Louis Alfred "Merry" Merrilat (Merillat), Jr. (June 9, 1892 – April 26, 1948) 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 ...

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

and military officer. 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 ...

with

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and was selected as a first-team All-American in both 1913 and 1914. He was wounded in battle while serving in France during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and later played 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 ...

for the

Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Leag ...

in the

1925 NFL season The 1925 NFL season was the sixth regular season (NFL), regular season of the National Football League. Five new teams entered the league: New York Giants, Detroit Panthers (NFL), Detroit Panthers, Pottsville Maroons, Providence Steam Roller, a ...

. He became a soldier of fortune, training Iran's Persian Guard, working with the Chinese Army in the 1930s, and serving in the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

Biography

Athlete at West Point

A native of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Merrilat (Merillat) was a cadet at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

, from June 1911 to June 1915. While serving as a cadet, Merrilat (Merillat) was an all-around athlete, competing for Army in football, baseball, basketball and track. He gained fame as an end for the

Army Black Knights football The Army Black Knights football team, previously known as the Army Cadets, represents the United States Military Academy in college football. Army is a NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) member o ...

team and was selected as a first-team All-American in both 1913 and 1914. The passing team of "Prichard to Merrilat" was one of the first great passing combinations in college football, and Merrilat was noted for playing "the western game, something which had not been seen before in the east." Merrilat's teammates on the Army football teams included two of the leading generals of

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 ...

–

Omar Bradley Omar Nelson Bradley (February 12, 1893April 8, 1981) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the United States Army during and after World War II, rising to the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. Bradley ...

, who played at the opposite end position from Merrilat, and

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

, who played halfback until a leg injury sidelined him. In 1913, he helped the Army defeat a

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

team that allowed only seven points in its other games. Army defeated Navy 22 to 9, as Merrilat scored 18 points on two touchdown passes and a 60-yard run. In 1914, Merrilat helped lead Army to an undefeated 9–0 season. In the final game of the season, Army defeated Navy 20 to 0, as Merillat blocked a punt in the end zone for a safety and scored on a 20-yard touchdown pass.

Military service

After graduating, Merrilat served in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant from 1915 to 1916 and a first lieutenant from 1916 to 1917. In May 1917, one month after the entry of the United States into

, Merrilat was promoted to the rank of captain of the infantry. He sailed for France with the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

in March 1918 and was promoted to the rank of temporary major of the infantry in June 1918. He participated in the Battle of Château-Thierry,

Second Battle of the Marne The Second Battle of the Marne (french: Seconde Bataille de la Marne) (15 July – 18 July 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First World War. The attack failed wh ...

, and Meuse-Argonne Offensive. He was severely wounded by airplane machine gun fire at

Avocourt Avocourt () is a commune in the Meuse department in the Grand Est region in northeastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Meuse department The following is a list of the 499 communes of the Meuse department of France. The commu ...

and sailed for the United States on December 24, 1918.

Professional football and basketball

In 1925, Merrilat played one season of professional football for the

in the early days of the

. In 1926, Merrilat and a partner, Jim Kinney, organized a professional basketball team in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...

. At the time, Merillat expressed his belief that professional basketball would flourish, telling a reporter for an Ohio newspaper, "Professional basketball is attracting the sport fans because it is the best type of basketball they can see ... professional basketball team is made up of the stars from several teams and necessarily must be stronger and better than any amateur team because it is composed of experts." Merrilat opined that his Canton team was "one of the strongest in the country."

Soldier of fortune

Merrilat spent many years as a "soldier of fortune." In Iran, he trained the Persian Guard. From Iran, Merrilat traveled to China where he was a general and trained more than 40,000 Chinese troops, "the pick of their army." Merrilat developed a reputation as a soldier with "no equal as a troop trainer or an army builder." When

began, Merrilat reported to the French and served on the

Maginot Line The Maginot Line (french: Ligne Maginot, ), named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force the ...

. After a few months, he left and became a captain in the

where he reportedly "served with bravery and distinction."

World War II

When the United States entered the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Merrilat resigned from the French Foreign Legion and enlisted in the

U.S. 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, cl ...

, where he was given a position training the troops. Promoted to the rank of colonel, Merrilat was put in charge of the Army's forces at

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...

, during World War II. Ninety hotels in Miami Beach were taken over by the Army during the war, and Merrilat turned over the keys to the final building to Mayor Herbert Frink in June 1946.

Family and death

In November 1915, Merrilat became the subject of press coverage when he was sued by Helen Van Ness for breach of promise after breaking off an engagement. Merrilat married another woman, Ethel Wynne, in June 1915. Merrilat hired the noted Chicago attorney,

Clarence Darrow Clarence Seward Darrow (; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the early 20th century for his involvement in the Leopold and Loeb murder trial and the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. He was a leading member of t ...

, to defend him against the charges, which were eventually dismissed. After a year-long illness, Merrilat died at South Shore Hospital in Chicago on April 26, 1948 at age 55. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

. He was survived by his widow and two daughters, Mary Lou Choporis and Ethel Merrilat.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrilat, Louis A. 1892 births 1948 deaths American football ends Army Black Knights baseball players Army Black Knights football players Army Black Knights men's basketball players Army Black Knights men's track and field athletes Canton Bulldogs players All-American college football players United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army personnel of World War II Officers of the French Foreign Legion Players of American football from Chicago Basketball players from Chicago Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Graduates of the United States Military Academy Class of 1915 American men's basketball players Military personnel from Illinois