W. Ralph "Pest" Welch (January 13, 1907 – September 15, 1974) was an American football player and coach.

[1] He played college football at Purdue University as a halfback under head coach James Phelan, whom he followed to Washington as an assistant in 1930.

When Washington athletic director Ray Eckmann removed Phelan after the 1941 season,[2][3][4] he selected Welch to replace him.

Popular with the players, Welch wielded a reputation as a great scout of talent.

This biographical article relating to a college football coach first appointed in the 1940s is a stub.