Very bad: The Los Angeles Rams coach is Dead , according to the investigation; they found his body in the..
The only coach to lead the Rams to the Super Bowl, Ray Malavasi, passed away in Santa Ana on Tuesday after collapsing from a heart attack.
Malavasi, 57, was struck while in the federal building’s seventh-floor cafeteria. Battalion Chief Tim Graber stated that when Santa Ana Fire Department paramedics arrived at 1:59 p.m., they discovered him to be in complete cardiac arrest.
When the six-person paramedic crew arrived, they immediately began emergency cardiac treatment and continued to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but Malavasi remained unresponsive. At 2:27, he was taken to Western Medical Center, where he was declared deceased at 2:47.
In 1973, Malavasi joined the Rams as defensive coordinator and line coach, working under head coach Chuck Knox. Following the 1977 season, the late owner Carroll Rosenbloom moved Knox to Buffalo, where he hired George Allen as a replacement. However, Allen was fired after just two exhibition games.
Malavasi was appointed head coach after applying for the position as well. Despite finishing the regular season with a 12-4 record, his first team was defeated by the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football Conference championship game. Malavasi’s second team was only 9-7 but made it to the Super Bowl before losing 31-19 to the Pittsburgh Steelers after Rosenbloom drowned in the spring of ’79.
After finishing 11-5 in 1980 and losing to Dallas in the first round of the playoffs, the Rams finished 6-10 in 1981 and 2-7 in the season that was cut short by the strike in 1982. John Robinson, the current coach, was hired by owner Georgia Frontiere after Malavasi was fired.
Regarding Malavasi, Frontiere said, “He was a wonderful person.” “I find the news to be extremely upsetting. My thoughts are with his family.
The vibrant, talkative Malavasi underwent coronary bypass surgery in 1979, but she has since continued to be active and seemed to be in good health. Following his departure from the Rams, he joined the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League as an assistant coach for the 1984 season. Most recently, on September 27, he led a flag football team in a charitable game in Burbank on the first Sunday of the NFL players’ strike.
The Rams’ best player under head coach Malavasi was defensive end Jack Youngblood, who is still employed by the team as an administrator and radio host.
“Losing a friend and comrade who you worked, battled, and played football with is tragic,” Youngblood remarked. “It’s a sad day to lose a friend who has been a part of my career; Ray was one of the best defensive coaches I ever played for.”
Malavasi graduated from Mississippi State with a degree in civil and structural engineering. He was working on a holograph company at the time of his death, creating the credit card artwork.
In addition, he held the position of regional vice president at Pro Sports Management, a service organization for athletes run by former NBA player Oscar Robertson and NFL coach Hank Stram. However, he recently left the position due to personal matters.
In addition to working with Malavasi on an incomplete technical football book, Bob O’Connor, the former athletic director at Pierce College, assisted Malavasi in coaching the Australian national football team during a tour of Europe last year.
Malavasi, a Huntington Beach resident, has recently been involved in philanthropic and community activities in Orange County. He has also taken a temporary interest in a number of ventures, including two restaurants.
On November 8, 1930, Raymondo Giuseppi Giovanni Baptiste Malavasi was born in Passaic, New Jersey. He played under Vince Lombardi and Earl (Red) Blaik while studying engineering at West Point, but he left the school amid the cribbing scandals of that time.
He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army and served as a player-coach for service teams at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, after completing his undergraduate studies at Mississippi State. He then began a full-time coaching career as an assistant coach at the Universities of Minnesota, Memphis State, and Wake Forest.
He was hired by the Denver Broncos as their personnel director in 1962, defensive line coach in 1963, and head coach in 1966 following Mac Speedie’s dismissal. After posting a 4–8 record, he was traded to the Canadian Football League’s Hamilton in 1967–68, then to the Buffalo Bills in 1969–70, and finally to the Oakland Raiders in 1971–72 as linebacker coach.
When Knox attempted to sign Malavasi in 1973, the Rams accused him of tampering, even though his contract with the Raiders had expired. After subjecting Malavasi to a lie detector test, the league cleared the Rams of any misconduct. Knox then appointed Malavasi as defensive coordinator, emphasizing the formation of the four-man line that would go on to dominate the league in the following seasons.
Jack (Hacksaw) Reynolds took over at middle linebacker, and Youngblood and Fred Dryer established themselves as the regular defensive ends. Merlin Olsen was one tackle, Larry Brooks the other.
“He had a great football mind,” Knox said. In the field, he was a great teacher and innovator who could energize a group.
Jack Faulkner, the Rams’ administrator of football operations, was one of Malavasi’s closest football friends. He remembered Malavasi for his fine cuisine and zest for life.
“He was advised to look after himself, and naturally, you are aware that he is the type of guy who simply refuses to listen to too many people,” Faulkner remarked.
He was an excellent coach. In 1962, I hired him as a scout at Denver and later promoted him to defensive coach.
That is extremely startling. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him. He was in good health when I last saw him.
The Rams’ team doctor, Dr. Robert Kerlan, stated that he had recently spoken with Malavasi and “we were looking to get together.”
Yes, he was a coach to the players. He was adored by the players. He gave them the impression that he was a regular guy, a man’s man. He must have loved what he did.
Don Klosterman, a former general manager of the Rams, stated: “I recall when he had his first heart attack.” In 1979, he was seated directly across from me at the NFL meetings in Hawaii.
Not long afterward, Klosterman—who had undergone a bypass surgery himself—assisted in convincing Malavasi to follow suit.
Former Ram Pro Bowl cornerback Rod Perry remembered Malavasi as “a defensive genius.” In his role as defensive coordinator, he had a great rapport with the players. However, as head coach, he occasionally adopted a different perspective. However, through his method of player motivation, he was able to communicate with the players and get us ready to play.
In the Super Bowl season, Perry—who is currently the defensive backs coach at Fresno State—recalled how the Rams overcame a 5-6 record to win the NFC West. “Ray managed to unite us all until all of the injured players returned,” Perry remarked. “We had numerous players with injuries. Though we were all but out of it, he told us we could still win. His teamwork and unity-building approach brought us back.
Mary, his wife, and their three sons and two daughters are the only survivors of Malavasi. Plans are still being made for the funeral.
