Football
5/9/2022 3:12:00 PM
LOGAN, Utah – Former Utah State track & field All-American Ralph Roylance died on Monday, May 9. He was 96.
Roylance was the first track athlete in Utah State history to earn All-American honors as he finished third in the javelin at the 1949 NCAA Championships. Along with being a four-year letterwinner on the track team from 1947 to 1950, Roylance also spent two seasons playing football for Utah State.
Roylance played as a running back on offense and in the secondary on defense from 1948-49. As a running back, he averaged nearly 7.0 yards per carry, which was a school record at the time, and received all-conference honorable mention honors.
Roylance, who graduated from Utah State in 1950 with a degree in business and administration, was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Utah State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.
Following his career in Aggie athletics, Roylance pursued a professional career in sports and attempted to make the USA Olympic team but was halted due to recurring bouts of malaria, which he contracted while serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Roylance returned to Cache Valley to take ownership of his family’s business, Smithfield Implement. In the ensuing decades, Roylance also starred for the local Smithfield Blue Sox baseball club and, after turning 40, became a dominant ski racer for his age group.
Roylance was born on April 25, 1926, to Jesse M. and Hazel Miles Roylance.
Fans can follow Utah State Athletics at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
-USU-
Roylance was the first track athlete in Utah State history to earn All-American honors as he finished third in the javelin at the 1949 NCAA Championships. Along with being a four-year letterwinner on the track team from 1947 to 1950, Roylance also spent two seasons playing football for Utah State.
Roylance played as a running back on offense and in the secondary on defense from 1948-49. As a running back, he averaged nearly 7.0 yards per carry, which was a school record at the time, and received all-conference honorable mention honors.
Roylance, who graduated from Utah State in 1950 with a degree in business and administration, was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Utah State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.
Following his career in Aggie athletics, Roylance pursued a professional career in sports and attempted to make the USA Olympic team but was halted due to recurring bouts of malaria, which he contracted while serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Roylance returned to Cache Valley to take ownership of his family’s business, Smithfield Implement. In the ensuing decades, Roylance also starred for the local Smithfield Blue Sox baseball club and, after turning 40, became a dominant ski racer for his age group.
Roylance was born on April 25, 1926, to Jesse M. and Hazel Miles Roylance.
Fans can follow Utah State Athletics at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
-USU-
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