Earnest Lee Holmes (July 11, 1948 – January 17, 2008) was an American professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
defensive tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...
who played in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) for seven seasons, primarily with the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
. Nicknamed "Fats", he was selected by the Steelers in the eighth round of the
1971 NFL draft and won two
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
titles with the team. He spent all but one season of his career in Pittsburgh, retiring in 1978 after a stint with the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
.
Early life
Holmes was born in
Jamestown, Texas, and was raised on his family's farm, attending school in
Wiergate Holmes played college football at
Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund an ...
.
Professional career
Holmes was selected by
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
in the eighth round of the
1971 NFL draft. He was part of the legendary
Steel Curtain defense along with fellow linemen
Joe Greene,
Dwight White, and
L. C. Greenwood. While
quarterback sack
In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackle (football move), tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the l ...
s were not an official NFL statistic until 1982, the Steelers credit Holmes with a career total of 40, eighth on the franchise's all-time list. This includes team-high totals of 11 in
1974 (including a stretch of six consecutive games with a sack, which ties him with Greene and
Greg Lloyd for the longest such streak in team history) and 10.5 in 1975.
He was intensely fierce on the playing field and was often characterized as the most feared man on the Steelers defense. Prior to his third season in
1973
Events January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
, Holmes had an emotional breakdown while driving on the
Ohio Turnpike on March 16, firing shots at a police helicopter as it pursued him.
He was charged with shooting at a
Highway Patrol heli-pilot. Holmes was found in a field near his abandoned car in
Goshen Township, Mahoning County, Ohio.
When apprehended, he threw his gun away and put his hands up. He was given five years' probation. Diagnosed with
acute paranoid psychosis, he was believed to be depressed and having marital troubles.
Holmes played six seasons with the Steelers before being traded due to on-going weight problems in
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
to the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he failed to make the team coming out of preseason. He played three games for the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
that season before retiring.
Holmes' number 63 was later issued to All-Pro
center Dermontti Dawson. The number has since been taken out of circulation as being "unofficially retired" in honor of Dawson, who was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
in .
Other activities
Following the end of his NFL career, Holmes became a wrestler and actor.
He made one film appearance in 1985's ''
Fright Night'' as a bouncer killed by
Chris Sarandon's vampire character. The following year, Holmes appeared in
WrestleMania 2 and made other appearances as a professional wrestler. He also appeared in an episode of ''
The A-Team
''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...
''.
Personal life and death
Until his death, Holmes lived in
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
on a ranch near
Wiergate, a small town with a population of 461 near the Louisiana border, where he had his own church and was an ordained minister.
Holmes died in a one-car accident near
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...
on the night of January 17, 2008. He was driving alone when his car left the road and rolled several times, about from Houston, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety dispatcher. Holmes was thrown from his car and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. He had not been wearing a seat belt.
Holmes was buried at the Pine Hill Cemetery in
Jamestown, Texas.
Filmography
See also
*
List of gridiron football players who became professional wrestlers
References
External links
*
*
Ernie: A Potholed Road To Tampa Bay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Ernie
American football defensive tackles
2008 deaths
1948 births
Pittsburgh Steelers players
New England Patriots players
Texas Southern Tigers football players
Road incident deaths in Texas
Players of American football from Smith County, Texas
American male professional wrestlers
Professional wrestlers from Texas