 Originally the students who ran with Ralphie were called “ The Men Who Run with Ralphie . ” In the 1970 ’ s the term for the students changed to Ralphie Runners , as a direct representation of the feat that they did with Ralphie at each game . As the team and the program became more formalized and regulated , the term for the students became Ralphie Handlers in the early 1990 ’ s . The responsibilities and duties for the students that were on the team increase from just running with Ralphie , to also assisting in her overall care and maintenance , the reasoning behind changing their name from Ralphie Runners to Ralphie Handlers . 
