Ernest B. Merrell (October 5, 1875 – July 20, 1938) was an American

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 ...

coach in the late 19th century. He served as the head football coach at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio for one season, in 1896, compiling a record of 3–1.

Early life

Merrell was born on October 5, 1875, in Solon, Ohio. His family moved to Chicago, and he attended Englewood High School, where he excelled at athletics. He moved back to Ohio to attend

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

, where he played football.

Coaching career

In 1896, he became the second paid coach at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. In his only year as coach, Merrell posted a record of 3–1 with victories over Cincinnati,

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

and Earlham College. Miami ended the season with a 16–4 loss to

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

, the first time the team lost with a paid coach.

Later life

After college, Merrell moved to Cleveland and started a career in banking. In 1930, he became Vice-President of the

Cleveland Trust Company KeyBank, the primary subsidiary of KeyCorp, is a regional bank headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and is the only major bank based in Cleveland. KeyBank is one of the largest banks in the United States. Key's customer base spans retail, small b ...

. Even in later life, he continued to be involved in the sport of football by officiating games. In 1938, Merrell died at the age of 61 in an automobile accident.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrell, Ernest 1875 births 1938 deaths American bankers American football officials Miami RedHawks football coaches Oberlin Yeomen football players People from Solon, Ohio Players of American football from Chicago Coaches of American football from Illinois Road incident deaths in Ohio