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.

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.

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:

He was retired from the army in 1921 due to deafness.

Family and death After leaving the military, Graves married Lucie Gunn Birnie in 1923.

Head coaching record Football