Remembering Letterman Ralph Perri

Jack Baronas, John Nessel and Dan Wallace at Ralph's final resting place.

By Jack Baronas '75

I regret to inform you of the passing of our letterman Ralph Perri, "75" from complications due to Parkinson's disease on July 23, 2017. Known affectionately as the "King of Butler, PA", He was an integral part of Penn State Football from 1971-1974. While playing primarily on the "Foreign Team" he epitomized what it meant "to give them a good look."

Ralph has an untouched record of never missing a practice or game, spring, summer, fall and bowl for four years and never took a red cross.This was chronicled in Dr. Ken Werley's book: "Joe Paterno, Penn State and College Football-What you Never Knew."

A popular swashbuckling brother at Delta Upsilon, he followed a strong academic career with management level sales jobs at Hershey Foods and 3M. Then an established family business in Hagerstown, MD, Weiss Brother's Paper reached out to him as national firms and Sam's Club were forcing them into decline. The owner of the company told me personally that Ralph had saved their business with his expertise. Unfortunately this was at an early retirement party for Ralph about 10 years ago when Parkinson's had made it difficult for Ralph to walk and talk.

Ralph is survived by his wife, Nora and three children Regan Elizabeth, Vincent and Joseph.