Donald George (Don) Ridler

Donald George “Don” Ridler
Michigan State Football Player (1929 – 1931)
Lawrence Tech Coach, Administrator (1938 – 1963)

Don Ridler was born in Detroit, Michigan and had a brilliant athletic career in football, baseball and basketball at Western High School. He moved on to Michigan State where he played football for three years and was captain of the “Iron Men” in 1931. He spent two years playing professional football before getting into coaching at Annunciation High School and finally moving on to Athletic Administration at Lawrence Tech for the remainder of his career. Ridler became the Athletic Director plus the head coach for many sports including basketball and baseball. He was also known as a great promoter as he would combine dance bands with basketball games to draw larger crowds. He also used his promotional genius to help with Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) and Michigan State Fair activities. Don Ridler. was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1981. He passed away on June 4, 1963 at 54 years of age.