Ernest Graves Sr.
Ernest "Pot" Graves (March 27, 1880 – June 9, 1953) was an American football and baseball player, coach, and United States Army officer. He served as the head football coach at the United States Military Academy in 1906 and 1912. Graves retired from the Army with the rank of brigadier general.
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| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 27, 1880 Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | June 9, 1953 (aged 73) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1897–1900 | North Carolina |
| 1901–1904 | Army |
| Baseball | |
| c. 1904 | Army |
| Position(s) | Fullback (football) Catcher (baseball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1906 | Army |
| 1908 | Harvard (line) |
| 1912 | Army |
| Baseball | |
| 1901 | North Carolina |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 7–8–1 (football) 11–4–2 (baseball) |
Biography
Graves was born and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, graduating second in his class in 1905.[1]
He served with the 3rd Engineers at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and subsequently served in the Philippines from 1909 to 1910. He later served in Mexico with General John J. Pershing, commanding the engineering company that built roads to allow supplies to be provided to the Army. He also served with Pershing in France during World War I. During World War I, he was placed in charge of the Intermediate Section and was responsible for building warehouses used to supply the Army in France. He received the Army Distinguished Service Medal for his efforts during the war, the citation for which reads:
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Colonel (Corps of Engineers) Ernest Graves, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. Colonel Graves was charged with the construction of the Grieves Storage Depot and later was appointed Engineer Officer of the Intermediate Section, Services of Supply, where he was placed in charge of all construction projects west of Bourges. As Engineer Officer of Base Section No. 2 and of the Advance Section, S.O.S., he performed the duties with which he was entrusted in a conspicuously meritorious manner. In the many responsible capacities in which he was employed the performance of his duty was characterized by sound judgment and untiring zeal.[2]
He was retired from the army in 1921 due to deafness.[3]
Family and death
After leaving the military, Graves married Lucie Gunn Birnie in 1923.[3] Graves' son, Ernest Graves Jr., became a lieutenant general in the Army. Graves died at the age of 73 on June 9, 1953, at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C.[4]
Head coaching record
Football
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army Cadets (Independent) (1906) | |||||||||
| 1906 | Army | 2–5–1[n 1] | |||||||
| Army Cadets (Independent) (1912) | |||||||||
| 1912 | Army | 5–3 | |||||||
| Army: | 7–8–1 | ||||||||
| Total: | 7–8–1 | ||||||||
Notes
- Graves took over as head coach after Henry Smither was relieved from duty following a 12–0 victory over Tufts in the season opener.[5]
References
- Cullum, George Washington (1920). Robinson, Wirt (ed.). Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. From Its Establishment, in 1802, to 1890. Vol. VI-B: 1910–1920. Association of Graduates, United States Military Academy. p. 1154. Retrieved July 31, 2022 – via Google Books.
- "Valor awards for Ernest Graves". Military Times.
- "Engineer Memoirs: Lieutenant General Ernest Graves" (PDF). U.S. Army. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
- "Brig. Gen. Graves, 73, Of River Commission" (PDF). The New York Times. Associated Press. June 12, 1953. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- "2020 Army West Point Football Media Guide" (PDF). United States Military Academy. p. 117. Retrieved July 31, 2022.