Ralph Munger

Ralph Munger earned seven varsity letters during his junior and senior seasons at Frankenmuth High School after transferring from Arthur Hill High School. He excelled on the gridiron and was a member of the Eagles’ back-to-back state champion football teams in 1968 and 1969 as a hard-charging halfback. Munger was honorable mention All-Conference as a junior and blossomed as a senior where he was named first team All-State by the Detroit News, Associated Press and United Press International while earning second team honors by the Detroit Free Press. He also collected All-Conference and All-Area accolades and was the Saginaw-area’s leading scorer in Class C. Munger is second in number of kickoff returns for touchdowns (4) in Michigan prep history and has the third-longest punt return in MHSAA history (96 yards). He was a four-year starter in football at Concordia Teachers College as well as earning two letters in track and a member of the NIIC Conference track championship team. In football Munger was named All-NAIA District 20 first team his senior season, was team MVP, and named Outstanding College Athlete of America. After college, he was a starter, leading rusher and Rookie of the Year on the Chicago Lions semipro football team that won the Chicago Land Semipro Football Division championship. Munger coached varsity football at Frankenmuth High School from 1980-91 where he compiled an 87-30 record and named the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year five times and Saginaw News Dream Team Coach in 1989. Along the way the Eagles won four Tri-Valley Conference championships and two Regional titles. He would go on to coach at Rockford High School and entered the 2019 season with an impressive 240-77 record. Munger’s 327 career victories are sixth most in state history. Munger’s Rockford teams have won the OK Red Conference 17 times while also capturing three Division 1 state championships and a pair of runner-up finishes. In 39 years of coaching, his teams have made the playoffs 30 times. Additionally, he has been selected as Regional Coach of the Year 12 times, Class A Coach of the Year four times, and in 2011 he was the recipient of the prestigious Duffy Daugherty Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to high school football. Munger was the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2012, West Michigan Officials Association Coach of the Year in 2012, National High School Athletic Coaches Association Coach of the Year finalist in 2013, and Grand Rapids Press Coach of the Year in 2008. He was inducted into the Frankenmuth Softball Hall of Fame in 2002, the Rockford High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002, Concordia College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003, Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Michigan Amateur Softball Hall of Fame in 2015. In 2017, the two Frankenmuth state championship teams he played on were inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame.