Horween's Jewish parents, Isidore and Rose (Rabinoff), immigrated to Chicago from Ukraine in the Russian Empire in 1892. His family changed its name during his youth to Horween from its original name, which was either Horwitz or Horowitz.
He was 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), and weighed 200 pounds (91 kg). He eloped and married Genevieve Brown (born March 4, 1901) in October 1924; they were married for 64 years until her death on November 25, 1987. They moved to Cismont, Virginia, in 1952, and later to Charlottesville, Virginia. He had two sons, Ralph Stow and Frederick Stow.
In both 1919 and 1920 Harvard was undefeated (9–0–1, as they outscored their competition 229–19, and 8–0–1, respectively). In 1919, Donald Grant Herring ranked Horween the Third-Team center on the Princeton-Yale-Harvard composite team, and opined that if he had played regularly at center for the entire season he might have been the number one choice, and the New York Times named him All-East honorable mention.
On October 7, 1923, he and his brother both scored in the same game, as he ran for a touchdown and his brother kicked two extra points as the Cardinals beat the Rochester Jeffersons 60–0 at Normal Park in Chicago. On December 2, 1923, they did it again, as ran for a touchdown and his brother kicked a 35-yard (32 m) field goal as the Cardinals beat the Oorang Indians 22–19. In 1923, his brother became head coach of the Cardinals and Ralph joined him as an assistant coach, as both continued to play as well. He played in 11 games that season as the team went 8–4–0. He was paid $275 ($5,100 in current dollar terms) for a late season game, and used it to buy an engagement ring and elope. He retired following the 1923 season.
He served as chief of the Chicago office of the federal Petroleum Administrative Board that administered crude oil permits, and was a special assistant federal attorney who handled prosecutions of oil code violations. Horween served as Assistant for Oil to Harold L. Ickes, the Oil Administrator and United States Secretary of the Interior, resigning in 1934. He authored What are the Essentials of Sound Oil Conservation Legislation for Illinois?, which was published in 1939, and presented on "Illinois Oil and Gas Legislation" to the Illinois State Bar Association and the Indiana State Bar Association the same year.
Goldstein, Richard (May 29, 1997). "Ralph Horween, 100, the Oldest Ex-N.F.L. Player". The New York Times. Retrieved February 10, 2008. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9901E5D6153AF93AA15756C0A961958260
Raphael, Sven (March 21, 2012). "Horween Leather Company Chicago". Gentleman's Gazette. Retrieved March 13, 2014. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) http://www.gentlemansgazette.com/horween-leather-company-chicago/
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Ralph Horween (1929). The Effect of Certain Types of State Statutes Upon the Criteria, in the Federal Courts, of the Adequacy of the Remedy at Law as a Basis for Federal Equity Jurisdiction. Law School of Harvard University. Retrieved March 23, 2013. https://books.google.com/books?id=FS4rtwAACAAJ&q=Ralph+Horween
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James Clark Fifield (1937). The American Bar. J.C. Fifield Company. Retrieved March 23, 2013. https://books.google.com/books?id=qsEjAQAAMAAJ&q=Ralph+Horween
Illinois Bar Journal. Vol. 28. Illinois State Bar Association. 1950. Retrieved March 22, 2013. https://books.google.com/books?id=z5wtAAAAIAAJ&q=Ralph+Horween
"Harvard Magazine". 100. Circulation Department. 1997. Retrieved March 22, 2013. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) https://books.google.com/books?id=eroqAAAAMAAJ&q=Ralph+Horween
Julius Schwartz; Solomon Aaron Kaye; John Simons (1933). Who's who in American Jewry. Vol. 3. Jewish Biographical Bureau. Retrieved March 23, 2013. https://books.google.com/books?id=j2_XAAAAMAAJ&q=isidore+horween
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Who's who in Michigan: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Men and Women of the Commonwealth. 1947. Retrieved March 23, 2013. https://books.google.com/books?id=EmVmAAAAMAAJ&q=topliff+horween
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Pacific Oil World. Petroleum Publishers. 1934. Retrieved March 23, 2013. https://books.google.com/books?id=AuczAQAAIAAJ&q=Ralph+Horween
Ralph Horween (1939). What are the Essentials of Sound Oil Conservation Legislation for Illinois?. Retrieved March 21, 2013. https://books.google.com/books?id=lelyHAAACAAJ&q=Ralph+Horween
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Inside UVA. Office of Publications, University of Virginia. 1990. Retrieved March 23, 2013. https://books.google.com/books?id=alRXAAAAYAAJ&q=Ralph+Horween
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