Ralph Heikkinen

Ralph Heikkinen

Ralph Isaac “Hike” Heikkinen (May 14, 1917 – January 12, 1990) was an All-American guard for the University of Michigan Wolverines football team from 1936-1938. He was a consensus All-American in 1938, the first player from the Gogebic Range area of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to win the honor. His exploits were widely reported in the Upper Peninsula press, where he became a local hero. He played professional football for the NFL Brooklyn Dodgers in 1939.

From 1940-1944, he was the line coach for the Virginia Cavaliers football team while attending the University of Virginia School of Law at the same time. After practicing law in New York for a time, he spent a year as a line coach and law professor at Marquette University in 1947. After leaving Marquette, Heikkinen worked as executive secretary and attorney for Studebaker-Packard Corporation. He later joined the legal staff at General Motors (GM), retiring in 1978 after 20 years of service in GM’s legal department. Heikkinen also helped initiate and implement a corporation-wide alcohol treatment and education program at General Motors.