Clyde Walter Ehrhardt (July 4, 1921 – February 5, 1963) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

center in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and was selected in the 19th round of the

1944 NFL draft The 1944 National Football League Draft was held on April 19, 1944, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Boston Yanks selected quarterback Angelo Bertelli. Player selections Round ...

. He served as the head football coach at

Presbyterian College Presbyterian College (PC) is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina. History Presbyterian College was founded in 1880 by the William Plumer Jacobs. He had served as the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Cl ...

in 1962.

Early life

Ehrhardt was born in Bardwell, Kentucky, and was the son of a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister who served

pastorate A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

s in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. He attended Morgan Prep School in

Petersburg, Tennessee Petersburg is a town in Lincoln and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 580 at the 2000 census and 544 at the 2010 census. It used to be the location of Morgan school before consolidation Geography Petersburg is l ...

College career

Ehrhardt attended and played

at the

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

. While at Georgia, he was part of the team that won the

1942 Orange Bowl The 1942 Orange Bowl matched the Georgia Bulldogs and the TCU Horned Frogs. Game summary Frank Sinkwich was the highlight of the game in a Georgia beatdown of TCU. Sinkwich had three touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown for a combined tot ...

, which was Georgia's first bowl appearance and first win. The following year, they won the

1943 Rose Bowl The 1943 Rose Bowl game was the 29th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Friday, January 1. The second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) defeated the #13 UCLA B ...

. Ehrhardt graduated from Georgia in 1943 and earned a master's degree from

Peabody College Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development (also known as Vanderbilt Peabody College, Peabody College, or simply Peabody) is the education school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. ...

in 1954.

Military career

After graduating from college, Ehrhardt served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

as a company commander in Europe during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, during which he earned high decorations for valor and was twice seriously wounded. He then served on the staff of the Eighth United States Army during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

as an intelligence officer.

Professional football career

Player

Ehrhardt was selected in the 19th round of the

by the

, where he played in 1946, 1948 and 1949. In 34 games, he had three interceptions and three fumble recoveries.

Coach

After retiring from playing football, Ehrhardt became a football coach at Decatur High School in

Decatur, Georgia Decatur is a city in, and the county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes in ...

, where he also taught math,

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

, and was the assistant principal. He became an assistant head coach in 1957 at

under head coach Frank Jones. In 1962, he succeeded Jones as head coach.

Death

Ehrhardt died on February 5, 1963, from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound while on a hunting trip.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrhardt, Clyde 1921 births 1963 deaths American football centers Georgia Bulldogs football players Presbyterian Blue Hose athletic directors Presbyterian Blue Hose football coaches Washington Redskins players High school football coaches in Georgia (U.S. state) United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army officers People from Bardwell, Kentucky Coaches of American football from Kentucky Players of American football from Kentucky Accidental deaths in South Carolina Firearm accident victims in the United States Deaths by firearm in South Carolina Hunting accident deaths