Ernest Brown (coach)

Ernest H. "Rags" Brown was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at University of Georgia in 1893, Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost (now known as Duquesne University) in 1896, and Grove City College in 1897.

Ernest Brown
Brown pictured in The Pandora 1894, Georgia yearbook
Playing career
1888–1889Cornell
1891Shortlidge Media Academy
1892Pittsburgh Athletic Club
1893Georgia
1895Duquesne Country and Athletic Club
1896Pittsburgh College
Position(s)Halfback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1893Georgia
1896Pittsburgh College
1897Grove City
Head coaching record
Overall19–4–2

Football career

Brown attended Cornell University and for two years regularly played on the Cornell football team.[1] He is listed in The Cornellian '91 yearbook as an electrical engineering student from Belfast, New York.[2]

In October 1891, Brown accepted an unspecified position at Shortlidge Academy of Media, Pennsylvania,[3] where he played on the school's football team.[4][5] In a game in Pittsburgh, Brown "played with an ear almost off and had his head and face almost entirely enveloped in lint bandages."[5] He thus acquired the nickname "Rags" for "the manner in which he decorated his head".[4]

After starting the 1892 season as a halfback with a team in Johnstown, Pennsylvania,[6] Brown came to Pittsburgh to play the same position for the Pittsburgh Athletic Club.[7][8] He participated in the Pittsburgh A.C.'s game against the Allegheny Athletic Association on November 12;[7] this game, for which Pudge Heffelfinger received $500 to play for Allegheny, is regarded by the Pro Football Hall of Fame as representing the "birth of pro football".[9]

In 1893, as a graduate student in chemistry and assaying at the University of Georgia,[10] Brown served as the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs football team, compiling a record of 2–2–1. He also played halfback in at least two games, against Georgia Tech[11] and Vanderbilt, getting badly injured in the latter game.[12][13] Brown was the last unpaid head football coach at Georgia. He left the University of Georgia in January 1894.[14]

Brown returned to Pittsburgh and in 1895 was playing for the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club football team.[15][16]

Brown served as football head coach for the Pittsburgh College of the Holy Ghost (later renamed Duquesne University) for one season in 1896.[1][17] He also played for the team as a player-coach.[18] At the time, players on the team were not limited to students of the college.[17] Duquesne University credits its 1896 team with a 12–1 record.[17]

He was head coach at Grove City College for one season in 1897, compiling a record of 5–1–1.[19]

Head coaching record
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Georgia Bulldogs (Independent) (1893)
1893 Georgia 2–2–1
Georgia: 2–2–1
Pittsburgh College (Independent) (1896)
1896 Pittsburgh College 12–1–0
Pittsburgh College: 12–1–0
Grove City (Independent) (1897)
1897 Grove City 5–1–1
Grove City: 5–1–1
Total:19–4–2

References
  1. "Pittsburg College". The Pittsburg Post. September 13, 1896. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. The Cornellian '91 (yearbook). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Junior Class. 1890. p. 58.
  3. "Allegany County". Buffalo Weekly Express. October 8, 1891. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Found on Football Fields". The Pittsburg Dispatch. October 9, 1892. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "In Glory and Mud". The Pittsburg Dispatch. November 27, 1891. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Two Men Missing". The Pittsburg Press. October 15, 1892. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Four to Nothing". The Pittsburg Press. November 13, 1892. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com. Rugs [sic] Brown was on the card to play half back, but as he was just out of a sick bed Bert Aull played half back in his place until he was injured, when the Johnstown man was called upon to take his place, and soon was taking a prominent part in all the scrimmages.
  8. "P. A. C. Tigers Bite the Snow". The Pittsburg Dispatch. November 25, 1892. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Nov 12 Birth of pro football". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  10. Annual Announcement of the University of Georgia with a Catalogue of the Officers and Students. Athens, GA: University of Georgia. 1894. p. 12.
  11. "Former Georgia Bulldog Football Head Coaches". georgiadogs.com. University of Georgia Athletics. June 17, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  12. "Vanderbilts Won". The Atlanta Constitution. November 12, 1893. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Personal". The Red and Black. Athens, GA. January 20, 1894. p. 3 – via Georgia Historic Newspapers. Ernest Brown, who was so badly hurt in the game of foot ball in Nashville, has about recovered.
  14. "Mr. Ernest Brown..." The Red and Black. Athens, GA. January 20, 1894. p. 4 – via Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  15. "Too Much for Duquesne". The Sunday Chronicle. Chicago. November 10, 1895. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Amateur Sports". The Pittsburg Press. September 21, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Duquesne Football Record Book" (PDF). Pittsburgh: Duquesne University. June 15, 2022. p. 23. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  18. "College Games Here and There". The Pittsburg Post. October 4, 1896. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Football Year-by-Year Records". Grove City College Wolverines. September 6, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
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