Tech great Ingram dead at 48
Riccardo Ingram graced Georgia Tech with uncommon athletic ability and a spirit-lifting personality. Those who mourned him following his death late Tuesday dwelt more on the latter.
Ingram, a star in football and baseball for the Yellow Jackets in the mid-1980s, died of complications from brain cancer, six years after his initial diagnosis. He was 48.
“I have had the privilege to coach thousands of young people, and there are a few that were and are exemplary in every way, and Riccardo was one of those,” said Bill Curry, Ingram’s football coach. “He was a wonderful human being.”
“Just a shame,” said Ted Roof, Tech’s defensive coordinator and a teammate of Ingram’s. “Because, yeah, he was a great football player, a great baseball player and a great athlete, but he was an even better person than that, and just a personality that was always encouraging. He was always up and ready to go.”
In 1987, at the end of his junior season, Ingram was recognized for his remarkable work for the Yellow Jackets. After a football season in which he earned All-ACC honors with a team-leading 79 tackles and a baseball season in which Ingram hit .426 with 17 home runs and 99 RBIs and led the Jackets to the ACC championship, Ingram was named the ACC athlete of the year. He was the first Tech athlete to receive the honor and remains one of only two in school history (Joe Hamilton is the other). He was inducted into Tech’s sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
He was a fierce-hitting safety who, in Roof’s words, could “knock guys sideways.” Curry said that, had he chosen to play professional football, he would have had a lengthy NFL career. He also recalled him as always having a smile on his face and being the first to bounce back after a tough loss.
“I’m sure he wasn’t perfect, but I never saw anything that I didn’t love about him,” Curry said.
Ingram chose to play professional baseball and briefly reached the major leagues in 1994 and 1995. Following his retirement, he began coaching in the Minnesota Twins’ minor-league chain in 1998. He remained with the organization until his death, serving in a variety of coaching jobs along the chain. Among players he influenced were Twins outfielder Torii Hunter, Nationals outfielder Denard Span and Mets outfielder Michael Cuddyer.
Ingram was first diagnosed with brain cancer in 2009, and reportedly was given a year to live, but overcame the disease and returned to coaching. It recurred last year.
Ingram is survived by his wife, Allison, and their two children, Kacey and Kristen. They live in Lilburn. Funeral arrangements were pending Wednesday.
About the Author
Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
