Louis A . Merrilat Louis Alfred " Merry " Merrilat , Jr . ( June 9 , 1892 – April 26 , 1948 ) was an American football end and military officer . He played college football with Army 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 and later played in the National Football League for the Canton Bulldogs in the 1925 NFL season . 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 . Biography . Athlete at West Point . A native of Chicago , Illinois , Merrilat was a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point , New York , from June 1911 to June 1915 . While serving as a cadet , Merrilat 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 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 – Omar Bradley , who played at the opposite end position from Merrilat , and Dwight Eisenhower , who played halfback until a leg injury sidelined him . In 1913 , he helped the Army defeat a Navy 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 World War I , Merrilat was promoted to the rank of captain of the infantry . He sailed for France with the American Expeditionary Forces 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 , and Meuse - Argonne Offensive . He was severely wounded by airplane machine gun fire at Avocourt 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 Canton Bulldogs in the early days of the National Football League . In 1926 , Merrilat and a partner , Jim Kinney , organized a professional basketball team in Canton , Ohio . 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 . . . [ A ] 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 World War II began , Merrilat reported to the French and served on the Maginot Line . After a few months , he left and became a captain in the French Foreign Legion 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 , 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 , 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 , to defend him against the charges . After a year - long illness , Merrilat died in Chicago in April 1948 at age 55 . He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery . He was survived by his widow and two daughters , Mary Lou Chaporis and Ethel Merrilat .