Francis E. Merritt (July 20, 1920 – March 21, 1995) was an American football tackle who 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 United States Military Academy. He was elected to the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 1996. He served as the athletic director at the United States Air Force Academy from 1967 to 1974. A 1939 graduate, Merritt played prep football at St. Cecilia High School in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

, where he was captain of the state champion team."Francis Ellis Merritt"
p. 156 in ''Assembly'', March / April 1996, Volume 54, Issues 4-6. Accessed December 17, 2019. "He attended St. Cecilia's High School in Englewood, New Jersey, and was captain of their state champion football team. He graduated in 1939 and went on to Bullis Prep School, where he battled academics."

References

1920 births 1995 deaths American football offensive tackles Air Force Falcons athletic directors Army Black Knights football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Players of American football from New York City St. Cecilia High School (New Jersey) alumni {{offensive-lineman-1920s-stub