
• Joaquin Niemann became the first player from Chile to win on the PGA Tour, closing with a 6-under 64 for a six-stroke victory in A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. The 20-year-old Niemann entered the final round of the season opener with a two-stroke lead and held off challenges from runner-up Tom Hoge and Richy Werenski.
• Sergio Garcia won for the first time in 11 months, closing with a 3-under 69 for a one-shot victory in the 100th edition the European Tour’s the KLM Open. Garcia extended his streak to nine consecutive years with at least one victory.
• Jerry Kelly played a bogey-free final round and closed with a 4-under 68 for a two-shot victory in the Ally Challenge, his second victory this year on the PGA Tour Champions.
College football
CAL MOVES INTO AP TOP 25 >> The Pac12 took a fair amount of grief the first week of the season, but the conference had a mini-resurgence this week.
No. 23 Cal (3-0) and No. 24 Arizona State (3-0) moved into the AP Top 25 to give the Pac-12 six ranked teams, the most for the conference in almost four years.
Utah, the highest ranked Pac-12 team, moved up to No. 10. The other three Pac-12 teams are No. 16 Oregon, No. 19 Washington State and No. 22 Washington.
Clemson remains No. 1, with 57 of the 62 first-place votes, as the top nine held their spots.
Basketball
SPAIN WINS WORLD CUP TITLE >> Spain captured its second FIBA World Cup championship, defeating Argentina 95-75 to give Marc Gasol a rare double-title year. Tournament MVP Ricky Rubio scored 20 points and Gasol added 14 for Spain (8-0).
• Chelsea Gray had 21 points as the Los Angeles Sparks beat Seattle 92-69 to eliminate the defending champion Storm from the WNBA playoffs. No. 3 seed Los Angeles advances to play second-seeded Connecticut Sun in a best-of-5 series.