Ralph, a United States Marine Corps veteran, was an award-winning sports journalist for more than 30 years. The former military correspondent had stints at several major newspapers – including Akron, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Richmond, VA, and Fort Myers, FL. A graduate of Michigan State University, the Florida native is a lifetime member of the NAACP and National Association of Black Journalists. The author and Pulitzer Prize winner, who was first elected as Tiretown Golf Club President in 2017, also served as a speech writer, newspaper guild representative and adjunct professor at Kent State University.