Edward Leonard King Edward Leonard King ( December 5 , 1873 – December 27 , 1933 ) was an American football player and coach and officer in the United States Army . He played college football as the halfback at the United States Military Academy from 1894 to 1895 and served as the head coach of the Army football team in 1903 . King was a career military officer who served in the Spanish - American War and World War I . He was the Commandant of the United States Army Command and General Staff College from 1925 to 1929 and attained the rank of Major General . Biography . King was born in Bridgewater , Massachusetts in 1873 and entered the United States Military Academy at West Point , New York in 1892 . He played at the halfback position for the Army Black Knights football team from 1894 to 1895 . He was also selected captain of the Army football team in 1895 . Football historian Parke H . Davis later wrote of King : " Of his foot ball days he is remembered as a swift , elusive , crashing and flashing back ; courageous , tenacious and chivalrous ; a true soldier of the gridiron as he was of the real battle - fields . " After graduating from West Point in 1896 , King was commissioned as a lieutenant and served in the Spanish - American War . He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for service in the Philippines in 1899 . The commendation he received with the Distinguished Service Cross stated : " For extraordinary heroism in action near Imus , Cayite Province , Philippine Islands , October 6 , 1899 , while serving as Captain , United States Cavalry . His great personal bravery in disarming a hostile Filipino saved the life of a brother officer . " In 1903 , King returned to West Point and served one year as the head coach of the Army football team . He led the team to a 6 – 2 – 1 record in the 1903 college football season . He also served in the Philippine - American War and served again in the Philippines from January 1910 through June 1912 . In July 1916 he was promoted to Major of the cavalry , and he attended the Army War College from September 1916 to May 1917 . Following the United States entry into World War I , King was promoted to the rank of Colonel in the National Army . He was the Chief of Staff of the 28th Infantry Division , known as the " Keystoners , " in Camp Hancock , Georgia , an also during part of its campaign in France . He arrived in Europe in May 1918 and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in June 1918 . He participated in the Marne offensive and counter - offensive starting July 15 , 1918 , and assumed command the 65th Infantry Brigade on July 31 , 1918 . He led the 65th Infantry in the battles of the Somme and Meuse - Argonne . He remained with the Army of Occupation in Luxemburg from December 1918 to April 1919 and returned to the United States in 1919 . For his service in World War I , King received the Distinguished Service Medal , and France awarded him the Croix de Guerre with palm and made him an officer in the French Legion of Honor . The citation for his Distinguished Service Medal stated : " For exceptionally distinguished and meritorious service . He served with marked distinction as Chief of Staff of the 28th Infantry Division . Later , as brigadier commander he planned and directed the operations resulting in the capture by the 65th Infantry Brigade of Chateau d ' Aulnois and Marcheville , where he displayed great tactical skill and demonstrated his abilities as a commander . " From July 1925 to July 1929 , Brigadier General King served as the Commandant of the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas . In December 1933 , King died of a heart attack while on a hunt at Fort McPherson , Georgia . He was buried at West Point .