Ralph W. “Rocky” Mountain, the son of Ralph and Mamie Mountain, was born on August 30, 1913 in Los Angeles, California. His father was a truck driver for a local brewery, and he had one sibling, his sister Mildred who was a year older.

A talented catcher, Ralph attended Fremont High School and was playing semi-pro baseball with the Santa Monica Mystery when he was invited to spring training by the Class AA Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. Although he was released in April and went back to the semi-pro ranks, the Angels hadn’t lost interest in the youngster. He was back at Wrigley Field for spring training in 1935, and sent to the Ponca City Angels of the Class C Western Association. Ralph appeared in eight games and was hitting only .143 when Ponca City released him on May 17 as the roster was trimmed to 15, but he continued playing throughout the summer in California with the Los Angeles Angels Rookies.

In early 1936, the 22-year-old was playing semi-pro baseball in Long Beach with Houghton Park before returning to the Western Association, this time with the Hutchinson Larks. Appearing in 17 games with the Larks, Ralph was again cut when the squad size was reduced, and he joined the Bartlesville Bucs of the same league, playing just three games before finishing the season with the Jeanette Little Pirates of the Class D Penn State Association.

In March 1937, Ralph was signed by the newly formed Vancouver Maple Leafs for the inaugural season of the Class B Western International League. Billy Finlay, sports editor of the Vancouver Sun stated at the time that Mountain “looks like the best [catcher] seen here for many a day.”

Ralph moved to the outfield shortly after the season got under way to make room for Ralph Samhammer, former back-up catcher with the Pacific Coast League’s Portland Beavers. He played 125 games and batted .295 with 82 RBIs.

Back with Vancouver in 1938, Ralph had a sensational season, leading the team with a .308 batting average while driving in 64 runs in 124 games. In June, he was presented with a gold watch for hitting a jeweler’s sign on the outfield fence at Vancouver’s Con Jones Park, and he was selected for the league’s all-star team.

The 25-year-old had proved to be a valuable commodity and in December 1938, Ralph was one of four Vancouver players purchased in a cash deal by the Tacoma Tigers of the same league. He played 139 games with the Tigers, batting .274 while driving in 76 runs. He was hit by a pitch 13 times to lead the league.

Ralph returned to Los Angeles during the winter of 1939/40, where he drove a beer truck. In January 1940, he made the surprising move to quit Organized baseball due to impaired vision. Elliott Metcalf, sport editor of the Tacoma Times, wrote on January 31, 1940: “Ralph Mountain’s decision to retire because of failing eyesight brings regret to many Tiger baseball fans. The lanky outfielder rates one of the most popular players in years, a grand fellow personally who played the game for all it was worth. Ol’ Rocky is too finer chap to get such a tough break.”

He went back to driving beer trucks and was in Meridian, Mississippi, when he decided to try his hand at baseball one more time. Ralph signed with the Meridian Bears of the Class B Southeastern League in March 1940, and hit the ball well in spring training. But he struggled at the plate when the season got under way and was released in mid-May.

Later in the year he was back in California, working for the General Brewing Corporation in San Francisco, where he registered for the Draft - the first peacetime conscription in the United States - requiring all American men between the ages of 21 and 35 to register and be placed in order for call to military service. Ralph’s call to service came in July 1941.

By 1942, he was at Camp Roberts in San Diego, where in addition to learning to be a soldier he was playing baseball with Earl Johnson of the Boston Red Sox and minor leaguer Larry Powell. Serving with Battery D of the 52nd Field Artillery Battalion at Camp Roberts, military life seemed to suit Ralph, he quickly attained the rank of sergeant and in November 1942, he was elected secretary of the newly formed Non-Commissioned Officers Club at Camp Roberts. The club had 1,500 members by June 1943.

Ralph continued to play baseball with Earl Johnson at Camp Roberts in 1943, and he married Anna Marie Teffeteller of Maryville, Tennessee, on June 12, 1943 in Los Angeles.

In 1944, Ralph was still playing baseball at Camp Roberts, although Earl Johnson was no longer with the team (Johnson would soon be in Europe where he would earn a Silver Star and a battlefield commission). His new teammates included Aldon Wilkie of the Pirates, Johnny Welaj of the Athletics, and minor leaguers Denny Horton and Lou McCollum.

After three seasons of military baseball in California, Ralph was sent to the Philippines with the 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. As a first sergeant, he was the backbone of troop leadership, handling administration, discipline, and logistics.

In January 1945, the 7th Cavalry Regiment was part of the "Flying Column" that attacked Japanese forces from the Lingayen Gulf area of Luzon. 31-year-old 1st Sergeant Ralph Mountain was killed in action on February 24, 1945. He is buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines.