Chadron State College Athletics

Ratelle beat the odds to become a standout football player for the Eagles. Before he enrolled at Chadron State in the fall of 1946, his only experience with the sport had come seven years earlier when as a high school freshman he played six-man football at Glenrock, Wyo. , and loved the game.
“I loved to hit. I guess that was the caveman in me,” he said
But next year, Ratelle’s family moved to Long Beach, Calif., and he was cut from the football teams at two large high schools, dropped out of school and joined the Navy as soon as possible when the U.S. became involved in World War II. He spent the next four years going through some hair-raising experiences on submarines.  
A few months after he was discharged from the Navy in March 1946, Ratelle received a call from a cousin, Harold Reid, who was attending Chadron State. Reid had told Ross Armstrong about Ratelle’s interest in playing football despite his lack of experience. Armstrong said he was welcome to use his GI bill to enroll at CSC and try out for the team.
Ratelle recalled in a 2004 interview that he had no idea what position he wanted to play. But midway through the ’46 season when the Eagles’ starting center got hurt, Ratelle took over. He also played linebacker.  He shared playing time with another WWII veteran, Bob Burden, in 1947 and filled both positions in 1948 and ’49. He earned all-conference as a senior. The CSC yearbook called him “The hardest hitting linebacker in the conference” and he was the Eagles’ nominee for lineman of the year.
Ratelle’s employment record was similar to his football experience. After graduating from CSC, he moved to California and took what was supposed to be a temporary job with Compressor Services Co. , which had a handful of employees who produced and sold compressors. When he retired 40 years later he was vice president of operations and the firm had 90 employees.